My trip with xv to Dreamville Fest this past weekend is inspiration for today’s artist of the week… Ari Lennox! The only female artist signed with J. Cole. Inarguably (xv won’t argue) the most talented and stacked label in the game right now, Ari holds her own and she proved that to me this weekend.
Ari’s someone I’ve respected for a few years now, since I was introduced to her sound on Revenge of the Dreamers II . Seeing her performance this past weekend really elevated that level of respect for me. I think it’s one thing for an artist to drop some fire shit on Soundcloud, Spotify, etc. It’s another thing entirely to show yourself up on a live stage.
Ari’s one of those rarer cases where a performer sounds better live than they do on a prerecorded track. Getting to actually witness Ari in her element brought her music full circle for me. She truly embodies the values and ideals that her music, and the Dreamville label, speak to. She’s a natural beauty and the artist she chooses to be, in a culture where what’s fake is made to seem real and attainable, shows me what it really looks like to be a woman today. Unapologetic, sexually empowered, vulnerable, natural, and moisturized.
Two songs that really speak to these elements…
Backseat (ft. Cozz)
The song on Revenge of the Dreamers II that I mentioned turned me onto Ari. This song is fun and dirty in the best way. I don’t necessarily think that it’s rare to hear female artists talk so brazenly about sex (s/o Cupcakke) on their tracks, but I do think it’s rare to hear it done so elegantly and in such an empowering way. Ari’s so candid on this song about what it is SHE wants. I love this energy and also s/o car sex.
Whipped Cream
This is the song where that element of vulnerability comes into play for me. I think I’ll just let the lyrics speak for themselves, but I have to give her mad credit with the lyricism here. She makes something shitty sound so beautiful. The emotion in her vocals ughhh… crying at my desk thinking about this one.