INOJ

INOJ is the alias of American R&B singer and songwriter Ayanna Porter, born in Madison, Wisconsin on November 27, 1976. After a brief stint in a group called Spellbound, Porter released her debut single, “Love You Down,” in 1997. The single was a cover of Ready For The World’s 1986 hit by the same name, and reached Number 25 on the Billboard 100 in the US. In 1998, she was signed to Jermaine Dupri’s So So Def label and released her debut album, Ready For The World. That same year, she released a cover of Cyndi Lauper’s “Time After Time” via Columbia Records, which made it to Billboard’s Top 10 in the US, Canada, and New Zealand. In the following years, INOJ collaborated with such high-profile artists as Janet Jackson and Kanye West (“My Baby”), Billy Crawford (“Nine to Five”), and Chantae Cann (“iChange”). The singles, “My Love For You” (2016) and “L Y D (Love You Down)” (2017) both became fan favorites, with the latter going on to become a top 5 Spotify hit in 2018. Shortly after, Porter embarked on a US tour and released the singles “September Love” (2018) and “My X (Always Be My Ex).”