Courtney Shanade Salter (born March 26, 1991), known professionally as Ari Lennox, is an American R&B singer from NW Washington, D.C. She attended Wilson High School and Duke Ellington School of the Arts. Her stage name was influenced by Mary Lennox, a character in the film adaptation of The Secret Garden.
Four – BMO
“BMO” is a song by American singer Ari Lennox. It garnered over 10M views on it’s official video on YouTube. It was released as the third single from her debut album “Shea Butter Baby” on August 6, 2019. The song was produced by Omen and samples Galt MacDermot’s “Space” (1969), a song that was also sampled in Busta Rhymes’ “Woo Hah!! Got You All in Check” (1996) and Faith Evans’ “I Just Can’t “ (1996). It was certified Gold for RIAA In the United States.
FYI
Did you know She is the first female artist to be signed to J. Cole’s record label, Dreamville Records? Well now you know. She first began gaining recognition after the release of her first EP Pho (2016) on the label. She describes her own voice as “vulnerable but soulful; imperfect but pretty.” Her voice has been compared to Erykah Badu.
Three – Shea Butter Baby
The official music video garnered over 54million views on YouTube.”Shea Butter Baby” featuring J. Cole, was released on February 26, 2019, which first appeared on the Creed II soundtrack on November 16, 2018. Shea Butter Baby was executively produced by Dreamville producer Elite. In addition, the majority of the album was produced by Dreamville’s in-house producers: J. Cole, Elite, Omen, Ron Gilmore, and Christo, among others.
Two – Pressure
“Pressure” is a song by American singer Ari Lennox, released as a single on September 10, 2021, through Dreamville and Interscope Records. The official music video garnered over 31million views on YouTube. It is the lead single from Lennox’s upcoming second studio album age/sex/location, and samples the bass line from Shirley Brown’s 1977 song. It earned Lennox earned her first entries on the Billboard Hot 100 with her single “Pressure”reaching number 66 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart, number 3 R&B/Hip Hop Airplay chart. It was certified Gold for the RIAA in the United States.
Accolades
Ari Lennox was placed on BET’s “Future 40” list, which is a list of “40 of the most inspiring and innovative vanguards who are redefining what it means to be unapologetically young, gifted & black”. Although not received an award, Ari Lennox has been nominated for quite a number of awards.
- Outstanding Female Artist for the NAACP Image Awards
- Outstanding Duo, Group or Collaboration for the song “Shea Butter Baby” with J.Cole for the NAACP Image Awards
- Best Collaboration Performance “Shea Butter Baby” with J. Cole for the Soul Train Music Awards
- Grammy Awards in 2019 for Best Rap Album for Revenge of the Dreamers III
One – Self love
The official Audio garnered over 2M views on YouTube. Ari Lennox was Featured on Dreamville compilation, a collection of artists under Dreamville Records. The song “Self love” is off the album “Revenge of the Dreamers III”(2019), debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 chart and earned Lennox a Grammy Award nomination for Best Rap Album.
