What does it mean to truly let go? For Dutch-South African artist Joya Mooi, that question became the entire theme of her latest EP. All The Things dropped in 2026, and it hits differently. AfrobeatsGlobal has been watching her story closely, and this one is worth every second of your time.

Who Is Joya Mooi?

 

Joya Mooi carries history in her blood. Her father was a Motswana freedom fighter who joined the ANC at just 17 years old. He eventually took up the armed struggle in Angola, where he met her Dutch mother, a medical doctor who provided care and relayed political information from the frontlines. That is the world Joya was born into.

She grew up moving between cultures, between identities, between places. Furthermore, those journeys never really stopped. Johannesburg feels like a spiritual home to her. However, Amsterdam is where she landed and built her life. In addition, cities like London and Mexico City feed her creative soul. This is an artist shaped by movement.

The EP That Almost Did Not Happen

Joya studied jazz at the ArtEZ Conservatorium, and it nearly broke her creatively. The discipline was real, but the freedom was gone. She could not make music for two whole years after graduating. She was overthinking everything. In addition, the weight of jazz tradition made it hard to trust her own instincts in the studio.

However, she eventually found her way back through neo-soul, hip-hop, and organic production. All The Things started from a single session with South African duo Easy Freak during one of her regular Johannesburg visits. That session grew into a five-track project that also features SirBastien and Mooi herself behind the boards.

AfrobeatsGlobal loves how the EP maintains a coherent sound despite pulling from multiple producers. That takes real artistry. Furthermore, it shows how clear her creative vision already was before she even entered the studio.

Letting Go As the Real Message

The deeper story behind All The Things is pregnancy. Joya discovered she was expecting her first child during the making of this project. That changed everything. She had always been a planner, someone who needed to know the beginning and end of every story before she started.

Becoming a mother taught her to surrender to what is coming. In addition, that energy poured directly into the music. She describes letting go as the real thread running through every track. It shows.

What Joya Mooi Is Saying About African Music

Even though Joya is based in the Netherlands, her connection to Southern Africa runs deep. Countries like Angola, Botswana, Zambia, and Mozambique are not just geography for her. They are personal history tied to liberation movements that shaped who she is.

Her music reflects that. It is not about trend-chasing. It is about truth-telling. Furthermore, in 2026 that kind of authenticity is exactly what global audiences are hungry for. AfrobeatsGlobal believes artists like Joya are expanding what African music means to the world.

Listen to ‘All The Things.’

All The Things is out now on all major streaming platforms. The EP is five tracks of funky, soulful, emotionally honest music from an artist who has lived everything she sings about. Go stream it, share it with someone who gets it, and drop a comment below telling AfrobeatsGlobal what track hit hardest for you. You can check out our previous blog post on Chanel Blaqbonez Asake Apple Music Ghana number one.

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