Jhené Aiko returns with her new full-length album, Chilombo. Titled after her last name, the album celebrates the LA singer coming into her own personal power. “‘Chilombo’ is a word that means ‘wild beast’ – they’re strong, confident and graceful,” she says. “Beasts are also beautiful.”
In addition to the singles “Triggered (freestyle)” and “P*$$y Fairy (OTW),” the 20-track set includes appearances from Big Sean (“None of Your Concern”), H.E.R., John Legend, Ab-Soul, Ty Dolla $ign, and her father, Dr. Chill. Future and Miguel join the L.A. songstress on “Happiness Over Everything (H.O.E.),” while Nas guests on “10k Hours.”
When speaking to Billboard about the project, Aiko notes “I’m still in transition, but I’m still me.” She continues:
I still love to write all types of songs and listen to all types of music, but Chilombo definitely has a lot more acoustic instruments because I wanted it to be music that you can feel. You can hear what the mic was picking up in the room. Everyone was playing actual instruments, [and] those resonate with you differently than digital. Chilombo is all of my projects that I put out prior to this combined. This is the baby — but it’s the evolved version.
You can listen to Chilombo below. Aiko will embark on The Magic Hour Tour alongside Queen Naija and Ann Marie on May 1 in Boston.