Inside Ari Lennox's R&B Suite Life
Following the release of her third studio album, Vacancy, the inimitable Ari Lennox sits down with us to share a piece of her heart. She tells the story of how a young East Coast dreamer bloomed into a GRAMMY-nominated global songstress, spinning gold from soul-soaked sonics interwoven with R&B, and a whole lot of jazz.
Ari Lennox in 2026. Image property of Giselle Hernandez.
Let's start with the voice. A timeless instrument doused in the inspiration of her forebears—carved from the likes of Anita Baker, Erykah Badu and Minnie Riperton, but still so distinctly her own. Next, there's the lyricism. Vivid storytelling that ventures from the profound to the ordinary: the devastation of heartbreak, the insatiable pull of intimacy, the simple joy of dancing naked around your new apartment. And, what about the aura? So pure that it spills over into her art, bringing the music to life. This is Ari Lennox: singular in both talent and spirit.
As I enter the room, Ari's face lights up, mirroring mine. She's sitting on the sofa of our vinyl-adorned interview space at Universal Music's London headquarters. A pair of pointed high heels have been kicked off her feet and set neatly beside her.
During our conversation, Ari Lennox will call me beautiful three times and try to return every compliment I give her. She will tell me, in her uniquely tender voice, how much she loves cows ("they're just so sweet and cute!"), and about her obsession with a specific bubblegum from Wawa gas stations on America's East Coast ("I'm happy to be in London so I can end my addiction while I'm here.")
She will open up about her upbringing, her insecurities, her lessons in love. She'll apologise for getting lost in her meandering thoughts as she gives my questions heartfelt answers. In the 40 minutes that we have together, I will come to know a little piece of Ari Lennox's heart. And I can tell you this—Dreamville's original darling, and the woman beneath that velvety vibrato, is exactly who you hope she would be.
Born and raised in Washington DC, a young Ari was bathed in the sounds of soulful East Coast radio stations that her mother would play. "102.3 and 96.3 in the DC, Maryland area", to be exact. Reminiscing on those days, Ari breaks into song mid-sentence—"Cutie pie, you brighten up my day"—before carrying on. "I would just hear all kinds of songs. The Jackson Five and Minnie Riperton, Deborah Cox, Eric Benét, Luther Vandross, Patti LaBelle..."
The influence of Ari's father added a slightly different flavour to her musical palate. Stealing CDs from his overflowing collection, she absorbed the sounds of Ella Fitzgerald, Billy Holiday and Anita Baker, falling in love with jazz. The list goes on: there's D'Angelo, John Legend, Lauryn Hill, Ciara, Faith Evans, Chrisette Michele and more. "A lot of artists inspire me in different ways and that's why I'm here today."
And when you listen to her music, it's no surprise that Ari's art is woven from such a colourful canvas. Her decadent soundscapes are elevated even more by the agility of her voice. "I've realised that my vocal instrument mimics a horn. I think Erykah Badu has that same thing too, she's definitely like my vocal mom or something. She is legendary and I look up to her."
Before she found her voice, Ari found her pen. At just four years old, she was crafting songs on her grandmother's porch in Charlotte, North Carolina. "Ever since I was little, I was always writing about whatever was going on in my life." Diss tracks were dedicated to family members that pissed her off; songs were written about playing in the arcade during middle school. "My music has always been about whatever I'm going through." And that's the beauty of it: Ari's music chronicles her life, her art tells her story.
“Ever since I was little, I was always writing about whatever was going on in my life. My music has always been about whatever I’m going through.”
The answer to whether Ari always knew she wanted to be a musician is simple: "I couldn't think too much about it, I just had to do it." Even so, she was forced to take the scenic route, building up an eclectic CV. "My parents were like, 'We're not wasting our money on college. We know you ain't trying to do that!'" Instead, she attended bartending school, worked at Whole Foods, Papa John's, Planet Fitness, Uber, and even attended nursing assistant school. "But I knew my heart wasn't in it. My passion was singing. I was driving Ubers to pay for my dreams."
