meta-scriptKhalid, 6lack & Ty Dolla $ign's "OTW" Heats Up Summer Nights | GRAMMY.com
Khalid

Khalid

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Khalid, 6lack & Ty Dolla $ign's "OTW" Heats Up Summer Nights

If you're stuck in Park, the trio's video arrives to help you kick your summer into Drive

GRAMMYs/Jul 4, 2018 - 03:39 am

On July 3 the Calmatic-directed music video for "OTW" was released by Khalid, featuring 6lack and Ty Dolla $ign. The audio was released on April 20 and the song's retro-R&B plus trap mood finds a visual home, clarifying that this is not a song about a cold-blooded booty call.

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Full of contagious, authentic smiles, the video makes this hypnotic song even more appealing by creating a party atmosphere that uplifts the hot summer night mood to a rare level, giving "OTW" a shot at growing into a summer hit.

Coming into 2018 with five GRAMMY nominations and a hit debut album, Khalid's one-offs and collaborations have been incredible, which is why two of his noms were for the anti-suicide side-project "1-800-273-8255" with Logic and Alessia Cara. The song made it to No. 3 on Billboard's Hot 100, Khalid's highest ranking track so far.

Back in May, "OTW" reached No. 57 on the Hot 100. Whether its happiness-inducing video kicks its chart-rank out of Park and back into Drive or not, there's a good chance it'll add smiles to your July.

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Tracy Chapman performing
Tracy Chapman

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6 Artists Influenced By Tracy Chapman: Luke Combs, Brandi Carlile, Tori Amos & More

Three decades after Tracy Chapman’s eponymous first LP hit the shelves, take a look at the artists who owe a debt of gratitude to the 13-time GRAMMY-nominee.

GRAMMYs/Jan 8, 2024 - 02:58 pm

Editor’s note: This story was updated on Monday, Jan. 8, to include mention of Luke Combs and his 2024 GRAMMY nomination.

Renowned for her stripped-back folky sound, social conscience and storytelling abilities, Tracy Chapman has never really fitted into the pop landscape. The singer/songwriter emerged in the late 1980s, a period when big-voiced power balladeers and exuberant teen princesses were all the rage. And throughout the following two decades, the Cleveland native continued to assemble an impressive body of work that remained utterly impervious to fleeting chart trends. 

Chapman's determination to carve out her own distinct path has undeniably reaped its rewards. Her self-titled debut album topped the Billboard 200 in 1988, sold 20 million copies and received six GRAMMY nominations; she won three (Best Contemporary Folk Album, Best Female Pop Vocal Performance and the coveted Best New Artist). A mid-'90s career resurgence, meanwhile, helped to boost her awards tally, with biggest hit "Give Me A Reason" picking up Best Rock Song. 

And whether standing in for Stevie Wonder at Nelson Mandela's 70th Birthday Tribute Concert or performing "Talkin’ Bout a Revolution" on the eve of the 2020 presidential election, Chapman has used her earthy voice to soundtrack several key historical moments.   And the very traditional kind of artist even unwittingly became a viral sensation thanks to a powerful rendition of Ben E. King classic "Stand By Me" in aid of David Letterman's late-night retirement.  

Although Chapman hasn't released a studio album since 2008's Our Bright Future, her music has remained an ever-present. From Sam Smith and Justin Bieber, to Passenger and Luke Combs, it's probably quicker to list which contemporary acts haven't covered her defining single "Fast Car" in recent years; dance producer Jonas Blue even took it back into the Hot 100 In 2015. Kelly ClarksonBlack Pumas and Jamila Woods have all paid tribute by tackling different songs from Chapman's remarkably consistent oeuvre, too.

Of course, Chapman's modern-day cachet extends beyond the odd song. Here's a look at five artists who have credited the star as a formative influence on their entire careers.

Luke Combs

By now, an ocean of ink has been spilled about Luke Combs making Tracy Chapman’s "Fast Car" a hit once more — from its racial, sexual, class, gender, and genre dynamics, to whether whitewashing was at play. But with all due respect to the talking heads, the truth is arguably much simpler: when it comes to great singer/songwriters, game recognizes game.

