R&B singer and 2022 OzFest headliner, Ari Lennox (“Shea Butter Baby”), released her sophomore album “age/sex/location” on Sept. 9. The album is supported by the singles “Pressure” and “Hoodie” as well as the companion “Away Message” EP. Dreamville Records staple Elite (“Revenge of the Dreamers III”) acted as executive producer.
The title “age/sex/location” refers to a very direct way of asking for someone’s info on a chat room or dating app. Shortly before the album’s release, Lennox said that the album was inspired by a “transitional space” and that it was her “eat pray love journey.” Indeed it is. “age/sex/location” sees Lennox exploring the vulnerability of love to shifty men and the growth she feels from escaping it. Lennox’s album is a standard approach to the R&B genre in a world where artists like Lizzo (“Special”) exist, but it certainly does not deserve to go unnoticed.
An obvious highlight of the “age/sex/location” is lead single “Pressure,” released a whole year before the album’s release, is but nevertheless a proper centerpiece to the album’s vibe of unapologetic self-love. The music video’s references to pop icons Diana Ross (“Turn Up the Sunshine”) and Donna Summer (“To Paris With Love”) suit the vintage vocals and funky production. The verse features a backing refrain of “pressure!” straight out of a ‘60s girl group hit. Lennox begs for a lover’s embrace, but it is not the submissive lasciviousness of R&B past. she talks down to her lover for ignoring what was in front of them all along. She sings, “Now you textin’ me you know I won’t reply/Why you ain’t f— with me when I wasn’t this fly?/Now I’m on top and now I’m ridin’ sky-high.” The single was Lennox’s first mark on the Billboard Hot 100, so these lyrics can take a double meaning: the confidence beaming out of her vocals could be directed at us, the listeners, who are just now appreciating her now that she is fly and now facing industry “pressure.”
Another fun part of the album is “Boy Bye,” featuring Lucky Daye (“Candydrip”). Lennox playfully turns down an insistent Daye throughout the song in what feels improvised right in the recording studio. Daye and Lennox have a chemistry that makes her rejection of him all the more questionable, but refreshing. “Those lines belong in 1995/Just like them funky Nikes,” Lennox sings. But the duo knows how to make a song cheesy without being grating: Daye croons how Lennox has him “working 9 to 5/With those wrong socks/Them toes just bussin’ out them slides,” to which Lennox admits that she “forgot [her] Dr. Scholl’s.”
Not all of Lennox’s humorous lyrics fit the tone set for the album. “Hoodie” details Lennox wanting to be in her lover’s hoodie, a concept that shows the songwriters’ had Gen Z in mind, and in the peak of a sensual chorus features the confusing line “Spread it like some queso.” While the track has a steamy beat reminiscent of a Lauryn Hill (“Save the Day”) song, if one thinks about the metaphor too long, they may get an unsettling mental image that is just uncalled for.
Lennox’s album is a perfect addition to the new line up of female R&B stars aiming towards fame before Rihanna (“ANTI”) quits the cosmetics shtick. “age/sex/location” is a product of Dreamville and Interscope Records.
Image from Ari Lennox via YouTube
