GoneTrending

Jordyn Simone wants to tell both sides of the story. That’s the goal with her new EP Remember When. The six-track EP is the official debut for the Los Angeles-based singer who first saw the spotlight following an appearance on The Voice back in 2019. Next came performances at SXSW as well as Live Nation Urban’s Black History Showcase, Rhythm & Vibes, and more. Six years after her appearance on The Voice, Simone is making her arrival known with Remember When.

The six-track projects features a male collaborator on each track. Singers Dende, Lekan, Phabo, Reggie Becton, TA Thomas, and Joseph Solomon — who are rising in the R&B world — stand beside Simone on records to offer a male perspective to the moments in romance that she sings of. In the end, Remember When offers a balanced look into love, lust, and loyalty.

Together with the release of Remember When, we spoke to Jordyn Simone as a part of our weekly Uproxx Music 20 series to learn more about her influences, inspirations, and aspirations.

• Qing Madi Settles Into Spiritual Solitude On The Radiant ‘I Am The Blueprint’
• Pa Salieu’s ‘Afrikan Alien’ Is Driven By Intention And Fueled By Heritage
• Winny Finds The Beauty In Fleeting Moments Of Love On The Sizzling ‘Commercial Break’
• Hurricane Wisdom Is On His Way To Becoming Rap’s Next Breakout Act
• Raiche Breaks Free And Runs Wild On The Resilient ‘Making Room’

What is your earliest memory of music?

I’ll never forget my earliest memory of music! I was singing my first solo in church and the cable fell out of the microphone — I was mortified, BUT my dad ran from the back of the church to reattach it so I could continue my performance. A moment of childhood embarrassment turned into a lesson of perseverance that I’ll always hold close to my heart.

Who or what inspired you to take music seriously?

My dad is a phenomenal gospel vocalist and I grew up going to every church service, choir rehearsal, and revival with him. It started out as me being the biggest daddy’s girl ever but turned into my own passion and calling. Since finding my own voice, I’ve known music is what I was made to do. So I’ve dedicated my life to growing and evolving as a musician from the early age of 10.

Do you know how to play an instrument? If so, which one? If not, which instrument do you want to learn how to play?

I took piano classes for 3 years as a child and hated it haha! But now as a singer/songwriter it would be the most helpful thing in the world if I could play. Being able to create music through multiple channels would unlock a new level of creativity that I would love! It’s something I definitely want to pick back up when I have a little more free time.

What was your first job?

I’ve spent my entire life in the arts. It’s all I know and it’s what I am good at, so my first job is rooted in what I do best! I started working at an artist development studio teaching vocal lessons, performance workshops, and songwriting classes. I enjoy spreading knowledge and passion to the next generation of creatives. It gives me an even deeper sense of purpose.

What is your most prized possession?

As cheesy as it sounds, my prized possession is my family. My parents and my sister are the most important thing in the world to me! All my life they have been the driving force of my creativity, supporting every release, performance and opportunity that’s come my way. They’ve
nurtured me as a woman and as a creative. I owe them the world and will give it to them one day.

What is your biggest fear?

I hate elevators! A huge metal box that moves from floor to floor is crazy to me. No vibeeee!

Who is on your music Mt. Rushmore?

Such a great question! Rihanna, Jill Scott, Brandy, and Rodney ‘Darkchild’ Jerkins.

You get 24 hours to yourself to do anything you want, with unlimited resources: What are you doing? And spare no details!

MORNING: Go workout, get a breakfast burrito with chorizo and bacon, take a long shower then go shopping. Then I want to get my hair done (preferably something long and red) — a good lil’ bussdown.

AFTERNOON: Take a FAT nap, wake up, go to the studio (preferably with someone from that Mt. Rushmore up there), make the biggest hit of my career, and take some tequila shots to celebrate!

NIGHT: Dinner with the gworlss, somewhere nice that we have to dress up, order every entrée on the menu to taste, and head to a speakeasy or dive bar with a fire DJ (preferably one that plays R&B, hip-hop, and amapiano only). Dance my heart out with my besties and get free tequila shots for the rest of the night.