"There was this one song that really stuck out to me. It was called 'Fast Car,'" Combs said onstage last year. “That song meant a lot to me since then — for my whole life. I always think about my dad when it comes on and us spending time together.” It’s awfully telling, too, that Combs didn’t flip the gender of the song — a token of respect. He, too, is a "checkout girl."

Decades after its creation, Combs' take on "Fast Car" made a U-turn to the top of the Billboard country charts; at the 2024 GRAMMYs, his version is nominated for Best Country Solo Performance.

"It has stayed with me since I have played it in my live show now for six-plus years and everyone — I mean everyone — across all these stadiums relates to this song and sings along," Combs later told Billboard. That’s the gift of a supernatural songwriter." Yes, “Fast Car" is deeply, incontrovertibly human, and earthbound. But Combs reminded us that it’s charged with magic, too. — Morgan Enos

Khalid 

Just like Chapman, Khalid racked up a glut of GRAMMY nominations with his debut album, American Teen. And while promoting the record on BBC Radio One's Live Lounge in 2018, the chart-topper doffed his cap to one of its major influences with an acoustic reworking of "Fast Car." An obvious choice, perhaps, but speaking to Forbes later that same year, Khalid insisted that he was far from just a fair-weather fan. 

"For me, Tracy Chapman was just someone who inspires me in terms of songwriting," the "Talk" hitmaker revealed. "When I think about songwriting just how she can make you feel like you're in that moment." Chapman was also the first name that came to mind when Khalid was asked about his biggest musical inspiration in our One Take series.  

Lisa Marie Presley 

The late Lisa Marie Presley took her time following in her father's footsteps, releasing her debut album, To Whom It May Concern, at the relatively late age of 35. But it was the music of singer/songwriters such as Linda Ronstadt, Shelby Lynne and, in particular, Tracy Chapman (rather than the rock and roll of Elvis) that informed her sound.  

In a 2012 chat to promote third LP Storm and Grace, Presley told Rolling Stone India, "I've never met Tracy, but she's always been a huge influence on me; I don't even know if she knows that. From her first album until everything, she's been such an influence on me as a singer-songwriter." 

Presley also referenced Chapman in an interview with the Huffington Post about her musical inspirations, adding, "I love women who sing, and they mean what they're saying, and they reach in and grab you. It moves you. You can feel the singer, and it's for real." And while appearing on BBC Radio 2’s Tracks of My Years in 2013, the star selected "Smoke and Ashes" from Chapman's 1995 LP New Beginning as one of her all-time favorites.  

Valerie June 

"The missing link between Memphis Minnie and Tracy Chapman" is how singer/songwriter Valerie June was once described. No doubt that Chapman, whose sound combines folk-pop with everything from soul and bluegrass to traditional Appalachian music, would have been on board with such comparisons.   

June became a die-hard Chapman fan while growing up in Jackson, Tennessee, as she explained to the Washington Post in 2014: "I wanted to perform from probably the age of four or five, but I never believed I could. I saw Tracy Chapman and Whitney Houston and wanted to be like them. But I thought, 'Yeah, no way. They didn't come from a little old place like this.'" 

Of course, June did manage to carve a niche for herself in the wider world. She even picked up a Best American Roots Song nod at the 2022 GRAMMYs for "Call Me A Fool," a collaboration with Stax legend Carla Thomas. And one of her proudest career moments was following in Chapman's footsteps by appearing on "Austin City Limits."  

Brandi Carlile 

Brandi Carlile has achieved several GRAMMY milestones throughout her glittering career. The Americana favorite was the most-nominated artist at the 2019 ceremony in which she took home three gongs. Then in 2022, she became the first-ever female songwriter to pick up two Song Of The Year nods simultaneously. And the music of Tracy Chapman helped set Carlile on her 24-time nominated path. 

