Meet Dreamville’s Leading Lady And Next R&B Superstar Ari Lennox
What’s the best way to describe Ari Lennox? Maybe a combination of Erykah Badu, SZA, Sade, and a dash of Donny Hathaway. That’s right, Ari Lennox is a one of a kind artist who has finally been getting the acclaim she deserved for a while. With a bold stage presence, beautiful look, and a voice that soothes the ears like a delightful, summer breeze, Lennox has the overall potential to be the next R&B superstar. it goes deeper than just the cliche tools for a great singer, she presents us with an image that makes her very comparable to Erykah Badu and Jill Scott. Lennox is proud to show her “blackness” in the utmost angelic fashion with brilliant songwriting and a beautiful vocal prowess which showcases a deep range!
With a heavily anticipated album, dropping the first week of May, titled Shea Butta Baby and a tour titled the same name right after, Lennox is setting the stage for her debut to mainstream America to be a memorable one. You can say she making the lovable Neo-Soul genre popular again along with the likes of fellow songstresses H.E.R, NAO, and Summer Walker. This makes sense due to her influences drawing from D’Angelo, Ella Fitzgerald, Aliyah, Erykah Badu, Whitney Houston, Bilal, and Lauryn Hill. Her sound embodies all of their vocal appeal along with her own modern-day flair, and it’s brilliant. She is also a risk taker with her sound and I love it!
New To the Mainstream But the Industry been Aware Of Ari Lennox
She, however, is not new to the industry. She made her industry debut in 2012 with her debut mixtape, Five Finger Discount, and debut EP, Ariography, in 2013. In 2015, however, began her journey as her music got to J.Cole and the Dreamville team. Cole recruited Lennox to work on him for references for Rihanna, and he fell in love with her work ethic. Later that year, on December 8th, she officially signed onto Dreamville records as their leading lady. 2016, she dropped her debut EP with Dreamville titled Pho to critical acclaim. Along with appearances on fellow Dreamville artists J.Cole, Earthgang, and Bas tracks, on November 9, she released two more singles called “40 Shades of Choke” and “Grampa”. On November 13, she then released two more singles called “No One” and “Pedigree”.
With tour appearances on J.Cole’s 4 Your Eyes Only and 6lack’s East Atlanta Love Letter tour, the question dawned on me, why hasn’t she blown up yet? Her latest single Shea Butta Baby, same title as her upcoming Album featuring J.Cole, was on the Creed ll soundtrack and it drew the praise of not only industry professionals but the mainstream listens that she so long deserved for. Now it’s her time to rise, and take everything she has been working for! Mainstream America meet Ari Lennox!
