Jalen Ngonda, whose career took off in the mid-2010s after relocating to Liverpool and later London, is an American soul singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist steeped in classic Motown and Philly soul traditions.

He spent his early years immersed in his father’s RPMs—Motown, Marvin Gaye, The Temptations—sparking a deep connection to soul music by age 11, learning drums, guitar, piano and vocals throughout his teens.