This singer sat down exclusively with REVOLT TV to talk about her upcoming album, a possible ‘Twety88’ follow-up project, and the evolution of her relationship with beauty Keith Nelson Jr. Billboard.com
What do you see when you look at Jhene Aiko? Do you see a mosaic of ethnicity? Do you see years of stereotypical castings due to her racial ambiguity? Do you see a woman who can turn a lover’s scorn into anthems? You actually see all of that and more. Aiko spoke with REVOLT TV before hitting the stage at Beautycon in Los Angeles, California about her upcoming album; if the world should expect another Twenty88 album with Big Sean, and the evolution of her relationship with beauty.
@JheneAiko “triggered” was a moment. a moment that for me has passed. it is new to you because ur just now hearing it, but for me... it’s something i moved on from the moment i expressed it.
should keep her hair natural and curly, and put a little bronzer on her so she [will] look more black.” Beyond her beauty, the recording artist exists in many people’s minds as an ephemeral voice as soft as an angel’s whisper with lyrics on
“My eyebrows have definitely evolved since I was love and despair. Her process a teenager. I used to over pluck them,” AIko revealed of making such soulful music is with a laugh. “When I was as natural and organic as her younger, I had really thick beauty. “Most of my songs are eyebrows. Unfortunately, I freestyles. They start off with over [did it] so now they don’t me either having something grow as they used to...” in my head and I’ll sit down As of late, Aiko has began to with my keyboard player or embrace her natural style [producers] Fisticuffs... I’ll tell [them], ‘I have these while still having enough melodies, just give me a experience with makeup to metronome’ and we’ll build feel comfortable enough to music around what I did.” do YouTuber Bretman Rock’s makeup onstage at Beautycon. That’s how her latest In the past, her natural beauty song, the scorned lover ode limited the ethnically mixed “Triggered (Freestyle),” was songstress, who has been created. Her and her longtime appearing on screen since producers Fisticuffs started B2K’s “Uh Huh,” music video the emotive, piano track with in 2001. “When I started going a few instruments before Aiko on auditions, they would put took the beat to her home me for roles [as] the Spanish studio to record it herself. girl, or the Japanese girl or the black girl.” Almost two decades later, Aiko still remembers the pressure from people for her to conform to the industry’s stereotypes. “When I was 12 [or] 13, someone told my mom, ‘You should really play up one or the other,” Aiko recollected. “You should straighten her hair so she could look more Asian or you
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“[I] just kept singing until [I] said everything I needed to say” “When I’m going through something, it actually flows out easier for me. Doing ‘Triggered’ and several other songs... [gives me] that same feeling that I have to release [it],” Aiko revealed. “It just
flows out and I try not to overthink it until I want to [put] ad-libs in or background [vocals]. My new album I’m working on now is like that. Every song that you hear is me [freestyling].” She says her new LP will be coming “sooner than later” with an update on its status coming from Aiko herself in the near future. Does that mean we’ll get a follow-up to the Twenty88 project that she released in 2016 with her then-boyfriend Big Sean? “I mean, anything
is possible... It can manifest,”
AIko said before bursting out into a warm laugh. The next time we hear the two together making beautiful music, it could very well be an entirely new decade. The year 2020 will roughly mark the first decade of Aiko’s solo career since entering the scene with her mixtape Sailing Soul(s). “I’m the same since Sailing Soul(s). I’m just a little more evolved version of myself,” the star explains. “Ever since the first grade, I’ve always known who I was. Now, I’m becoming more of who I am.”
“Beyond her beauty, the recording artist exists in many people’s minds as an ephemeral voice as soft as an angel’s whisper with lyrics on love and despair. Her process of making such soulful music is as natural and organic as her beauty”
The girl, who had to face decisions like choosing which of her ethnicities she should identify with in order to get casted, has grown into a world where Rihanna’s cosmetic line is one of the biggest in the world. In addition, one of the biggest songs on Beyoncé’s The Lion King soundtrack celebrates “Brown Skin Girls,” and different shades of beauty are finally being celebrated in mainstream media. Aiko admits “there’s still more work to be done [with] showing diverse faces and bodies.” But, she is hopeful for the progress. “Now, more than ever, we’re celebraing being unique individuals... and embracing their (women of color) unique features,” she closed.
May 1 / Boston, MA Orpheum Theatre
May 11 / Nashville, TN Marathon Music Works
May 2 / New York, NY Radio City Music Hall
May 13 / Atlanta, GA Fox Theatre
May 3 / Washington, DC Echostage
May 14 / Orlando, FL Hard Rock Live
May 5 / Norfolk, VA The NorVa May 6/ Richmond, VA The National
May 15 / Gulf Shores, AL Hangout Music Festival May 17 / Miami Beach, FL The Fillmore Miami Beach
May 8 / Carson, CA Dignity Health Sports Park
May 19 /New Orleans, LA Orpheum Theater
May 9 / Carson, CA Dignity Health Sports Park
May 22 / Dallas, TX The Bomb Factory