Carlile has frequently acknowledged the influence that the "Fast Car" hitmaker has had on her career. While hosting "Somewhere Over the Radio," a SiriusXM show designed to celebrate "queer excellence," the star played one of her most cherished Chapman songs. And during her 2023 A Special Solo Performance tour, she brought out wife Catherine to perform a duet of New Beginning cut "The Promise." 

Carlile is such a fan that while responding to a fan on Twitter in the pandemic-hit 2020, she argued that one of the few ways the year could redeem itself was if Chapman dropped a new album.  

Tori Amos 

Eight-time GRAMMY nominee Tori Amos and Tracy Chapman began their careers in tandem: David Kershenbaum executive produced the eponymous first albums from both the former's short-lived synth-pop outfit Y Kant Tori Read and the latter singer-songwriter around the same time. And the flame-haired pianist was one of the first to recognize that her counterpart was something special. 

In a Pitchfork interview about her musical tastes, Amos revealed that Tracy Chapman essentially changed her entire outlook. "It woke me up and took me back to my 5-year-old self, who was creating from a pure place of intention of music being magic, as a place where we could walk into and feel many different things." 

Amos subsequently ditched the crop top, leather pants and copious amounts of hairspray and, like Chapman, followed her artistic instincts. When asked by Glamour magazine in 2012 which female artists its younger readers should explore, the "Cornflake Girl" hitmaker didn't hesitate in mentioning her fellow 1988 debutant.  

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Kendrick Lamar GRAMMY Rewind Hero
Kendrick Lamar

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GRAMMY Rewind: Kendrick Lamar Honors Hip-Hop's Greats While Accepting Best Rap Album GRAMMY For 'To Pimp a Butterfly' In 2016

Upon winning the GRAMMY for Best Rap Album for 'To Pimp a Butterfly,' Kendrick Lamar thanked those that helped him get to the stage, and the artists that blazed the trail for him.

GRAMMYs/Oct 13, 2023 - 06:01 pm

Updated Friday Oct. 13, 2023 to include info about Kendrick Lamar's most recent GRAMMY wins, as of the 2023 GRAMMYs.

A GRAMMY veteran these days, Kendrick Lamar has won 17 GRAMMYs and has received 47 GRAMMY nominations overall. A sizable chunk of his trophies came from the 58th annual GRAMMY Awards in 2016, when he walked away with five — including his first-ever win in the Best Rap Album category.

This installment of GRAMMY Rewind turns back the clock to 2016, revisiting Lamar's acceptance speech upon winning Best Rap Album for To Pimp A Butterfly. Though Lamar was alone on stage, he made it clear that he wouldn't be at the top of his game without the help of a broad support system. 

"First off, all glory to God, that's for sure," he said, kicking off a speech that went on to thank his parents, who he described as his "those who gave me the responsibility of knowing, of accepting the good with the bad."

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He also extended his love and gratitude to his fiancée, Whitney Alford, and shouted out his Top Dawg Entertainment labelmates. Lamar specifically praised Top Dawg's CEO, Anthony Tiffith, for finding and developing raw talent that might not otherwise get the chance to pursue their musical dreams.

"We'd never forget that: Taking these kids out of the projects, out of Compton, and putting them right here on this stage, to be the best that they can be," Lamar — a Compton native himself — continued, leading into an impassioned conclusion spotlighting some of the cornerstone rap albums that came before To Pimp a Butterfly.

"Hip-hop. Ice Cube. This is for hip-hop," he said. "This is for Snoop Dogg, Doggystyle. This is for Illmatic, this is for Nas. We will live forever. Believe that."

To Pimp a Butterfly singles "Alright" and "These Walls" earned Lamar three more GRAMMYs that night, the former winning Best Rap Performance and Best Rap Song and the latter taking Best Rap/Sung Collaboration (the song features Bilal, Anna Wise and Thundercat). He also won Best Music Video for the remix of Taylor Swift's "Bad Blood." 

