As a leading voice in this generation of R&B artists, Ari Lennox is doing things her own way, in her own time. The Dreamville songbird’s fans have been persistent with their inquiries about her next project, especially after she shared her R&B banger, “Pressure.” The song was produced by a trio of legendary hitmakers—Jermaine Dupri, Brian-Michael Cox, and Johnta Austin—and in a recent interview with The Dotty Show on Apple Music 1, the DMV native called working with Dupri a “dream.”
“It was very intimidating at first because I’m a big fan of his entire catalog, specifically Mariah Carey’s The Emancipation of Mimi. They have an incredible work relationship,” said Lennox. “I was very intimidated, but we just fell into it because he started making this beautiful beat and it was probably one of the third beats that we had worked on… And Johnta started writing to it and I started writing to it.”
Recently, Lennox checked a fan who attempted to call out Chlöe over her “Have Mercy” release with accusations that Lennox’s “Pressure” wasn’t receiving the same praise because of colorism. Lennox gave Chlöe her flowers and made it clear that she did not want people to form unnecessary animosity in an effort to elevate her or her career.
“You think you’re lifting me up, but you’re actually causing havoc. You’re causing a divisiveness between me and another beautiful fellow Black artist,” Lennox told Apple Music 1. “I want everyone to win and I’m doing my own thing and Chlöe’s doing her own thing. And I feel like there’s room for all of these things in this industry.”
“I’m enjoying what everyone else is doing, but I’m also focused on just being grateful and being content where I’m at. Because I know it’s special and I know there’s a special place for it. And it’s so much more peaceful that way to just be grateful. At the end of the day, I am making a living off of my dreams and I couldn’t be happier. What else do I need more in life?”
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