Nao (/ˈneɪ.oʊ/^[2]), is an English singer-songwriter and record producer from East London.^[6][7] Her sound has been described as soul combined with electronic music, funk and R&B.^[6] Nao coined the term “wonky funk” to describe her style.^[8][9] She released her debut album, For All We Know, in 2016, and her second album, Saturn, in 2018.

Nao made her hit “another lifetime” in dedication to her mother. She was the youngest of five children in her Jamaican mother’s house, but is the only child of her mother and father, who raised her “as friends” between London and Nottingham, where he lives. She studied vocal jazz at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama in London and went on to be a backing singer for artists such as Kwabs and Jarvis Cocker.^[6][10] For six years up to 2014 she sang in an all-girl a cappella group called The Boxettes.^[11][12] In October 2014 she released her first EP, So Good, it reached number 4 on the iTunes electronic chart and the title track made the BBC Radio 1 and BBC 1Xtra national playlists in the United Kingdom.^[6][7][13] This was followed by a second EP, 15 February (II MMXV), in May 2015,^[13] receiving the “Best New Music” tag from Pitchfork Nao made her hit “another lifetime” for her mother.^[10] In September 2015 Nao was named as a nominee for best newcomer at the 2015 MOBO Awards.^[14] Nao was a featured vocalist and writer on Disclosure‘s UK number 1 album, Caracal, on the track “Superego”.^[15] She was featured in the long list for the BBC Sound of…2016 prize in November 2015, ultimately being named in third place in January 2016.^[16] Nao also featured as a co-writer on the track “Velvet / Jenny Francis (Interlude)” on Stormzy‘s debut album Gang Signs & Prayer.