Vacancy

Noting that she felt manipulated, played with, and under-promoted, Ari Lennox made public her dissatisfaction with Dreamville and the labels distributor, Interscope, shortly after the October 2024 release of "Smoke." Six months later, it was announced that the singer/songwriter had left Dreamville and worked out a new deal with Interscope. Other than an album drought that lasted a little longer than the one between Shea Butter Baby and Age/Sex/Location, the move is transparent on Lennoxs third full-length, Vacancy. The set was executive produced by Elite, a longtime Dreamville comrade who served the same role on the first two albums, and it sees Lennox and over a couple dozen additional producers making eminently soulful and sinewy contemporary R&B with a handful of pop and lovers rock flourishes. Elite and other returning studio associates arent the only links to Lennoxs past work. "Vacancy" itself (another collaboration with legends Jermaine Dupri and Bryan-Michael Cox) can be heard as a sequel to debut highlight "New Apartment," what with Lennox graciously hosting a love interest she sees as a prospective handyman slash body mechanic. Its an ace slow jam, as are many of the equally flavorful and coquettish songs that surround it -- the slinking "Mobbin in DC," the doo-wop-tinged "Under the Moon," the weightless "Dreaming," and so forth. "Pretzel," sparest of all, drips with sensuality and some of Lennoxs most ribald wordplay. All of the standouts are both of a piece with Lennoxs catalog and distinctive. The same goes for the material that isnt entirely loved up. The prancing "Horoscope" could have fallen flat with its zodiac theme, but its another fine ballad and is full of quotables: "I had Taurus ghosting me/For five days, I couldnt sleep/Took his EBT for groceries/Oh I bet hell call me now"; "That boy put the ho in horoscope." "Wake Up," where she confronts a cheater, contains what must be the most elegantly sung "muthafucka" (in a verse that starts her instruction to "Make your bed six feet under"). The more pop-flavored moments, none of which seem like concessions, are best when they have a hint of prime Mariah Carey ("High Key," "Soft Girl Era"). Heres hoping that Interscope supports Lennox like the superlative writer and vocalist that she is. ~ Andy Kellman