Jhene Aiko, her agent and her manager are huddled together on a recent afternoon going over upcoming gigs for the buzzing alternative-R&B star.
The Los Angeles native is in the middle of a victory lap for a breakout year that included her first hit single, a well-received debut album and three Grammy nominations, including one for urban contemporary album for her debut EP, 2013’s “Sail Out.” And this year is shaping up to be even busier.
Aiko just landed a slot at a major European festival and she’s preparing to bring a second leg of her Enter the Void tour, her first as a headliner.
Jhené Aiko built a cult following with deeply confessional yarns that include ethereal melodies and tightly wound raps. While her peers make club hits, Aiko looks inward. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
The women discuss potential opening acts, production logistics, collaboration requests, whether or not she can make time for Coachella -- her set last year was a highlight and she may pop up as a surprise guest this year -- and fitting in a vacation to the Himalayas around rehearsals and South by Southwest (“If it’s not possible I’ll do Hawaii,” she tells her agent after a potential conflict is mentioned).
“I’m taking it a day at a time. There’s been so much going on and the ball is still rolling with the album, I haven’t been focused on if I’m going to win or not,” Aiko said. “For me it’s all about keeping the ball rolling.”
“Knowing that more people are listening, I only want to be progressive. I only want to grow,” she said. “The extra attention validates my reason to want to do more with the music. I want to be consistent and remain myself -- being myself got me nominated, so I guess I’m going to stick with that.”
Her EP was a Top 10 debut on the Billboard 200 and featured Aiko’s first big hit, “The Worst,” a mainstay on urban radio (and a nominee for R&B song). That preceded her years-in-the-making full-length “Souled Out,” which debuted at No. 3 when it was released in September. And she’s already at work on new music.
“The album that I put out last year, all those songs I had been working on for so long, it’s old to me now,” Aiko said. “I’m in a different place now with my writing and my singing. Everything has progressed and that’s what I always want to do. Everything should trump the last thing.”
Later, Aiko retreated to a studio room. Her engineer played part of a track she may lend a vocal to for a remix (the collaboration could introduce her to a wider audience). She pulled out a pad of paper and began humming a melody and writing lyrics.
“Even though I’ve been doing this since I was 13, I feel like this is the first time that I’m in it and 100% focused,” she admitted. “It’s all working for me, so I need to work for it.”
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http://www.latimes.com/entertainment...205-story.html
I wonder what remix this is!!!