Born in Wheaton, Maryland, US on 22 February 1994, Jalen Ngonda began his career as a soul artist after moving to the UK to attend the Paul McCartney-founded Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts. He made his recorded debut in 2016 with "Holler (When You Call My Name)," and followed it with several other singles over the next few years, channelling classic soul artists like Sam Cooke, Marvin Gaye, and Al Green and labels like Stax and Motown. The Talking About Mary EP came in 2018 and attention from the legendary Daptone Records followed; he released the single "What a Difference She Made" / "Just Like You Used To" on Daptone in 2022. His fate as a contemporary soul artist was sealed with the advent of his debut album Come Around and Love Me, which peaked at number 68 on the UK Albums chart and Number 1 on the Independent Album Breakers chart in 2023. A trio of singles emerged in 2024, including "Illusions", which reached number 78 on the UK Singles Sales chart and "Anyone in Love", which peaked at number 21. In April 2025, Jalen Ngonda won the Soul Act of the Year award at the Jazz FM Awards. He followed up with his sophomore album, Doctrine of Love, released in June 2026, featuring singles "Hang It on the Shelf" and "Burning Temptation."