Jhené Aiko breaks down her creative process and stylistic direction for her new album “Chilombo.”
Jhené Aiko has carved out a lane as one of the R&B game’s most unique players, bringing a poetic sensibility to her lyricism not always seen within the genre. Her ability to craft language in such a fashion has opened the door for highly conceptual and explorative writing, and Jhené has never been shy to reflect on her most personal moments. Therefore, when she comes forward and declares her upcoming album Chilombo to be “the realest shit she ever wrote,” we can only imagine how deep down the rabbit hole she’s taking us.
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While Aiko having claimed to be (meaning either this Friday or next), she recently took to Twitter to provide an update about her ongoing creative process. “Just typed out all the lyrics to the free flows that are #CHILOMBO,” she writes, revealing that she laid down many of the flow structures before picking up a pen. “Realest shit i ever wrote….”
Insofar as a stylistic direction, Aiko teases that the album will be an amalgamation of her previous releases. “If sailing soul(s), sail out, souled out and trip had a baby,” she hints, letting our imaginations do the rest. On that note, it’s unclear if the recently released single “Pussy Fairy” will be making the final tracklist. Look for more news on Chilombo to arrive in the days to come, especially if Aiko plans on honoring the previously unveiled February release.
