“I think that for this project and for these songs, I made it a priority to take care of myself first,” 6LACK tells Apple Music. “And now that I’ve been prioritising that, I just feel inspired in a different way than I was in the past.” Every album 6LACK releases feels like a journal filled with entries about his personal experiences navigating life’s highs, lows and everything in between. The singer-songwriter popped on the scene with his moody 2016 debut, FREE 6LACK, which touched on his shady first record deal and the turmoil and toxicity of past relationships. His vulnerability, honest lyrics and dark, atmospheric beats made him the first artist inducted into Apple Music’s Up Next programme. On his sophomore LP, East Atlanta Love Letter, 6LACK explored the trials and tribulations of his rising fame, relationships and fatherhood, including how it led him to reevaluate his life. His highly anticipated third album, Since I Have a Lover, comes after a long-needed break and finds him in a much better headspace than before. Throughout the album’s 19 tracks, the Atlanta crooner showcases the other side of his heart by embracing love and finding joy (“Since I Have a Lover”, “wunna dem”, “B4L”) while acknowledging the growth and healing he has undergone to appreciate the lover in his life (“Spirited Away”, “Inwood Hill Park”). However, not every song on the project is about his newfound love; 6LACK confesses about his mental health struggles that forced him to seek therapy (“Talk”) and the life lessons he’s learned along the way to where he is now (“Talkback”). 6LACK’s growth is evident not just in lyrics but in sound as well. Since I Have a Lover leaves behind the dark, melodramatic production that listeners have grown to love from him and replaces it with more acoustic guitars and alternative, midtempo beats reflective of his current mindset.