Lamar has since won Best Rap Album two more times, taking home the golden gramophone in 2018 for his blockbuster LP DAMN., and in 2023 for his bold fifth album, Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers.

Watch Lamar's full acceptance speech above, and check back at GRAMMY.com every Friday for more GRAMMY Rewind episodes. 

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Jeleel
Jeleel

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How Jeleel Went 'Real Raw!' By Combining Martial Arts & Self-Acceptance

"I don't need anything to feel complete. I'm high off life," the charged-up rapper JELEEL! says about his unadulterated new album, 'REAL RAW!' "I'm opening my heart to everybody."

GRAMMYs/May 3, 2023 - 09:09 pm

After the suffocating sensation of lockdown, the 2000s are fully back in their spattery, hyperactive, overstimulated glory — think chugging a Rockstar mid-flip on a BMX. And while aesthetic is all over art and media, few have condensed and consolidated it like JELEEL!.

"My aesthetic is like Monster Energy. You know, Nitro Circus, Jeff Hardy-esque, early 2000s WWE aesthetic," the splashy rapper tells GRAMMY.com. "It's very Y2K, but I like that extreme stuff. A lot of artists now are doing the Y2K punk aesthetic — all black — but I'm more like electric green."

On his energizing new album, REAL RAW!, JELEEL! drinks straight from the bottle; that "electric green" sensation permeates it like Nickelodeon Gak. 

Featuring top-shelf producers such as FNZ, Working on Dying and Bone Collector, as well as guests Denzel Curry ("SHOTS!"), Chow Lee ("CONFETTI!") and Ty Dolla $ign ("FAST CAR!"), the album is a distillation of JELEEL!'s backflipping, party-rocking, muay thai-ing energy.

Read on for a conversation with JELEEL! about the making of REAL RAW!, his May 5 release; how being a "scared kid" got him into martial arts and what the uninitiated should expect from his juggernaut live show.

This interview has been edited for clarity.

On an essential level, what were you trying to artistically impart with REAL RAW!?

REAL RAW! is real, raw energy. JELEEL! has no additives. I don't need anything to feel complete. I'm high off life. I don't need to do any drugs; I don't need to sell out to be someone. I'm real, and I'm raw.

The album is showing different sides of JELEEL! — his heritage, his culture, his life. That's basically what I want to present to the world. I want them to see that; there's no filter. I'm opening my heart to everybody.

I'm sure you didn't always feel that way — that you don't need "additives," or to put on a face for people.

Mm-hmm. When I moved to L.A., I didn't know anybody, really. I'd seen a lot of people try to follow other people to become somebody, or try to fake a persona. And I was like, I'm gonna just be myself. F— that. I'm gonna just dive in headfirst. Who cares what they think? That's always been my motto.

Tell me about your heritage and culture.

I'm from Rhode Island. My family lives in Nigeria now. Rhode Island is a small state. My parents came from Nigeria to Rhode Island to find better opportunities and help their kids out. Growing up in Rhode Island was chill; it wasn't too bad. Very boring. 

Growing up in Nigeria was a little different, because a lot of people really don't have a lot of opportunity to get what they want to do. There's not a lot of opportunity to make money like that, unless you have a really good job.

They're different lifestyles. In Nigeria, people are hustling hard to get to where they want to be. In America, it's a little more laid back. You still have to work hard, but in Nigeria, it feels like you have to work harder.

How did you transmute that unadulterated feeling into the music on REAL RAW!?

Basically, I kind of transmit. I never really thought about transmuting it. It just kind of happened — me taking my personality and being like, You know, I don't care. I'm just gonna sing it like this or that.

Instead of talking about drugs — I don't do drugs — I'll talk about something else, because it's more JELEEL!. I was just trying to put me inside the songs, and me inside the music, and just be more intentional.

How did you evoke that feeling through music?

I guess using certain sounds. Maybe I'll go on Serum, and the sound reminds me of Limp Bizkit or Sum 41 or Janet Jackson, you know? So it's all just creating something and bringing that nostalgia back.