Is that too much to ask for????

What are your three most used emojis?

, , and .

What’s a feature you need to secure before you die?

James Fauntleroy. His approach to songwriting is a science that needs to be studied. I have to make a song with him!

If you could appear in a future season of a current TV show, which one would it be and why?

Ohh that’s so hard! I can’t think of a TV show, but a movie popped into my head immediately. I want to be in the sequel of One Of Them Days starring me and my manager Megan. I really feel like we could carry that sequel! Issa, call me.

Which celebrity do you admire or respect for their personality and why?

Keke Palmer. I’m such a huge fan of the multidimensional career she’s had. She’s lived 10 times and she’s only in her 30s. That, on top of her being the funniest, most meme-able person in the world easily makes her my favorite celeb! Her episode on the Steve Harvey Talk Show explaining The Titanic, goes down as one of the funniest interviews of all time.

Share your opinion on something no one could ever change your mind about.

Sweets are better than savory foods and that’s a hill I’m willing to die on.

What is the best song you’ve ever heard in your life and what do you love about it?

A song that makes me feel more alive than any song I’ve ever heard before is “Freakum Dress – Live from The I Am… World Tour“. The amount of times I’ve done lip-syncing live performances in the mirror at 2am to that song has forever altered my brain chemistry. The intersection of rock and R&B is a hidden gem that Beyoncé conquered with that arrangement and inspires me to push the boundaries more in my music.

What’s your favorite city in the world to perform, and what’s a city you’re excited to perform in for the first time?

I’ve only performed in a handful of cities. There are so many more for me to experience before I can accurately answer this question but the city I’m most excited to perform in is South Africa. 1. Because I’ve engaged with so many amazing South African followers online that really connect with my music and 2. Because I love Amapiano more than anything

You are throwing a music festival. Give us the dream lineup of 5 artists that will perform with you and the location where it would be held.

The festival would be somewhere in Africa, either South Africa, Nigeria, or Ghana and the lineup would consist of all my favorite new age R&B artists. The focus would be bringing R&B to Africa. FLO, Leon Thomas, Joyce Wrice, Elmiene, and Dylan Sinclair.

What would you be doing now if it weren’t for music?

I’d be an actor or a TV host. God didn’t give me this crazy personality for nothing.

If you could see five years into the future or go five years into the past, which one would you pick and why?

Future! I’m working so hard for my future self. Setting the building blocks for what I want my future to look like. I would love to see how that hard work and sacrifice comes to fruition.

What’s one piece of advice you’d go back in time to give to your 18-year-old self?

You’re not asking for too much. You’re asking the wrong people. Find your people and love on them.

It’s 2050. The world hasn’t ended, and people are still listening to your music. How would you like it to be remembered?

I want my legacy to transcend music. I want to be involved in all facets of entertainment and grow from an artist to a creative pioneer. I want a multidimensional career. I want people to know that I took every risk I possibly could and hopefully inspire them to do the same in their lives.

Remember When is out now via Boom.Records. Find out more information here.

More than a month has passed since the Landman season finale, which was actually the most recent time that a new episode of a Taylor Sheridan show streamed or aired. This year will, however, bring The Madison to continue the Yellowstone saga, and at some point, more news about the in-development Beth and Rip spin off should materialize to keep the Dutton leg of the story going. First, however, Paramount+ will finish the prequel side of Yellowstone with 1923‘s second and final season.

In addition to Harrison Ford and Helen Mirren (as Jacob and Cara Dutton), this series co-stars Landman‘s Michelle Randolph as Elizabeth Strafford, who will be armed this season along with both Jacob and Cara as the ranch is under siege. That’s a familiar refrain in Yellowstone territory, and promotional material has emphasized Jacob’s revelation that “[o]ur way of life is under attack.” This season, Brandon Sklenar’s Spencer will be making his way back to the fam, and new cast members include Jennifer Carpenter, Augustus Prew as Paul, and Janet Montgomery. A pressing question also awaits.

When Will Taylor Sheridan’s 1923 Season 2 Come Out?

