By Chris Stevens
Ari Lennox is one of today’s favorite R&B artists, but it seemed she was out of place or constantly lost in the shuffle on J. Cole’s Dreamville Records imprint.
No longer is that the case as Ari celebrated the release of a new single “Soft Girl Era” and last week, it was reported that she and Dreamville parted ways.
Lennox has reportedly signed directly with Interscope, Dreamville’s parent company, ending a 10-year association that began with the EP Pho, then continued with 2019’s Shea Butter Baby, her debut album that was a Top 10 Billboard hit with gold sales.
age/sex/location followed in 2022, but after that album cycled out, Lennox shared her frustration in a since-deleted Twitter post charging Dreamville and Interscope not marketing her properly.
Here’s to hoping a fresh start gives Ari the momentum she needs to continue her successful career.
The Sounds of Streams (FINALLY!)
The S.O.S. Band catalog (along with Alexander O’Neal’s 1985 self-titled debut album) disappeared from streaming services several years ago, leaving old school R&B fans frustrated that the Atlanta-bred band’s best stuff couldn’t fill out their playlists.
Rejoice, music lovers.
The word spread far and fast this past Saturday that the S.O.S. Band catalog had been restored (for the most part) to Spotify, TIDAL and Apple Music. The lone exception is their 1981 album Too, which all things considered, isn’t much to be upset about.
The S.O.S. Band (Sounds of Success) had an incredible run for the first half of the 1980s with “Take Your Time (Do It Right),” “High Hopes,” “Just Be Good To Me,” “Tell Me If You Still Care,” “Weekend Girl” and much more.
I’ve called for an TV One Unsung episode on the band more times than I care to count, and with their music back on stream, now’s as good a time as any to restart that call.
P-Funk podcasting
The newest episode of the On The Groove Line podcast features a look back at Parliament-Funkadelic’s successful and transitional spring of 1975, where they released “Chocolate City” and “Let’s Take It To The Stage” in April of that year.
Check out the episode below and don’t forget to subscribe to the YouTube channel!
