If you were on social media in 2024 and realized you couldn’t escape the lyrics “you take the man out of the city, not the city out the man” on many different videos with distinct versions of “End of Beginning”, did you ever wonder who the artist behind the hit song is? Djo is the persona created by Joe Keery, known as Steve Harrington for most, who just released a new album in April of 2025 called The Crux.
WHO IS DJO?
Djo (pronouncing it all together makes it sound like Joe) is the stage name of the artist Joseph Keery, mostly known as Joe Keery. Born in the United States, he started acting in high school. Being featured in commercials, such as KFC and Domino’s later on landing small roles in some series like Empire and Chicago Fire. Wasn’t until 2015 when he got the iconic part of Steve Harrington in the hit Netflix series Stranger Things, that Joe got really into the public eye. Later on, participated in many projects such as Spree and Free Guy.
HIS WORK AS DJO
The creation of his alter ego Djo has a pretty logical explanation. Joe explained to DIY Magazine in 2022 that “It’s just sort of a vehicle for me to not have to be myself…”. Being able to separate his acting life from his music really allowed him to free himself on stage, “[…] also trying to take away any preconceived notions people might have because they see the guy from the show up there” explained Joe to DIY.
As a musician, he released his first work in 2019, the album titled Twenty Twenty, with more nostalgic and monotone sounds found on songs such as “Chateau (Feel Alright)” and “Mortal Projections”. Followed by his second album Decide, released in 2022, made explicit how much he had grown as Djo. Presenting an album focused on 80s synthesizers and a much more solid aesthetic, with singles “Chance”, “Gloom”, and the viral song “End of Beginning”.
NEW ALBUM
Titled The Crux, his third studio album was released on April 4th, 2025. With twelve songs total, he has been teasing some of them since January 7th, when he released a snippet of his first single Basic being Basic through posts on his social media. On January 24th the first single was released together with the announcement of the launch date of the new album. Bringing once more a heavy 80s-influenced album, in a different way, Djo is setting the pace for the indie genre. Coming again with the synthesizers and drums, on The Crux there are more acoustic guitars and choirs, differentiating from his last work on Decide and showing a more mature sound.
On this album, Djo talks about loneliness, breakups, staying true to yourself, and love. Starting it off with “Lonesome is A State of Mind” recalling some of Julian Casablancas’ sound presented on The Strokes’ song “Selfless”. The “Gap Tooth Smile” brought a fun and light sound to a love song, with the lyrics “Frame up on my baby she’s my superstar/ Big heart, all smile/ Come on pretty baby let’s last a while”. Followed by the beautiful ballad “Golden Line’’ and a remarkable choir added up by violins and him saying “Yes, it’s true, I do it all for you”.
Adding a heartfelt anthem in “Back on You”, and an ode for the love and support only close relationships could bring to you. The singles “Basic being Basic” and “Delete Ya” add a more pop and mainstreamed sound to it, balancing it beautifully with the acoustics of “Potion and Egg”. For the Stranger Things fans, Joe made a surprise in “Charlie’s Garden”. A song about escaping a demanding life and finding peace with a friend features Charlie Heaton‘s voice note. His close friend and fellow actor who plays Jonathan Byers on the show.
Djo finishes it all with “Crux” bringing a similar sound to the first track and really making it seem like a completed cycle.
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The article above was edited by Isabelle Bignardi.
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