Sunday, February 23. Paramount+ recently provided an updated synopsis:

In the second season of ‘1923,’ a cruel winter brings new challenges and unfinished business to Jacob (Ford) and Cara (Mirren) back at Dutton ranch. With harsh conditions and adversaries threatening to end the Dutton legacy, Spencer (Sklenar) embarks on an arduous journey home, racing against time to save his family in Montana. Meanwhile, Alexandra (Schlaepfer) sets off on her own harrowing trans-Atlantic journey to find Spencer and reclaim their love.

The Sheridrought has will soon be over, and the final rodeo will begin.

NBA All-Star Weekend always features a number of musical performances, both at the events themselves and at various parties and concerts throughout the host city. This year in San Francisco, the NBA has tapped Noah Kahan, Zedd, and The Chainsmokers for a three-night concert series at Pier 48, while TNT and American Express have Chance the Rapper performing at their Road Show (also at Pier 48) on Thursday night.

As for performances at the events themselves, we’re still waiting on the official lineup for the usual performance at halftime of the All-Star Game — which figures this year to be a performance between the first two games of the new mini-tournament and the final. However, on Friday we did learn one performer that will take the stage at the Chase Center, as GELO (aka LiAngelo Ball) will take the stage on Saturday night for his first televised performance, per Shams Charania.

It’s not his first performance at a sporting event, though, and the NBA and LiAngelo will hope it goes better than his appearance at the Commanders-Lions playoff game where his performance of “Tweaker” did not gather rave reviews. Perhaps he will bring out Lil Wayne for the remix of the song (which released this week), which might help his live show to share the stage with a more seasoned performer.

Welcome to SNX DLX, your weekly roundup of the best sneakers to hit the internet. This week is all about metallics, pinks, and reds, so I guess the big sneaker brands decided to bring us Valentine’s Day a whole week early. Or, you know, they want to sell you some shoes that you can give as Valentine’s gifts, so if you have a sneaker lover in your life who you are also romantically intertwined with, well, this is your week!

But this week isn’t just about Valentine’s Day-themed shoes, for you non-romantics out there we also have a new drop of the Adidas Superstar II, Kawhi Leonard’s latest with New Balance, and the debut of the ultra-hyped Jordan 5 Reimagined.

Nike Air Max DN8 Hyper Pink

Price: $190

Futuristic, sleek, and comfort-focused, the Aix Max DN8 is one of Nike’s most advanced tech sneakers in recent memory. See those eight dimples at the midsole? That’s not just purely decorative, those are pressurized Air tubes designed to give feedback with every step, in every direction.

Atop the tech, you’ve got a sculpted upper made of mesh in a simple two-color black and pink design. We like to see Nike taking chances like this!

The Nike Air Max DN8 Hyper Pink is out now for a retail price of $190. Pick up a pair via the Nike SNKRS app or aftermarket sites like GOAT and Flight Club.

Adidas Superstar II Core Black

Price: $100
A classic, advanced! The Adidas Superstar II takes the general shape and look of the legendary Superstar silhouette but gives it some premium advancements like a padded tongue and collar, and textile lining, joining the classic leather upper and a rubber toe box.

It’s a victory lap for one of Adidas greatest contributions to footwear.

The Adidas Superstar II Core Black is set to drop on February 6th at 12:00 AM PST for a retail price of $100. Pick up a pair at Adidas.

Air Max 1 Premium Black and Playful Pink/Playful Pink and University Red

Price: $160 (Premium Black and Playful Pink/ Playful Pink and University Red)

Think of this as a his and her’s drop. Two identical premium takes on the Air Max 1, two radical colorways that gently nudge at Valentine’s Day. Both of these designs were reportedly inspired by ballons, which is a weird source of inspiration, but we can dig it! We like the mylar-like sheen this set has.

If we had to pick one of the two, we think the Black and Playful Pink is the stronger design, but both sneakers look best right next to each other. They are complementing designs, so hopefully you have a partner in crime you can share with.

The Air Max 1 Premium Black and Playful Pink and Playful Pink and University Red is out now for a retail price of $160. Pick up a pair via the Nike SNKRS app.

