With a mix of elegant vocals, tender honesty and soulful soundscapes, Ari Lennox (born Courtney Shanade Salter) supplies romantic confessionals for the everywoman. Since releasing her 2019 debut album, Shea Butter Baby, the Washington, D.C. native has fused complicated emotions with retro production and subtle sophistication. On that record’s “Facetime”, Lennox cruises over a languid J. Cole beat for an earnest, gleeful meditation on long-distance romance. On “Hoodie”, from her 2022 album age/sex/location, she seeps into meditative funk as she turns romantic symbolism into something flirty and irresistible. Meanwhile, for “Waste My Time”, she actually demands a doomed romance—just as long as it comes with sexual ecstasy. After all, she has time to waste. Classical yet idiosyncratic, Lennox’s vision of R&B is as graceful as it is accessible—the quintessential DNA of modern neo-soul.