We don’t deserve Ari Lennox, but we’ll happily take her anyway.
After blessing us all with her critically-acclaimed debut album, Shea Butta Baby—“New Apartment” is the perfect ode to domestic autonomy—the D.C. native has returned with its successor: a remix EP.
Boasting production by J.Cole and contributions from Doja Cat, Smino, and Durand Bernarr—whose recent string of appearances are laying the groundwork for a commercial breakthrough of his own—the three-track project provides a refreshing take on fan-favorites like “BMO” and “Facetime”.
And as she revealed on Twitter, it also doubles as a birthday gift of sorts to herself.
This EP serves as the latest salvo from J.Cole’s Dreamville camp, who dropped the compilation Revenge of the Dreamers III back in July. And while it’s only been out for a few hours thus far, I think it’s safe to say that the 29-year-old songstress delivered another beautiful body of work.
Speaking to NPR in August, she explained why her music resonates with so many.
“I think a lot of people just feel free,” she said. “They feel like they’re living their best college life or like their best independent grown woman life like experiencing their own place for the first time or just being able to relate to dating someone who doesn’t have that much money and it’s just like, ‘Well, I don’t care. I love you.’ Or just rockin’ their curls and knowing, like, it’s beautiful and natural is beautiful.”
I can’t wait to dig into this new project myself and you can do the same on your platform of choice here.