New Balance Kawhi IV Purple Punch

Price: $159.99

The Kawhi IV Purple Punch exudes ‘90s vacation vibes. When I look at this sneaker, I feel like I’m watching a Hawaii-set special episode of Fresh Prince or Saved By The Bell. This is due in large part to the colorway, which utilizes purple and pink tones over an almost monochromatic upper.

The sneaker features a full synthetic upper with synthetic overlays, an exposed carbon fiber plate, cable loop speed lacing, and Kawhi branding at the heel with a palm tree and birds graphic on the undersole. The sneaker is available in both standard and wide widths.

The New Balance Kawhi IV Purple Punch is set to drop on February 7th at 7:00 AM PST for a retail price of $159.99. Pick up a pair at New Balance.

Nike Air Diamond Turf Black and Metallic Gold

Price: $160
The Air Diamond Turf gives off tough, militaristic vibes, and we’re here for it. The sneaker sports a durable leather upper with a midfoot strap for a locked-in fit and a simple black and gold color scheme.

The colorway is a reference to Deion Sanders’ black sunglasses and gold chain fit from 1989’s Draft Day. It’s a dope look, and without a doubt this sneaker exudes undeniable cool.

The Nike Air Diamond Turf Black and Metallic Gold is set to drop on February 8th at 7:00 AM PST for a retail price of $160. Pick up a pair via the Nike SNKRS app or aftermarket sites like GOAT or Flight Club.

Nike Women’s Air Max Muse Habanero Red and Metallic Silver

Price: $160

The Air Max Muse is the latest addition to the Air Max fam, and while it doesn’t visually recall any of the more legendary members of its lineage, it at least looks futuristic, which should be a requirement for all new Air Max designs.

This week’s drop is a women’s exclusive that sports a shiny finish, a high-arch split midsole design, and a one-tone bright red colorway with metallic silver accents.

The Nike Women’s Air Max Muse Habanero Red and Metallic Silver is set to drop on February 8th at 7:00 AM PST for a retail price of $160. Pick up a pair via the Nike SNKRS app.

Nike Air Jordan 5 Reimagined

Price: $210

The latest addition to Nike’s “Reimagined” Jordan series, the Jordan 5 Reimagined takes the sneaker’s debut — and best — colorway, and gives it the premium treatment. The sneaker features Metallic Silver accents across the midsole, a reflective tongue, reflective heel branding, and translucent mesh side panels, with white laces (an homage to MJ), and a speckled shark-tooth midsole with bump-out construction for a tactile feel.

It’s easily the most hyped and best looking sneaker to drop in 2025 so far. Here is to hoping we get some more reimagined classics as the year goes on!

The Nike Air Jordan 5 Reimagined is set to drop on February 8th at 7:00 AM PST for a retail price of $210. Pick up a pair via the Nike SNKRS app or aftermarket sites like GOAT and Flight Club.

Disclaimer: While all of the products recommended here were chosen independently by our editorial staff, Uproxx may receive payment to direct readers to certain retail vendors who are offering these products for purchase.

In 2024, Anitta was all about the intoxicating sounds of Brazilian funk. The “Double Team” singer paid homage to her home country and sonic roots across the album Funk Generation. Today (February 7), Anitta is making a musical pivot, to reggaeton.

In the wee hours of the morning, Anitta dropped her newest single, “Romeo” (produced by Súbelo NEO), along with it its official video. With the help of director Turbo, Anitta transforms into an armored crusade on a quest to conquer both sides of love’s coin.

As Anitta sings, “Because I got you on my mind / But I want you on my body / I’m making an indecent proposal / In case you want to play Romeo,” she homes in on the intense fiery lust with a romance.

Within the cinematic visual, acknowledges a physical longing can only take a couple but so far. Throughout the video, Anitta inserts displays of moments of vulnerably and emotional security to drive home its importance in health relationships.

This duality is tied back into the song’s thematic inspiration, Romeo And Juliet. Fortunately, for Anitta and all actors involved, no one dies in this video. But, a loss of true love can certainly feel like an intense death.

Watch the “Romeo” video above.

