In the last month, Ari Lennox has released more music than she had in the two years prior. As she worked towards the follow-up to her stunning debut album Shea Butter Baby (2019), Dreamville‘s R&B darling seemingly decided to unload the vault as summer turned to fall.
Three weeks after dropping “Hoodie,” her second promotional single for her upcoming album after last September’s smash hit “Pressure,” Ari finally revealed the release date for her LP, as well as deliver even more music before it drops. age/sex/location, Lennox’s sophomore album, is set to release on Sept. 9, as her announcement was accompanied by a message she gave Dreamville head honcho J. Cole regarding her headspace while making the project.
A day after this announcement, Ari dropped a surprise EP for fans fittingly titled Away Message (Aug. 31). In her post for the five-song EP, she explains that she will depart from social media until her album comes out next week.
Away Message‘s key moment comes in its intro “Queen Space,” which features Summer Walker. This track is Ari and Summer’s second collaborative track, as they first linked up for Walker’s 2021 Still Over It album on the song “Unloyal.” Just before the song released, Lennox posted a video of J. Cole reacting to the song, as he reaffirms how excited he is for age/sex/location to drop.
It is currently unclear whether or not “Queen Space” or any of the Away Message songs will land on next week’s album, but with this EP, it is clear how ready Ari Lennox is for fans to be able to hear all the music she’s been working on during her absence.
As we await ‘age/sex/location,’ use Ari Lennox’s ‘Away Message’ EP as an appetizer below!
