R&B fans have been eating well this year, thanks to releases from the likes of Giveon, Kehlani, and Syd and the upcoming release of SZA’s CTRL follow-up. However, one name has been missing from the lineup: Dreamville’s Ari Lennox, whose 2019 debut album Shea Butter Baby was also her last. But that may be changing soon, as the Washington, DC native recently announced that her next album is done on Twitter. “Are you guys ready??” she asked.
my album is done! Are you guys ready ???
— Ari Lennox (@AriLennox) August 10, 2022
She’s also announced that “Hoodie,” the lead single for the new album, drops this Friday, August 12, sharing the devious cover art. The design sees Ari sitting atop a water tank in which she’s apparently trapped a man who struggles to get loose as she looks on.
The singer’s fans could use the good news after she’s had something of a rough year so far. Late last year, she ran into some trouble at the airport in Amsterdam, saying she’d been racially profiled and arrested and later remarking that she was not okay, even a month later. Then, an early appearance on a South African podcast led to the singer feeling disrespected and even expressing a wish to be dropped from her label. However, things have been looking up since Ari contributed to Dreamville’s D-Day Gangsta Grillz mixtape and changed her management. She certainly appears to be in a better place mentally, and hopefully for her fans, that translates into music that makes the wait worthwhile.