Maps of Music

Chilombo (2020)

Where the lyrics of Chilombo take you, and where it was really made.

Aiko freestyled every song on Hawaii's big island and used singing bowls on each track of the album.

Key places

Recorded on the big island of Hawaii (2020)

Recording site Hawaii — Aiko recorded the album on the big island of Hawaii and freestyled all the songs there. The pin marks the island as a whole. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• Chilombo is the third studio album by American singer Jhené Aiko
• Released March 6, 2020 by ArtClub International, ARTium Recordings, and Def Jam Recordings
• Aiko served as executive producer of the album
• Fisticuffs and Lejkeys, long-time collaborators, produced eighteen of the songs
• Guests include rappers Nas, Ab-Soul, Big Sean and Future, and R&B singers Ty Dolla $ign, John Legend, Miguel and H.E.R.
• Deluxe edition released July 17, 2020, with Kehlani, Mila J, Chris Brown, Snoop Dogg and Wiz Khalifa

Background

• Follows the second studio album Trip (2017) and Aiko's split from rapper Big Sean
• Aiko formed the duo Twenty88 with Big Sean
• Two years after Trip, Aiko announced work on the follow-up
• She said the third album would consist only of freestyles and focus on relationships
• By 2019 she had completed three songs and released the taster 'Wasted Love Freestyle'
• Media speculation linked the album to her breakup with Big Sean

Recording

• Recorded on the big island of Hawaii as a freestyle
• Aiko described the sessions as one free-flowing jam session
• Singing bowls were used on every song to create a calming, tranquil effect
• Aiko first used the bowls at a recording session at her home
• The bowls led her to add more acoustic instruments and keep the process analogue

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · pt.wikipedia.org

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Formation

• Jhené Aiko Efuru Chilombo, born March 16, 1988, in Los Angeles, California.
• Began her career in 2002 as a backing vocalist and music video performer for the R&B group B2K.
• Signed to The Ultimate Group, where she was marketed as the "cousin" of B2K member Lil' Fizz, although they are not related.
• Her debut album planned for 2003 was shelved; she left the labels to continue her education.

Career

• Returned to music in 2011 with the mixtape Sailing Soul(s).
• Signed to No I.D.'s ARTium Recordings, an imprint of Def Jam Recordings, in December 2011.
• Gained mainstream recognition through her guest vocal on Big Sean's 2013 single "Beware", her first Billboard Hot 100 entry.
• Released the EP Sail Out in 2013; "The Worst" received quintuple platinum certification from the RIAA.
• Studio albums Souled Out (2014), Trip (2017) and Chilombo (2020) met with critical and commercial success.
• Chilombo peaked at number two on the Billboard 200 and earned three Grammy nominations, including Album of the Year.
• Founded the imprint Allel Sound with Def Jam in 2022.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• Laura Snapes in The Guardian called the album sexual, spiritual and wildly over-long
• Snapes found the production fairly one-note and the album short on the variety of Trip
• Snapes called the closing reconciliation disappointing after the sharper first half
• Pitchfork's Stephen Kearse wrote that the music too often lacks a pulse
• Kearse said the album gestures at a larger skill set but settles for good vibes
• Critics gave the album generally positive reviews overall

Records

• US Billboard 200: debuted at number two with 152,000 album-equivalent units in its first week
• Aiko's fifth US top-ten album and her highest-charting album in the US
• Same week: also number two on the Billboard 200, with twelve songs on the Hot R&B Songs chart
• UK Albums Chart: debuted at number 13, Aiko's highest-charting album and first top 20 there
• Canada: peaked at number seven, her first top-ten album there
• RIAA: platinum certification on January 11, 2021 for over a million units in the US
• 63rd Annual Grammy Awards: three nominations, Album of the Year, Best Progressive R&B Album, and Best R&B Performance for 'Lightning & Thunder'

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · fr.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• Aiko first used the singing bowls at a home recording session, then used them on every song on the album
• 'Triggered (Freestyle)' was rumoured to be a diss track aimed at Big Sean, which Aiko denied on Twitter
• Physical copies include a shorter version of 'Party for Me' without Ty Dolla Sign
• The title 'Pussy Fairy (OTW)' was inspired by Aiko's relationship with Sean
• 'Happiness Over Everything (H.O.E.)' is an ode to her 2011 song 'Hoe' and references André 3000's 'Where Are My Panties?'

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

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