TRIP by Jhene Aiko
- curated by autumn
- Mar 23, 2018
- 4 min read
Artist: Jhene Aiko
Album: TRIP
Genre: R&B
Released: 2017
Jhene Aiko is a R&B songstress with enormous poetic and lyrical stamina which is hard to come by in the genre of rhythm and blues. She definitely stands out as an artist with a voice and mind of her own that is evermore refreshing with each project. She certainly surprised me when she decided to release her second album; she had no promo, no single, nothing. She just put it out, and that was enough for me. Her last project, Souled Out, was almost perfect, and it is a musical composition I hold dearly to my heart; therefore, I was eager. However, when I played this album I was a little put off because, again, she was singing about her journey throughout the passing of her brother Miyagi and her experimentation with controlled substances. Well, I cannot relate to either narratives, and sonnically this project was so different, so it surely had to grow on me, and once it did, I was hooked.
As a whole, TRIP is a concept album that plays like a movie. "LSD" was her proper introduction to an unfolding story; whereas, she asked her brother how he was doing in heaven. She is talking to him and telling him that she met this guy who gave her a tiny piece of paper that she put under her tongue. She knows her brother does not want her to do this, but she believes that drugs will bring her closer to him. Se soo realizes tat oldig o to er pai is daagig er.
"Jukai" sounds like a peaceful letter written to her family. After her brother's passing, Jhene fell into depression. So she needs to escape. Escapism is something I totally relate to, so I appreciate this song. She left her house, she doesn't want her family to come looking for her, and she is now where she wants to be. She found herself among the sea of trees. The interesting thing about this song is that Jukai is a forest in Mount Fuji in Japan, and is also called the Suicide Forest. Jhene's discography has consistently dealt with topics on mental health which is why I love her so much. By the end of this song, she declares that she made it out alive, and so have I.
What is new for Jhene, however, are love songs. "While We're Young" is an authentic portrayal of how she feels with her newest found love with rapper Big Sean. I really like this song and its beat. I think it's dreamy and very heartfelt. "New Balance" is a calm but fierce ballad that I love so much because it's so raw, pure, and vocally amazing. That song just makes you want to fall in love. "Moments" and "Only Lovers Left Alive" both feature Big Sean, but he just sounds lazy and uninterested on his parts of these tracks. Therefore, I don't really feel those songs as much, but TRIP is still twenty-two songs, so the better surely weighs out the lesser.
Sativa is simply a strain of cannabis along with Indica. Jhene tells us why she prefers this one with her song dedicated to her favorite medicine. "Sativa" features Swae Lee, and surprisingly their voices work very well together! It's a trippy song with more energy and bounce than most of the other songs on this project. It works as a contrast to her more lullaby sounding song "Blue Dream" from the Souled Out album that explores that same love for sativa.
Although Jhene explores drugs and loves weed, she also explored being "Overstimulated", and having a "Bad Trip." Doing a lot of drugs, especially when sad, is kind of bound to screw you up at some point. "Overstimulated" is definitely one of my favorite tracks because the beat is so hot, and her lyrics represent BARS, and if you listen to rap then you know what I'm talking about. Her flow on here is dope, and I just like to sing along to it. "Psilocybin" is trippy and very spacey. It's about shrooms and psychedelics. Well, if you didn't know by now, Jhene Aiko is a hippy and I am here for it! She just promotes peace, love, and balance which is why she's my therapy.
Quatables: "Hell is not a place. Hell is not a certain evil, hell is other people, or the lack thereof, and their lack of love"
"Don't play with my love, messing with my hear. That's gonna be tough for you to pull off"
"Yes your mama did, she raised a fool, wow. What the fuck did you learn in that school house?"
"Attention is expensive to pay. I can't get by on minimum wage"
"Crushing the line, cutting the line, crossing the line. Bumps in the night"
"Took it without looking now I'm looking up the side effects. Pill identifier says that I should be dying next. My regrets, oh my regrets"
"Got this Psilocybin in my pocket. I am a healing prophet, seeds of promise in my garden, I need to harvest often"
Favorite Tracks: "Frequency", "Jukai", "Psilocybin","Sativa", "You Are Here", "Overstimulated", "While We're Young", "New Balance"
Support the artist: https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/trip/1287187834
"TRIP" Short Film
"Sativa" ft. Rae Sremmurd
"Never Call Me"
"Never Call Me" Slauson Hills Version
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