Summer Walker sees things more clearly on her new EP, Clear 2: Soft Life.
The R&B songstress, who returns after a two-year hiatus, shared the 10-track project on Friday (May 19) bolstered by a few star-studded contributions. Touting features from J. Cole and Childish Gambino, as well as credits from Steve Lacy, Solange, Jay Versace and more, Clear 2 serves as the sequel to her four-song 2019 EP.
Walker’s previous album, Still Over It, debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 in 2021, reasserting her mainstream ascension stemming from her formal debut album Over It (2019). “To Summer, From Cole” and “New Type,” which boasts a deep-toned feature from Donald Glover, were immediate fan-favorites upon its release.
Once again, J. Cole turned in another jaw-dropping guest verse, congratulating the new mother of two as well teasing his upcoming album The Fall Off. “Congratulations, I hope you got through it with no complications,” he raps, continuing his inimitable feature streak. “I find it amazing, the way that you juggle your kids, the biz, the fame, the bitches that’s hatin’ / They sit around waiting for you to fall off, like the album that I’m making.”
Cole’s full verse on “To Summer, From Cole” 🫂 #OGM
— Our Generation Music (@OGMusicCo) May 19, 2023
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Cole also flexed his pen on Lil Durk’s “All My Life” last week, the lead single off the Chicago rapper’s forthcoming LP Almost Healed (due out May 26). Durk was not only enamored with Cole’s verse, but admitted that he “smoked” him on his own track. The Dreamville boss first teased The Fall Off back in 2020, and it seems as though to The Off-Season’s follow-up is still in play.
Walker’s performance on “Finding Peace,” “Set Up (2017)” and “Pull Up,” which received a coinciding visual, are a testament to LVRN-signed singer’s talent. Years removed from her breakout debut mixtape, Last Day Of Summer (2018), the 27-year-old Walker reasserts herself as one of R&B’s most vivacious vocalists — now living the Soft Life.
Listen to “Clear 2: Soft Life” below!