FEATURE: Spotlight: Ari Lennox — Music Musings & Such

FEATURE:

Spotlight

Ari Lennox

___________

I am featuring an artist today…

who is very popular and has big social media numbers, but she is not known to everyone. I think there are many who are unaware of the music of Ari Lennox, so I wanted to put her into the Spotlight feature. One of last year’s best debut releases came from her Shea Butter Baby album. That album received some huge reviews, and the songs on it are so soulful and pure - but there is definite fire and emotion. I think everyone can appreciate the album and, with a new song out in the form of Chocolate Pomegranate, there are a lot of eyes on Lennox. I am going to bring in a review of Shea Butter Baby, but there are some great albums out there with Ari Lennox. One interesting interview that caught my eye is from GQ . It is clear that Ari Lennox would always make it into music with a voice like hers:

“The 28-year-old, who spent her formative years in the DMV area, wasn’t a child prodigy who always knew her vocals would carry her to stardom. She worked a dozen or so jobs in her 20s, moving constantly, and aimlessly. Born Courtney Salter, she got her stage name from Mary Lennox, the little girl in the film adaptation of The Secret Garden. “She was a spicy thing,” Ari says. “I always wanted that life, just a nice garden and a sexy, tall guy.”

On Shea Butter Baby, Lennox tells us about suitors being “lost in the shape of [her] hips,” and provides plenty of updates on her search for a sexy, tall guy. (No word on how the garden is going.) But she also sings about finding one such man in a CVS, while she’s a sick mess in need of Ricola cough drops. She sings about how shitty dating apps have been for her, and the unique joys of having her own apartment for the first time. It is an eminently relatable record, and the strongest R&B album of the year thus far.

A couple months ago, you tweeted, "I want to stop being compared to y'alls fave so badly." Who do you hear about the most that you're sick of being compared to?

So, I'm only sick of this because it sometimes makes me feel like there's no room, and that's Erykah Badu. Absolutely no shots at her, she's amazing and a legend. But for me, it's like, if you guys think I sound just like Erykah Badu, is there room for Ari to ever be her own artist? Plus, I've never met Erykah. I'm scared to for a million reasons, and I also don't want her thinking I'm trying to jack her swag or anything. I guess that's my biggest fear—I don't know why she would have time to think about me at all. That's my paranoid mind.

I really think only Erykah Badu can be Erykah Badu. I wish I could create something as legendary as Mama's Gun and Baduizm. That's an all-time body of work right there.

This interview is beautiful because you're asking about so many different things. But a lot of times people just jump straight to, "Yeah, you remind me of Erykah," and I'm just like, "Man, did you check out other things? Do you really know my discography? Do you know anything about me?”.

One of the things that I especially like about Ari Lennox is that her music and voice has that classic edge and sounds very oldskool, but there is that modernity to the music. It is a rich blend that has captivated so many people. I think, with more albums under her belt, Lennox will definitely be a big festival headliner and hugely inspiring artist for those coming through. I want to take from an interview in DJ Booth, as Lennox was asked about mixing the new and old on Shea Butter Baby:

“You have a lot of classic vocal influences, but your songwriting has very modern themes. Is that a conscious choice to bridge the two disciplines?

I think it started as a conscious choice, for sure. Now, I just want my music to be soulful and nostalgic, but I have to talk about what I’m going through. I have to do it in a way where it’s coming from me, and not from somebody else.

The real win of this album is how honest and specific your songwriting has become.

I’ve just always been very blunt. I’ve always been too blunt. I’ve always been too honest.

Is that a virtue?

I think it’s very positive. It’s so easy to put on a mask and not be real about what we’re feeling and who we are. But it’s the only way you can free yourself”.

Who is your ideal Shea Butter Baby listener, and what do you want them to take from the record?

First and foremost, this project is for Black women. I feel like we are not represented the way we should be worldwide, but specifically in America, I feel like they sleep on us. They sleep on us in our natural form, with our natural hair, and our natural noses. The natural Black woman, or even if you’re natural under your weave, this is for you. Or, even if you’re aspiring to be natural. This is for the Black woman because we just don’t get enough love and I want little girls to look at me and I want them to say: “I’m proud of my Blackness. I’m proud of my skin. God made no mistakes when he created us.”

Overall, this album is for the woman. Women owning their power, owning who they are, owning their sexual power. It’s for women”.

If you have not checked out Shea Butter Baby, then make sure that you do, as it is a gorgeous record, and one that points to a very bright and promising future. The twenty-nine-year-old from Washington, D.C. was the first woman to be signed to J. Cole's record label, Dreamville Records. She (Courtney Salter) co-wrote all twelve tracks on her debut album, and there is so much honesty and rawness in the writing. She described how it was quite a blunt experience writing Shea Butter Baby and the real-life turmoil she faced.

This, matched with such an incredible voice, provides plenty of emotional reaction and memorable tracks. When they reviewed Shea Butter Baby, this is what CLASH had to say:

“Lennox’s artistic depth and quality has always been clear to see, but part of the appeal of ‘Shea Butter Baby’ is its lingering commercial appeal, that’s crying out to be explored. This can be seen early on, when ‘BMO’ leaps centre-stage and demands chart attention. Again borrowing from earlier eras, the ‘Space’ sampled [Galt MacDermot] number proves instantly infectious, and has quickly become a fan-favourite on social media. It’s the perfect spring mid-tempo cut, and provides more than enough sass, innuendo, and funk-fuelled energy to engage wider audiences.

The issue of navigating relationships is a foundational crux of R&B, and Ari Lennox channels and tackles both the good and the bad of this. At her most vulnerable – which is arguably on ‘I Been’ – the artist slows it down and keeps things relatable. Somewhere between the purple haze, Tinder references and dodging lies, the 28-year old manages to impart some wisdom to her female fans: “Life is too short to be blocking your blessings like that.”

Lennox learns that no relationship is worth emotional trauma and transforms into a contemporary empowerment leader. In an era defined by ‘situationships’, ‘I Been’ serves as a valuable reminder that toxic environments shouldn’t be tolerated.

Perhaps the most endearing aspect of ‘Shea Butter Baby’ is an authentic innocence that threads through it – the subtle interludes that feature in the space between songs lay bare Ari Lennox’s passions, fears, desires, and intentions. They allow listeners to get to know the singer and her universe, evoking an undeniable form of humility – something that makes the soloist captivating.

‘Shea Butter Baby’ manages to meld contemporary R&B with other sounds like soul, funk, and blues, all while introducing us to the Ari Lennox of today – and the inspirations that guide her every move”.

If you are new to Ari Lennox, then make sure you follow her on social media (see below) and go and investigate her music. She is a definite future icon, and I do love her Neo-Soul vibes mixed with something very modern and of-the-moment. It is no surprise that Lennox is seeing her stock rise and winning so many fans as her music has this transporting quality. I have been following her since just before her debut came out, and I cannot wait to see what she offers up next. There are so few artists as memorable and talented as Ari Lennox, so it is exciting to imagine just how far she can reach. Her music is fabulous and, after just one hit, you will be…