Is R&B dead? That seems to be an ongoing topic as of lately ever since Hip-hop mogul Diddy proposed the question on Twitter. Singer-songerwriter, Ari Lennox is here to dead those rumors with the release of her sophomore album Age/Sex/Location.
Since her debut to the industry in 2016,the D.C. native is the first female R&B artist of rapper J Cole’s label Dreamville. The singer first gained recognition when she stepped onto the scene back in 2016 with her Ep Pho, with the success Lennox later went on to release her debut album Shea Butter Baby in 2019. Since then the singer has released many singles and collaborations with other artists such as Jazmime Sullivan, Summer Walker, Queen Naija and many more. Her most recent song “Pressure” off of her latest album is the singer’s first solo Hot 100 hit.
Fast forward to now with her sophomore album it seems that Ari is transitioning into a state of healing and not conforming to the standards of how love should work. Via a message rapper J.Cole shared to Instagram between himself and Ari, the singer states this album represents her Eat,Pray, Love journey.
After my first initial listen to the album, I felt as if Ari recorded this album in a state of tiredness. Not tired as in sleepy, but tired as in finally realizing that it is okay to not be perfect and just go with the flow. Instead of navigating the world as if we are holding our breaths, waiting for the right time to release. We have seen Ari be vulnerable and share all that she goes through in the media so to see her release this pain in her art is nothing short of beautiful.
Each song on the album has its own individual sound but they all tie into the overall theme, which is to love and live freely on your own time. The first song “POF” sets this tone, us listeners can tell from this song that someone has definitely made Ari upset and she gets this point across very clearly without naming names. As we go into the second song “Hoodie” Ari says “I need someone fearless…Tell me, are you that guy?” This further proves the point of the theme,because a woman like Ari who is on a healing journey does not have time for scared lovers. Which brings us into the third song on the album “Waste My Time.” With the chorus being “Waste my time, get on my line…Cause I got time to waste.” Here we see the singer is not in the mood for small talk, but instead is just looking for a good time. And last but not least we have her hit single “Pressure”, in this record Ari is proud of herself and who she is becoming no matter who doubted her.
Overall Age/Sex/Location will definitely go down in history as a timeless piece of art, and to answer the question is R&B dead I say no and Age/Sex/Location is the rebirth. Be sure to click the link below to listen.
Article By: Kerrington Dillion