Has there ever been a singer who has demanded as much attention as the lovely Jhene Aiko? You have your Rihannas, your Beyoncés, your Lana Del Reys and your Lordes, but Jhene has been doing things her own way since the day she emerged onto the music scene. From her acclaimed EP Sail Out, even dating back to her debut mix tape Sailing Souls, Jhene has seemingly been the perfect blend between soul singer and rap feature, and everything in between. In her previous projects, Jhene had attempted to find a voice. Not that she's needed to hearing how great it already is, but in terms of her music, she needed to find herself. Was Souled Out really the answer that she and her fans were looking for?
The Jhene that everyone got to know so fondly was on display early in the opening track "Limbo Limbo Limbo". The deep, metaphorical and somewhat trippy songwriting takes flight with lines like "falling from high buildings till she, was numb from the feeling, really", and continues throughout this track. If there were a song to bump on this album, it's safe to say "Limbo Limbo Limbo" is that track. Hard drum kicks are accompanied by a smooth, yet bumping bass line that round out her voice very well in a different way Jhene fans might not be so used to hearing. Listening to the intro track you don't get a very good feel for what to expect on the rest of this piece of work though.
"W.A.Y.S" is a great return to form for Jhene, the second track falling in line after "Limbo Limbo Limbo". This track is a dedication to her brother Miyagi who passed away from cancer back in 2012, and a reminder to herself to "keep going" as she says throughout the song. The background strings in this song really make it stand out along with the movie theater-like bass line that hits about 25 seconds in. Jhene said in an interview not too long ago that "W.A.Y.S" stands for "why aren't you smiling," which is a tweet that her brother Miyagi sent out not too long before he passed away, and it stands as a phrase that keeps Jhene going to this day.
The lovey dovey Jhene is as alive as ever on this album, with multiple songs that discuss such things as a past love, or her fears of trusting someone in a relationship. The song "Brave" is a message to any guy who happens to be "brave" enough to get in a relationship and go all in with her. The intro guitar in this song creates the type of "I've been crossed too many times before" vibe that Jhene vents through her poetry. The song "It's Cool" sets quite a different tone, however. In this cut she talks about how easy is it for her to fall for someone, or so it seems, and she confirms so in lines like "and I'm not even gonna front, at first I was just tryna fuck, but you have got me so in love." "You Vs. Them" is another dreamy love song that differentiates the time she has to split between the industry and her loved ones, an her discussion on how hard it is to choose between the two.
A very weird thing I felt I had to point out on this album is that 2 of the songs ("Blue Dream" and You Vs. Them") were 2 completely different songs in the past with different beats. Has any other avid Jhene listener noticed this? The song "Blue Dream" has the same lyrics as a previous song of hers titled "My Afternoon Dream" that has a different beat, and the song "You Vs. Them" is a song of the same title and lyrics, but has a completely different beat behind it. Look it up if you don't believe me, I just found this odd. Maybe it came down to a few last minute decisions before the album had to be turned in? Who knows.
Her "Pretty Bird (freestyle)" is a nice touch to round out the album. This song includes a banging beat that sounds like it'd be more for rapping, and she gives it a shot on this one. Her poetry is evident on this song and you can feel what she's saying as opposed to hearing it. I liked the ending featuring Common as well, another great poet who can put things into words very smoothly and almost effortlessly. He does the same on this song as he does Kid Cudi's "In My Dreams" intro on his Man On The Moon: The End Of Day album.
One of the most stand out songs on this album has to be "Promises" featuring Jhene's daughter Namiko and deceased brother Miyagi. Jhene has stated in an interview that this song is dedicated to her daughter for whenever she misses her and wants to hear her voice, and she even goes as far as to put Namiko on the hook the first time around! It's pretty cute to hear her messing around with the microphone at the very end of the song as you hear Namiko say "echo" along with some microphone static. Hearing this song and not being moved by it you have to have a heart of ice. It's as simple as that.
A nice refreshing vibe Jhene gives is on the song "To Love & Die" featuring her group singing mates Cocaine 80s. Her love of Tupac and the west side movement shows on this song near the end: "which side, this side, you should switch sides, on that acting like a bitch side by the way, you need to switch sides right away, we can live forever maybe die today. Love side hate side never in between, that's what we stand for y'all fall for anything, west side west side by the way, live forever for love or you can die today." The message on this song seems to be that you should live by the love, as well as die by the love (I don't know how you do both, seems you'd just end up getting hurt in the end... oh... *has an epiphany*). Jhene is clearly living by the love and it shows in her music.
And that's Jhene Aiko's Souled Out. Jhene has received a lot of criticism for her songs sounding the same or having a lot of the same topics in her songs, and she does have many love stories to tell on this album, but altogether this is not a bad album at all. Top notch production from the best in No I.D., Fisticuffs, Dot Da Genius and Key Wane find a way to mold beats around her voice and give it a feel that is refreshing, yet familiar to Aiko diehards. It was interesting to see her go for less features and more of a personal sound on this one, perhaps in the future she dabbles with more features? Time will only tell, and Jhene will have a lot of it to last in the industry if she can keep making honest music that touches people of all kinds.
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