That vibe is certainly back. A lot of hardcore music is drawing influence from 2000s alt-rock.

It is completely. Even, for example, the PinkPantheress and Ice Spice song "Boy's a Liar" — the beat, the flow, the video,

I feel like that splashiness directly relates to the pandemic. We're ready to bash into each other again.

Yeah, we needed a reset, bro. People were just trying to do too many different things.

Tell me about the guests on the album, starting with Denzel Curry on "SHOTS!".

Denzel Curry was fun; me and Denzer are like the same people. He does muay thai; I do muay thai. He's just a very active guy — animated. He's just a funny dude, and he's turnt up. He's very talented, and he loves to create, so Denzel was definitely someone I had to put on there.

I appreciate his intentionality, even doing his verse. He had to redo it and redo it to make it the best he could make it. So, I appreciate him taking the tie and making it the best it could be. He brought the energy.

How about Chow Lee, on "CONFETTI!"?

He's definitely running that drill sound in New York. He's coming up heavy. He's about to take over hip-hop; people don't know about him yet, but he's on his way up. He was a perfect person for that song. It's a different sound that people don't know me for, but he had to get on there. It was perfect.

And what about the one and only Ty Dolla $ign on "FAST CAR!"?

That was a very random song for him to hop on. You would expect him to be on some R&B type of vibe, but Ty is a very, very versatile artist. I didn't know what to expect when we started clicking up, but he just slid on the song and I was like, Damn, he went crazy.

How'd you get into muay thai, and how does it connect to music?

It all started when I was young and scared of the world. I never really like to get hit. I'd been bullied, and that kind of carried into my adulthood. So, I was like, I'm going to go full-face forward and try martial arts. And then I ended up falling in love with it.

They're both arts — martial arts and music. Everything has to flow. When you listen to a verse, what captures you is the flow. When you're sparring, or fighting, you can't be tense. You've got to flow; you've got to be in the pocket.

You performed at GRAMMY House; I know you incorporate MMA in your live show. What should people who haven't seen you live expect on an energetic level?

People definitely are going to expect something crazy [laughs] because people see me on Instagram, all these videos, and they're gonna be like, "I know he's going to do some crazy stuff." 

But I'm really performing. I'm trying to get all the words out. Yeah, sometimes there's high energy moments, but I'm actually a performer. I'm actually singing the words. So, that's what I want people who haven't seen me before to know.

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6lack sihal
6LACK

Photo: Jack McKain

interview

6lack On His Comeback Album 'SIHAL': "I’m Playing A Different Game"

6lack's first album in five years, 'Since I Have A Lover,' is an emotional, romantic overture. In an interview, the rapper explains how he transcribed years of healing into sound.

GRAMMYs/Mar 28, 2023 - 01:38 pm

6lack enters our Zoom call wearing a forest green beanie and hoodie. It’s St. Patrick’s Day; for someone so given to superstition — his stage name is both a testament to Atlanta’s Zone 6, where he grew up, and his penchant for numerology — it’s unsurprising that the rapper and musician is dressed head-to-toe in green. For 6lack, the universe moves in pointedly poetic ways. Case in point: soon after our call, 6lack loses his wallet. Then, before sundown, he posted a photo of his found wallet on Instagram that his wallet has been found. Thank goodness he was wearing green.

It’s been almost half a decade since 6lack (real name Ricardo Valdez Valentine Jr.) last released an album. In the mid-2010s, 6lack established himself as one of the doyens of introspective post-Soundcloud rap and R&B. He gained hundreds of millions of streams, a devoted fanbase, three GRAMMY nominations. Then, he went away. He bulldozed himself and built 6lack back up. He got a therapist. He honored himself. He relived his past so that he could shape his present with intention. He healed. 

"What I learnt through that was that I didn’t really need solutions, I just needed to say things out loud," he tells GRAMMY.com. 