DMV crooner Tommy Richman may have recently insisted that he’s not JUST hip-hop, sparking the ire of some fans, but that hasn’t stopped him from continuing to find inspiration in the tropes of the genre or the regional classics of the past.

His new single, “Actin Up,” takes a similar tack to pivotal Southern ringtone rap songs like Soulja Boy’s “Crank That” and Cadillac Don & J-Money’s 2006 hit “Peanut Butter & Jelly,” borrowing the plinky synth sounds and heavy bass kicks that soundtracked the XXXL tall white tee era. Richman’s due to launch his first-ever headlining tour later this month (for his debut album, Coyote) so “Actin Up” will get its first road test in short order.

Meanwhile, the video, which he released a few hours later, sees Richman posted up outside a gas station with the homies, who dance to the new record during an impromptu late-night get-together. Other familiar-seeming locales tapped throughout the video include the side wall of the club and the patio of the local greasy spoon diner, hitting a trifecta of Dirty South rap favorite video shoot locations.

Richman may have fallen into the same trap that his fellow white boy hip-hop-adjacent performers like Justin Bieber and Post Malone have also fallen into, but if he keeps making bangers along this line (and manages to craft his future social media missives more carefully), then like them, he’ll probably be alright.

Watch Tommy Richman’s “Actin Up” video above.

(The above trailer is most decidedly NSFW.)

By now, you are aware that Super Bowl LIX will pit the Kansas City Chiefs against the Philadelphia Eagles, and we have predictions on the game itself and a discussion of the worst halftime shows in Big Game history. Then there are the commercials, which are the reason why non-football-junkies might tune in. Mountain Dew is aiming for the weirdest commercial, but Apple TV+ should have the grossest moment of the broadcast from The Studio.

The Seth Rogen-starring series will make its mark with a trailer that begins with fake movie footage. In short, a zombie apocalypse shows the undead spreading their virus by aiming (for lack of a better term) diarrhea shots at survivors, and a key scene shows Josh Hutcherson getting it right in the face (“I got dooked! Does this mean I’m gonna die?”). In response, fellow survivor Johnny Knoxville knows that his dude is already dead (“We all gotta die sooner or later, buddy. And you’re dying sooner”).

This should go over while viewers are enjoying wings and pizza.

The trailer then flashes to studio execs agonizing over the diarrhea scene being banned, and Rogen insists that the liquified poop is essential to the project’s artistic vision, so it’s going nowhere. From The Studio‘s synopsis:

Seth Rogen stars as Matt Remick, the newly appointed head of embattled Continental Studios. As movies struggle to stay alive and relevant, Matt and his core team of infighting executives battle their insecurities as they wrangle narcissistic artists and craven corporate overlords in the ever-elusive pursuit of making great films. With their power suits masking their never-ending sense of panic, every party, set visit, casting decision, marketing meeting and award show presents them with an opportunity for glittering success or career-ending catastrophe. As someone who eats, sleeps and breathes movies, it’s the job Matt’s been pursuing his whole life, and it may very well destroy him.

The series also stars Kathryn Hahn, Ike Barinholtz, Rebecca Hall, Olivia Wilde, Chase Sui Wonders, Catherine O’Hara, and Brian Cranston.

Apple TV+’s The Studio will debut on March 26.

Lately, it seems like New York City-born Broadway child star-turned-R&B-way-finder Leon Thomas‘ name has been all over the place. Although technically an industry vet through his production work as one-half of the Rascals, Thomas has been receiving more and attention as a solo star, particularly after the release of his latest single, the “sorry-not-sorry” anthem “Mutt.”

Taken from his sophomore album of the same name, the song gave Thomas his first late-night performance, as he dropped by The Late Show with Stephen Colbert Thursday night to play a funky rendition of his newly minted hit. The performance, with Thomas playing guitar as he unapologetically cops to his canine instincts, reminds me of another singer who tenor growl launched him suddenly into stardom behind funk-based soulful instrumentation, D’Angelo.

