After giving us an insight into what we could expect from the album with the release of Pressure back in 2021, Dreamville’s first lady has demonstrated impressive growth as an R&B songstress. The track, produced by Jermaine Dupri and Bryan-Michael Cox, is a soulful anthem that had myself and other fans hooked in anticipation for the way in which the full length album would unfold. 

age/sex/location as an album exists on an ephemeral plane. The 12-track project comes three years after Ari Lennox’s Shea Butter Baby.  But the album is not a quite thematic sequel to the debut. In an exchange with the head of Dreamville Records, J. Cole, Lennox describes the album as representing a “transitional space. Very vulnerable co-dependent and validation seeking part of my life,” she wrote. “I remember the countless times I was kicked out of dating apps because they didn’t think I was really myself, it reminded me of those age/sex/location days where I actually wasn’t being myself in those chat rooms.”

Combining her buttery-smooth vocals with exquisite storytelling that illustrates a penchant for the neo-soul sound, Lennox’s writing and vocal performance on every track demonstrate her capability to transport listeners into her world ahead of her eat-pray-love era. age/sex/location is an ambitious and succinct album, an honest and sometimes humorous insight into Lennox’s romantic experiences.

Black women in R&B have long since been rewriting the narrative within the genre through the consistent release of unfiltered records about sex, love, and the insecurities at play when moving through stages of healing. The best moments on the project capture Lennox’s playfulness alongside her stark vulnerability.

The album only boasts three guest appearances. Boy Bye features a cheeky tete-a-tete with Lucky Daye, one of the most wholesome R&B singles of the year. Another standout, Leak It, is a slow burning, incredibly sensual duet with Chlöe. Then hers and Summer Walker's velvety vocals pair with steady percussion on the defiant Queen Space. 

Calculated, intimate and thoughtful, age/sex/location is a real cohesive body of work from Lennox. Over the years Ari has not once lost sight of the bespoke lane she has crafted for herself with elegant precision. This project perfectly encapsulates that ‘grown and sexy’ neo-soul sound.