00:00What's up Essence? It is your content editor Danielle Wright here and I am with the beautiful
00:05Ari Lennox for Essence Uncovered. Thank you. How are you feeling Ari? Feeling good. Love it. I'm so
00:12excited to chat with you today about all things your music journey, Essence Festival. We're
00:18definitely gonna get into it. So starting off looking back, was there a moment early in your
00:24career where you felt like your breakthrough was right around the corner like it was coming?
00:28Um, I never thought my breakthrough was coming. I think I was always shocked with all of
00:36the success that would happen. I'm still that way. I still, yeah, just shocked all the time.
00:45So yeah. Love it. So I want to know how did the success of Shea Butter Baby, which is my
00:51favorite classic R&B album. Wow. Thank you. Quest girl. Thank you so much. I had to tell
00:56her. Um, but change your perspective on music and your platform. Um, well, I'll, I'll say
01:05that when I was making the album, I was just having fun with my friends. Um, Ali, Ron Gilmore,
01:12Omen, um, DJ Grumble, um, Masego, Kojo. I'm sure I'm missing someone. Someone's gonna kill
01:21me. Um, but yeah, it was just a beautiful time. Um, and, uh, yeah, I honestly, once we
01:29got to the end, I felt like maybe I shouldn't, maybe it wasn't ready to drop yet. I felt like
01:34I needed more like hits. Like I, I was so excited to have Shea Butter Baby. Um, but I felt like
01:43I needed another Shea Butter Baby, but I'm, I'm grateful that people love it the way that
01:47it is. But I, yeah, honestly felt like it was incomplete. So once again, shock. I love
01:55it. Yeah. I think that's, that's so interesting to hear you say that. And I love to always hear
02:00like an artist's perspective because I'm like hits that whole album is a hit to me, first
02:05of all, but also it's like you made an anthem for, you know, black girls to like enjoy their
02:13new apartment with. Like when I got my new apartment, that was the first song I played.
02:17On my iPod, like literally. So I love that album. Um, is there a song that the fans have
02:25obsessed with that has taken you by surprise? Um, I'll say Pedigree. Um, I, I was shocked.
02:32I mean, that's, I love that song. I always wanted to do like something really fun. I love
02:37DJ Grumble. Um, yeah, I was just shocked to see how people are really just going for it
02:44and it's getting lots of streams. I was just shocked, especially because I dropped it so
02:50long ago, like way before Shea Butter Baby, I believe. And so it's nice to see that it's
02:54getting a lot of love now and today. For sure. For sure. Um, what was it like navigating,
03:01you know, the pressure of following up with Shea Butter Baby with Age, Sex Location, which
03:07is kind of like your recent album? Honestly, I felt, um, I felt a little nervous, but I,
03:12I also wanted to play it safe. Um, ironically, I, uh, yeah, I, I just wanted to make sure I
03:19kept it as soulful as possible. I was scared, honestly, to try things that were like two left,
03:26but I, I, you know, I, I put my, I dipped my foot in the water a little bit with like
03:32pressure. It's changed my life outside by the phenomenal organized noise. Um, rest in peace
03:40to Rico. Um, yeah, it was just, it was just beautiful. I was, I was pretty even tempered.
03:48Um, but it dropped and I didn't see that maybe it was doing very well. It seemed like
03:56the first week sales or something. I don't, I don't remember what they were, but I just was
04:01haunted by, you know, some people, uh, trolling that. And then, but so yeah, my tour, um, my agent
04:12at the time, um, was like, so you ready for this tour? And I'm just like, no, I don't think anyone's
04:16going to come. And so I was really scared. And he was just like, well, I think you should
04:20do some openers and all this stuff. And I was like, well, please, I just need to know
04:25if we drop a tour, can it just be my name first, just to make sure that whoever's coming,
04:30I want to know, like they're coming for me. And I just needed to see that, you know, I
04:35needed to feel that. And so we did it and it sold out and it was 80,000 tickets. And I
04:40had no idea in my life that I could do something like that. So it made me feel like, oh, okay,
04:45I guess this album was pretty dang long gifted to somebody.
04:49Yeah. Well, first of all, it was phenomenal. And second of all, I think one thing that's
04:53really cool about you as an artist is that you sound amazing live as you do in a studio.
05:01Like not a lot of people act like that, but you do. And it's like, you just kill it every
05:06time. I just had to give my girl her flowers.
05:08Thank you. Thank you so much.
05:10Of course. So you're actually coming back to Essence Festival this year. How does it feel
05:16to hit the New Orleans stage again?
05:18Oh, it's home every time. It's home every time. I feel so loved every time by Essence.
05:27I'm just excited. I just feel celebrated there. It means the world to me how much they help me
05:35make a living, how much they just deemed me special. It just feels like a hug. It feels
05:42like family and it's beautiful vibes. I bring my family out almost every time. And it's just good
05:48energy, good food. I love New Orleans. The men are so hot. Everyone is beautiful there. And it's just
05:55a beautiful time. Just all of these beautiful Black people. Yeah, it's just, it's great. I love it.
06:02Love it. So winding down a little bit, what is next for Ari? You just released Soft Girl Era.
06:09You're getting ready to do all this new music. You know, what's next for Ari in 2025?
06:14Honestly, I'm chilling. I'm chilling. I'm taking my time. I just want to drop one song at a time.
06:24Honestly, I don't want to rush the album. I just want to keep following my heart,
06:27keep working with like my favorite producers, work with some new producers. I think it's important
06:32that I start writing again more. I'm going to be real. After Shea Butter Baby, I kind of was exhausted
06:40with writing. I've been writing all my life. I'm 34, but yeah, I've been writing like ever since I was
06:46probably like eight or something. And, you know, from the Phu album to Shea Butter Baby to
06:54Areography. And then like, there's this mixtape called, what the hell was it called? Five Finger
07:00Discount. Like I've been writing. So after Shea Butter Baby happened, I honestly didn't have much
07:06to say. I didn't have much to say for a long time. And so I welcomed the collaboration of like
07:13legendary songwriters from Jazzy to Aunt Clemens to Jalen Jazzy.
07:20Um, so, but now I'm in a space where like, I want to see what the hell's going on inside of me.
07:27Like, I want to get it out. I want to figure that out again. So that's what I want to do. I just want
07:32to take my time this year and write and, um, experience life. So yeah, I don't know. Just,
07:40just that is what I want to do this year.
07:43Well, listen, the Essies, Danielle will be so excited for when you start dropping more music
07:49this summer or this year. And, um, yeah. So thank you so much, Ari, for chatting with the Essies.
07:56This has been Essence Uncovered. Until next time.