Back in September 2022, Thomas told Uproxx’s Wongo Okon that he was okay waiting on success. However, despite his saying “numbers are beautiful, and we strive for greatness, but I feel like genuinely building a brand… takes time,” it looks like the turnaround on his rise to true superstardom has been faster than expected — and looks almost certain to continue for the foreseeable future.

Watch Leon Thomas’ soul-stirring performance of “Mutt” from The Late Show with Stephen Colbert above.

London singer-songwriter Lola Young is coming off a breakout year thanks to her hit single “Messy” (from her 2024 album This Wasn’t Meant For You Anyway): It reached No. 1 in her native UK and No. 14 in the US, it has about a quarter-billion streams on Spotify, and it became a viral smash on TikTok. (She also featured on Tyler The Creator’s “Like Him” from Chromakopia last year.)

It remains to be seen exactly how Young will ride this wave in 2025, but busting out a top-shelf Arctic Monkeys cover isn’t a bad start. Young, accompanied by just a keyboard player, sang “I Wanna Be Yours” during a session for SiriusXM’s Alt Nation, letting her distinct, powerhouse vocals carry the track.

She also performed a couple of her own songs: “Conceited” and “Messy.”

In a 2024 interview, Young said an Arctic Monkeys album was an unintentional sonic influence on This Wasn’t Meant For You Anyway, saying, “To be fair, I think sonically, AM by Arctic Monkeys was actually one, but it didn’t come intentionally. I feel like when you do that, music’s not made very well. In my personal experience, don’t bring in a reference, just create and wait until something magic happens.”

Check out Young’s performances above.

Chase Shakur’s rise to fame came through his take on nostalgic R&B built from the sounds of the ’90s. Both serve as the foundation for the sonics of his first two EPs, It’ll Be Fine and It’s Not You, It’s Me released in 2022 and 2023, respectively. After a full year without a project, the Atlanta singer is back, but things are a bit different this time around. Today, Shakur released his debut album Wonderlove where — for the most part — he abandons the nostalgic R&B that fans came to know him for and swaps it with a futuristic sound that appropriately adds a new layer to his promising future.

Wonderlove is sleek and shiny as a new debut album should be. Through its sixteen songs which feature Smino, Rimon, and TyFontaine, Shakur imagines a love that soars through its highs and works through its lows to return to previous heights. In an interview with Uproxx, the Atlanta singer says the album is filled with songs that capture the “different things that you live through with a person that really shape your art [and] you as a person.” The love story on Wonderlove is so moving that it even helped Shakur realize the qualities he desires in a partner, hoping to one day be in a situation like the one he sings of on his debut.

In conversation with Shakur, we dove into the true meaning of Wonderlove, his goals for his growing R&B sound, his impenetrable optimism, and a spiritual journey that just got underway.

What does the word Wonderlove mean to you?

So I came up with the title because I was listening to a lot of older music and sh*t. We got that one family picture, like in black households, there’s this picture of my grandma and my grandpa and I was damn, I want to make an album about a love inspired by that. I wanted to make something that really wasn’t real, so I tied in the whole wonder and love thing. I wanted to represent love in its most pure form — sonically, lyrically, vocally, everything.

This album is filled with love songs like “Limerence,” “Focus On Me,” “Want U,” and “Luv Language.” How does the man who once said relationships weren’t his priority during the ‘It’s Not You, It’s Me’ era get here to create these songs for Wonderlove?

I think it’s more so the idea of it. The idea of me trusting myself to give myself to somebody 100%. Kind of how you see in today’s society, but I think dating for artists is a little different, since we have a lot of different factors against the relationship sh*t to make the sh*t hella complicated. I always wanted to toy with the idea of being obsessed with somebody. It was weird because I was learning as I was making the album, so at the end as I’m finishing up, I’m learning like maybe this is what matters, this is what doesn’t matter, [and] this is where my values should lie when it comes to love. It was kind of like the album’s teaching me how to maneuver through those emotions.

On this album, who are you singing to or what woman are you singing about? Doesn’t have to be someone specific, but what qualities does she have that have you so enamored?

She’s a polar opposite of me. The person that I was talking about, she’s real bubbly like sunshine, [an] extroverted type of person. It’s like [that] saying that girls would say, “Yeah, you low-key, but I’m crazy, so we work.” So it’s like that.