With the release of his third album SIHAL (Since I Have A Lover), 6lack has transcribed that healing into sound. A vast departure from his previously sepulchral sound, SIHAL is breezy,  with a psychedelic palette and paeans to romance and self-love. GRAMMY.com spoke with the artist about his new record, which dropped March 24, and how he got to this point.  

This album strikes me as deeply romantic at a time when, post-pandemic, romance seems to be in a kind of crisis. How did the pandemic affect your romantic life and your idea of romance?

Being forced to share space with someone was a test that we hadn’t necessarily had to go through as a generation yet, it was brand new. It went from the idea of: I’m always at home, I love to be at home — and then you realize you can’t go outside, you can’t have the extra space you need, and it forces you to really look at yourself and at the person you’re with. 

It made me figure out what unconditional love really consists of, what patience really consists of. It made me more aware of the ups and downs of being in a relationship. It’s not always flowers, it’s not always romance. It made me look at love for what it really is and not just what my idealistic view of it was. 

I’ve always drawn from love and my relationships as a way to create — whether that’s heartbreak music, reflective music, in-a-better-place music my relationships have never really stopped me from wanting to create. 

There’s been a pretty clear thematic shift in your music. You were once well known for your heartbreak songs, but this latest album feels a little more idealistic and romantic. Has learning to love yourself better in recent years affected how you love others?

It’s super, super simple. A better me equals a better you equals a better us. That’s been the formula of my life. I can’t thrive unless I’m around people who are constantly trying to better themselves as individuals. It took a second of me really looking at myself in the mirror, being honest and saying: I am not doing as much work on myself as I claim to be doing and want to be doing on myself. 

That was harder to actually act on than most things I’ve had to fix in my life. I needed to go to therapy, I needed to figure out how to talk about things that didn’t make me comfortable. I needed to stop prolonging situations because I was scared of what might happen. I had to honor myself, do what makes me happy, keep up a schedule and routines. All those little bits and pieces have made me feel better waking up in the morning, it’s made me feel like I have less weight on my shoulders. 

How did you land on the album title Since I Have A Lover?

It was one of the tracks I made towards the end of this album process. For the past three albums, the titles have come towards the end. Knowing the theme, knowing the story I wanted to tell, the feelings I wanted to convey — I wanted to repeat this mantra that had been stuck in my head. 

The last words on the album are "Just wanted to check in and see whether or not you were feeling like coming through tomorrow?" What made you end the album on a question?

I think because the last track isn’t necessarily where I personally have landed at in my life, but I think it’s a question a lot of people have in their relationships. To me, it’s an honest question, though it’s not always a fun question to entertain. Like, what would my life be like if I were to have done something different, if I were to be with someone different? 

For me, it’s all about pulling myself back into my current reality and saying: this is perfect. But the thought will always be there. We’re all human. We’ll constantly think about all the different possibilities, all the different roads we could have gone down. It’s just a little bit scary to say it out loud because we’re scared of offending people, hurting their feelings. 

You've explored lots of different genres and sound palettes; do you feel you’ve found your identity as an artist on this album?

Yes, absolutely. I think with each album, it’s a rediscovery of who I am. My first album, FREE 6LACK, was me emerging from turmoil, heartbreak, and a bad record deal; my second, East Atlanta Love Letter, was about stepping into new love and new things; this album has been my everyday practice. 

This album reminds me of the goals I have for myself, the impact I wanna have on the world, the responsibilities I have. In this album, I think what I rediscovered about myself was that I’m playing a different game than most people are playing. I don’t worry about numbers with this. It just feels like a calling that I just wanna follow. 

SIHAL follows a period of a few years where you took time to focus on yourself and your healing — was there a trigger or a moment in your life that forced you to embark on that journey?

There are always multiple things that push me into that uncomfortable space. The main one was having a partner, having someone next to you, who can really see you, who goes through what you’re going through. It took a lot of disagreements and uncomfortable conversations and ego-checking for me to really admit that I wasn’t as on point as I wanted to be. It took almost getting to a point of her being like, "I’m not gonna deal with this anymore unless you speak to somebody." If that isn’t an incentive, I don’t know what is. I got a therapist, I opened up the conversation. What I learnt through that was that I didn’t really need solutions, I just needed to say things out loud. 

