Ari Lennox Dishes On The Process Of Working On Second Album: ‘It’s A Part Of Healing’

“I am highly anxious. I am stressed out,” Ari admitted. “I want this album out today if it were up to me, but it’s not, and so it’s driving me crazy. We’re going through mixing. We’re in the middle of finishing some music videos. So, it’s beautiful. Things are moving. It’s just, man. I want it out now.”

The Dreamville crooner’s first album Shea Butter Babywas released in 2018 and spun the hits “Shea Butter Baby,” “BMO,” and “Up Late.” She continued to express her frustrations about not releasing a new album after four years.

“I don’t want to keep this music any longer,” she continued. “I want to release it to the world. I think it’s a part of healing to release music, and I kind of feel like it’s a whole bunch of just… stuff I have to keep inside, when I would like to just get it out. And, I also start thinking about new music. It’s like it kind of creates a block in regards to creating new music because I want to. But I have to focus on getting my baby out.”

The title of her new album hasn’t been released yet but she did release its first single “Pressure” which had the TikTok girlies in a chokehold. Many can agree that “Pressure” showed Ari’s growth in both her music and style and fans can expect more of that when the full LP makes its debut.

“I think [on] Shea Butter Baby, I romanticize a lot of things in life. I feel like I was very naïve about a lot of things about romance, about myself, about career, life, whatever, and I feel like I’m just more aware now, more evolved, [and] more not putting up with certain s*** I don’t like,” she said.

While she may be a little stressed out about her project atm, she has her family who has been a great support system for her to lean on. “They’re very supportive. They’re very encouraging. I was venting to my mom the other day about the album stuff, and she’s encouraging me and she’s just lovely,” she said. “And, also, they’ve been helping me a lot, with my house, my animals, which, you know, can be very stressful sometimes. They take off a lot of stress that I, of course, created myself because I love chaos—got to have it. They’re just very supportive and helpful.”

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