All the while, music was bubbling in the background. She inhaled R&B, soul and jazz music like air, whilst posting covers and original songs on the internet. In 2014, she released her original song "Backseat", which blew up on SoundCloud and changed her trajectory forever. The track caught the attention of none other than J. Cole's label, Dreamville Records, who flew her out to LA. "I'm so grateful for Dreamville 'cause I was so broke! They really gave me hope."
Ari went on to work with Dreamville for six months before Cole finally handed her a contract in 2015, as their first female artist. "It was a beautiful story, you know? And it saved my life. Because music definitely wouldn't have been a reality without Dreamville. There's no way I would've made it this far without them. Cole gave me a chance and it changed my life."
She went on to release her beloved breakthrough project, PHO in 2016—"that was just a whole awakening,"—and supported J. Cole on his 2017 4 Your Eyez Only World Tour. Her groundbreaking debut album, Shea Butter Baby came in 2019; the title track would become her biggest song to date, etching itself into the bedrock of modern-day R&B. Three years later, we were gifted with age/sex/location. And now in 2026, Ari adds another blossom to the colourful garland of her discography, in the form of her third studio album, Vacancy.
Through Vacancy, Ms Lennox weaves stories that place jazz, R&B, soul, Motown, pop and reggae comfortably alongside one another. Take the velvet-toned glory of "Mobbin' in DC" and "Horoscope"; the rich, sultry sonics of "Deep Strokes" and "Pretzel"; the bops of "Vacancy" and "Soft Girl Era" for whom we have Jermaine Dupri to thank. The project is a journey at which Ari stands firmly at the helm.
Despite having visions of several featured artists joining her on this project, things didn't quite go as planned. "For a while I was upset, but once the album dropped, I was like, 'Oh, it was meant to be this way.' I was meant to stand alone and be brave and fearless in my voice, in my records, in my power."
Thus, Vacancy has just one featured artist on the tracklist—Jamaican dancehall icon, Buju Banton, who stepped in to work his magic on Ari's reggae offering, "Company". Reflecting on this collaboration, she muses: "I'm grateful because Buju really showed up and showed out. He was my special one and only. And for him to be as legendary as he is? It's an absolute dream. I feel like God had his hand in that. It was just meant to be that way."
As always, Ari co-wrote every song on the album, giving us a window into her soul. "It really does mirror my love life, my sex life, my intimate life." As our conversation turns to more vulnerable realms, she shares the relatable romantic experiences that inspired much of her pen. The lyrics have their roots in Ari's dating struggles, learning the difference between toxic and safe energy, and realising that surface-level connections would ultimately leave a vacancy in her heart.
"I'm realising that I need something a lot more authentic and it's just been really, really hard... Someone asked me, 'Would you even recognise a secure energy if they came into your life?' ... I grew up with such a chaotic childhood that I'm drawn to chaos. Now, I think I'm in a space where I can really tell the difference. I'm really walking into my healing journey."
And here lies the most compelling aspect of Ari's art—the vulnerability, the truth. Honesty finds a home in her music. "I do find myself having a boundary though. There are things that I'm afraid to tap into, there's still a wall. But I'm ready to bulldoze that wall. Family stuff, jealousy, all kinds of things. Could I really go there? I think I'm ready." So who knows where Ari Lennox is yet to take us?
But above all else, when each passion-soaked project becomes a distant memory, Ari wants to be remembered for her heart. "How do I show up as a friend, a family member, as someone you work with? How can I be better? Because when all of this goes away... I don't wanna be dark, but at my funeral I want somebody to say something nice!" And how could it be otherwise? The tributes will write themselves. Because Ari Lennox is singing the soundtrack of her life and—with lyrics that resonate so widely and so deeply—she's singing many of ours too.
Ari Lennox is headlining London's Jazz Cafe Festival on August 2nd 2026. Sign up for tickets here.