In that time, did you learn anything about yourself or your past that surprised you? 

Absolutely. It was about getting to the source of who I am in relationships and why I am that way, and then going back to moments that might have influenced that. Like, I remember in third grade, when I went from all A’s to B’s and C’s. I was starting to care less because my relationship with my parents was starting to change, I wasn’t a baby anymore, and they weren’t as hands on or as loving and caring as I wanted them to be. Naturally, if I couldn’t talk to them then I didn’t wanna talk to anybody. I started to handle stuff on my own and keep things to myself. 

Fast forward 20 years, and I was starting to repeat those patterns with the people I was in relationships with. I wondered why it was so hard for me to just say how I felt to the people I loved. Going back to the origins of what made me behave that way made me realize who I was wasn’t so definitive. It was just the consequence of what I went through. Now, I’m in the part of my life where I’m just reworking myself. 

As a parent yourself, I imagine it must be extra important to work on those problems so that they don’t recur intergenerationally.

Obviously, it’s a little crazy in the world right now, but I’m so appreciative to be a part of this new generation of parents who do seem to be a little bit more patient, a little more understanding and lenient. I don’t want my child to have to think so many negative or hateful things about me if it doesn’t have to be that way. If she makes a mistake, it’ll be easy to talk it out and say that I understand why she might feel that way, and teach her how to maybe express herself in a more productive way. I’ve really just learned that kids are always learning, and how you react to what they do will determine what they’ll do next.

You’ve always been very emotionally articulate in your music; "chasing feelings" from this record goes to some especially vulnerable places. Are you that way inclined in your personal life?

I think I was lightyears ahead when it came to expressing myself musically and creatively, but in the realm of my personal life, I was lightyears behind. It was easier for me to put it on wax because it’s almost like a journal entry. Whereas, actually talking to people about it has been way more intense for me.  

I think that after all the work I’ve done in the last couple years, the way I handle conversations is way more different. It’s almost like having a rulebook in your head, and as soon as somebody says something you don’t like or don’t agree with, you can either say something to get back at them or you can make more of an effort to really understand what they’re saying. 

Did you feel much of a pressure from your fans to come back and create while you were still taking time away for yourself?

I’m always aware of fans. The internet is a heavy place. I can’t act like I don’t see it, feel it, that it doesn’t affect me in some way. But really honoring myself and taking the time I needed was the priority, though I do understand the impatience some people might have felt.

As someone who grew up in the Atlanta battle rap scene, does competition and competitiveness still play any part in your career?

Yeah, not as much as it used to. In the beginning, maybe, but as of right now, I feel like I’ve finally come to terms with the fact that I am just playing a different game. I’m not really competing with anybody, I’m just competing for a better space to live in, a better climate for music. That’s really the only competition for me:How many people is this gonna help? 

What are your aspirations for this album overall?

I want it to do for other people what it’s done for me. It is a bit of a calming album. It brought me peace listening to these songs. With my last two albums, they weren’t bringing up good feelings for me to revisit. Putting myself back in those emotions on tour was never really fun. 

Now I’m at the part where I can listen to these songs and know where they brought me, so I’m not harboring the same emotions that I had been for the last couple albums. I just wanted to make people feel better and for people to know that love and relationships, though they come with ups and downs, that it’s all just part of the process. 

Do you have any collabs coming out or do you have anyone you’d like to get in the studio with this year? 

Me and Jessie Reyez have been talking about doing a project together. As far as getting in the studio with someone, it’s always been about building relationships. If I get with someone and it feels good, then we’ll make music. I’d love to get an André 3000 verse someday. It’d be a dream to get Sade back in the public eye in some kind of way, too. 

Do you have any material for another album? 

Yes. We’ve made more than enough music for another project, so we’re just gonna figure out how we wanna package it up and what style we wanna roll with.

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