Rating: NNNN
If there’s a right time to release a long-delayed EP, it’s when you’re sky-high, touring the world with Drake. On Sail Out, Jhene Aiko remains on her cloud, delivering 30 minutes of alt-R&B respite from reality, displaying soothing vocals, double-entendre-laden wordplay and a knack for choosing collaborators.
Bed Peace, with Childish Gambino, is a sugary-sweet standout, with Aiko’s shining vocals detailing her ideal day. (Hint: it involves sex, smoking pot and more sex.) On Stay Ready (What A Life), we’re teased with a Kendrick Lamar feature that ends too soon. And Aiko taps Ab-Soul to spit a slow-mo verse that meshes with her hypnotic background vocals on woozy WTH.
On The Worst, Aiko sings about falling for a guy she shouldn’t, complete with a “nothing was the same” shout-out. This couldn’t be in response to Drizzy’s (worst) behaviour, could it?
Top track: Bed Peace, feat. Childish Gambino
