GRAMMYs

Jhené Aiko 

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How Jhené Aiko's 'CHILOMBO' Shows Her Most Authentic Self & Is Helping Heal The World | Up Close & Personal

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The GRAMMY-nominated artist shares her personal evolution and reveals how incorporating crystal alchemy sound bowls is helping her heal audiences, even on her sensual tracks
Jennifer Velez
GRAMMYs
Aug 25, 2020 - 4:56 pm

Timing is everything. Jhené Aiko's CHILOMBO is a testament to that. For the 32-year-old R&B singer/songwriter whose career has only grown stronger since she began songwriting for former R&B group B2K in the 2000s, a lot of things have come together for her on her latest album. For one, her third album, the follow-up to 2017's Trip, is the one in which she has come to accept all of herself, even the parts of her that at one point she wasn't so keen on. 

"I'm 32 now. I've lived, I've learned. And I think that's all just reflected in the music," Aiko says in the latest Up Close & Personal.

Up Close & Personal With Jhené Aiko

In CHILOMBO, recently released with more tracks as CHILOMBO (Deluxe), Aiko also incorporates sound healing for the first time since she began exploring it at the age of 19. Every track is infused with crystal alchemy singing bowls, which have been found to mentally and physically help heal.

"At some point, I realized that a part of my purpose is to help people get through things," she shares. "Now that I'm studying sound healing and know the importance of sound, I just feel like it's my responsibility as a musician to really take care of the sounds that I put into the music."

While promoting healing, Aiko also delivers some of her most sensual songs to date, including "On The Way" featuring her first-ever collaboration with her sister Mila J.

"There were a few times where it almost happened but then timing or something wouldn't line up, and I don't know, I think [this time] it was just perfect timing," she says about the collab. "Even though it took a long time, it took the time it was supposed to take for us to come together because we probably couldn't have made that type of song when I was younger."

Watch the video above to learn more about the meaning behind CHILOMBO. 

EXCLUSIVE: Wale Pens Personal Letter About His Powerful "Sue Me" Video: "There Are Two Different Americas

GRAMMYs

Ashton Travis

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Up Close & Personal: Ashton Travis On 'PHOENIX MODE,' The Sounds That Shaped Him

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He may be on the rise, but the H-town native has already hit his desired level of success
Jennifer Velez
GRAMMYs
Sep 15, 2020 - 4:37 pm

Houston's given us Beyoncé, Travis Scott, Megan Thee Stallion and now, Ashton Travis.

He may be on the rise, but for the H-town native, Travis has already attained his desired level of success.

Ashton Travis On Making 'PHOENIX MODE'

"I'm proud. Put my name next to the greats," he says on the latest Up Close & Personal. "That's on the way. Really, I'm already there."

The "Passion & Pain!" singer also shares the sounds that shaped him, how it was working on his EP PHOENIX MODE (out now) and why he's decided to have no vocal collabs so far. 

"I just want people to be introduced to me," he says, adding that he is open to working with people in the future. 

Travis also talks about how it's been working on his forthcoming LP. Watch the interview to get to know more about Ashton Travis and his music. 

GRAMMY Rewind: Ludacris Dedicates Best Rap Album Win To His Dad At The 2007 GRAMMYs

GRAMMYs

Kiana Ledé 

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Kiana Ledé Talks Opening Up On ‘KIKI,' Lucky Daye Collab & “Urban” Term | Up Close & Personal

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Kiana Ledé created her studio album debut 'KIKI' with a powerful approach - find out why the album is special to her
Jennifer Velez
GRAMMYs
Aug 11, 2020 - 12:24 pm

Kiana Ledé launched her studio album debut KIKI with a powerful mindset.

"Kiki is an album that I just let myself go. I let myself go to all the spaces. I let myself fully truly be myself," she said on the latest Up Close & Personal. While she says she has been a people pleaser in the past, the 23-year-old rising R&B singer didn't subject herself to that on her album: "I didn't want to have any opinions. I wanted to just make music that I knew made me feel good [at] the moment whether that was a negative or a positive feeling and have no influences whatsoever."

Up Close & Personal: Kiana Ledé

Lyrically, KIKI is a trip into heartache and the bounce back from it but is also filled with tracks oozing with self-love, and joy. At the center of it is a vulnerability that has come to her as she has gone further into womanhood. On the album, she did not "run away from things," including her childhood home pictured on the cover, which Ledé reveals she used to feel a little ashamed of when she was younger. 

While COVID-19 affected her album release, she didn't let it kill her vibe. Ledé says her fans helped make the launch special. 

"My fans are amazing and they were really great and didn't allow it to really fall through the cracks at all," she said. "They really pushed hard for me because they knew how much it meant to me and how important the moment was and how much it means to them."