What would you say drew you into the dance, uptempo, and groovy sound that you have on several songs on the album?

With this project, I wanted to showcase what I could do, like everything. I didn’t want to just stay boxed into 90s or nostalgic sound. I think what I’m trying to do is a little bit deeper than that. Making this sh*t, I was just testing sh*t out in LA. We were living in LA for like two months and, yeah, just real trial and error and real studying. I was studying a lot of Stevie [Wonder], a lot of different genres, [and] just trying to make it like a cohesive, fun experience. I didn’t want it to be a slow drag.

What boundaries did you hope to push, both for yourself and R&B as a whole, through creating Wonderlove?

I wanted to make something that didn’t have to be real. [Its] world doesn’t have to be real, it can be like whatever you want it to be. I think what I wanted to show is that I can build a world, you can feel the world, you can connect to it, and it can feel like your world too. I just wanted it to feel like it’s ours. I think I just wanted to prove to myself that I could do that.

Talk to me about the ending of this album and the hidden track at the end of “A Song For Her.” I thought we were about to get a full album of pure love songs and it seems like things take a turn for the worse. What does that piece mean for the full message of the album?

I wouldn’t say it takes a turn, but it’s kind of like a loop, almost. In relationships, you go through it right, and at the end, you’re always left with the question, “Do I leave or do we start over?” In this story, we decided to start over at the end. This time, it’s without all the extraness. I did it like a loop because it loops you back into the feeling of “Limerence.”

I’ve found you to be an extremely optimistic person. Why do you think that is, and how are you able to maintain that optimism?

I just don’t see myself doing anything else. I don’t believe I got all the way here for no reason. I’m a firm believer in God. Bro, it was like 2019/2020, I was walking around like I was already here. I’m big on manifestation and [the] Law Of Attraction, too. I just move around like there’s no plan b’s at all. I can’t see myself being anything other than a Black artist.

How did pre-success moments like hustling and working at UPS help and push you to make it? Now that you’re long removed from those moments, how do you view that era?

I was in a space where I was really trying to figure it out. Before It’ll Be Fine, I was working three jobs, and I was going to school at the same time and, yeah bro, I hated that sh*t, bro. I was in a car accident a month before the first song kind of blew up, and I was crawling out the passenger seat of my sh*t — it was wild times. N****s could write a biopic about the sh*t but yeah, just being 16 and going through my teenage years [and] working all these damn jobs, I was like, “Yo, I really need to change my life.” I didn’t want to be 25 and still be working a job and all this other sh*t. I was just not taking “no” for an answer, honestly. I had to do whatever I had to do to get photoshoots, if that meant I had to sign to some modeling agency, I would do that — anything to make my ends meet for my art is what I was going to do. I wasn’t gonna let nothing stop me, and I’m still like that.

This year marks 10 years of you pursuing music. How does it feel or how special is it that you can celebrate this anniversary with an album like Wonderlove?

That sh*t’s kind of crazy, now that you say that sh*t out loud. You know when you say some sh*t out loud, and it sounds crazy? But I was telling somebody, “Yo, I’m about to be like 10 years doing this sh*t,” and it doesn’t feel like I’ve been doing it that long because it really feels like three almost just because [of] what has transpired? I do music like I breathe, I don’t really think to be like, “Okay, I started here, let me go here,” but, yeah, man, everything’s just been a blessing and a lesson. It’s actually kind of wild bro thinking about all this sh*t. I was talking to my producer, they were like, “Bro, you’ve done great projects back to back, and you ain’t been on vacation, nothing?” Like nah man, I’m gonna do it after this one! It’s really just a blessing, to go from when I was 16? I didn’t see any of this happening, I was selling mixtapes at gas stations, but yeah, I’m excited about everything.

We’re some weeks removed from the start of the new year, so what’s something you’d love to accomplish this year?

I started a spiritual journey, so I’m on my journey to be a better artist all around. So, just creating more and living in that. That’s my resolution.

Wonderlove is out now via Def Jam. Find out more information here.