During her Up Close & Personal interview, the passionate artist also shares how it was working with fellow R&B singer Lucky Daye, how she continues to grow comfortable in her mixed identity and talks about how the industry can better support artists like herself. 

DaBaby Talks 'BLAME IT ON BABY (DELUXE),' Black Lives Matter Remix Of "ROCKSTAR" And Rap's Obsession With Deluxe Albums

Jimmy Jam & Donnie Simpson

Jimmy Jam (L) & Donnie Simpson (R)

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Donnie Simpson Talks To Jimmy Jam & Reveals How He Found His Radio Voice & Broke Onto The Airwaves | Up Close & Personal

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The legendary radio DJ Donnie Simpson and songwriter-producer Jimmy Jam survey their long friendship and chop it up about the entertainment business hustle
Morgan Enos
Membership
Feb 10, 2021 - 6:58 am

Last October, the radio giant Donnie Simpson was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame alongside The Breakfast Club, Sway Calloway and the late Cokie Roberts. Naturally, he’s in the mood to survey his half-century-long career and assess the road ahead.

In the Recording Academy's latest edition of Up Close & Personal, Simpson links up with his old friend Jimmy Jam—who’s made waves since the '80s as a songwriter and producer alongside fellow GRAMMY-winning icon Terry Lewis—to discuss their meeting story and the arc of his remarkable career.

Therein, Simpson describes how puberty delivered his signature announcer’s timbre, how he got his foot in the door as a DJ and how success found him at just 15. He also looks back at his fertile TV career—in particular, his legacy with BET, for whom he hosted the primetime music video show "Video Soul."

"I don’t care how much money you make or how much you pay me. Nothing could ever surpass what we created—the history of BET," Simpson declares. "I don’t care what Bob [Johnson, BET’s founder] paid me. To know that we created this country’s first Black television network and grew that thing into what it became—there’s no price on it."

Check out the entire 80-minute video above and marinate in the history of a true American radio and TV original.

Radio And TV Legend Donnie Simpson On The Key To His Decades-Long Career: "I Don't Have To Be Great––I Just Have To Be Me"

Duckwrth

Duckwrth

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Up Close & Personal: Duckwrth Talks Celebration Of 'SuperGood,' Respecting Black Artistry, "Insecure" & More

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We caught up with the South Los Angeles artist ahead of the August release of his debut studio album, 'SuperGood,' to talk new music, dream collaborations, celebrating Black music and artists, and more
Ana Monroy Yglesias
GRAMMYs
Aug 4, 2020 - 1:09 pm

Los Angeles-born left-field rapper/singer Duckwrth (born Jared Lee) has been making waves since he released his debut solo mixtape, I'M UUGLY, in 2016. Showcasing his expansive musical taste, playful lyrics and his mailable vocals and flow, the successful project led to a record deal with Republic Records, an opening spot for Anderson .Paak and a loyal, ever-growing fan base. An XTRA UGGLY Mixtape followed in 2017, with several tracks getting TV and film placement, including the ecstatic "MICHUUL.," which was featured on "Insecure" and "All American."

In May 2019, the "Bernal Heights" artist dropped THE FALLING MAN EP and now, this month, he'll be releasing his highly anticipated debut studio album, SuperGood. As he recently told us, the album has been a long time coming and now the timing is just right.

"I actually had the name for this album since 2013 and just the feeling of it, I've had it since 2013 but I never was in a right space with myself mentally and energy-wise to be able to present an album that felt like a celebration."

Duckwrth On Celebrating Black Rhythms On SuperGood

Related: GRAMMY Museum Launches Spotlight Saturdays Featuring Up-And-Coming Artists

GRAMMY.com continues their Up Close & Personal interview series (from home, via Zoom) with Duckwrth. Watch the full conversation above to hear him share more about SuperGood and its lead singles "Coming Closer" and "Find A Way," as well as his love of Issa Rae and "Insecure" and some of his dream collaborators (Rosalía is on the list!).

The "Crush" artist also talks about his vision for creating more Black animations (watch the music video for "Find A Way" below) and how the entertainment industry can better support Black artists.

Read: Yvonne Orji On Her First-Ever HBO Comedy Special, Faith & Celebrating Black Joy

"I think musically, [what's needed] is just respect for Black artistry and being able to be placed in different places, like more Black artists in pop. That would be major. For me, I'm not heavy on pop, listening to pop all the time, but I do understand the importance of seeing a Lizzo in pop.

"That's important, and [so is] seeing more Black faces in pop music because that opens up the door for other artists to come after them and it becomes a norm. It doesn't have to be this conversation of, 'Oh, you can't put them there because they're Black.' It's that plus just circulating dollars in the Black community and helping them grow," Duckwrth added.

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