Source: Gabe Ginsberg / Getty
Ari Lennox‘s major-label debut album Shea Butter Baby firmly placed the sultry vocalist in the conversation of one of the best vocalists of her era. However, the music industry can be brutal to artists and the Washington, D.C. songstress took to Twitter to share that she’s leaving the game behind after being snubbed at the 2019 Soul Train Music Awards.
Lennox, 28, caught the attention of some on social media after the conclusion of the annual Soul Train Awards over the weekend, which saw Lizzo‘s Cuz I Love You LP win the Album Of The Year award over Shea Butter Baby, prompting the singer to express disappointment for not winning an award for her efforts.
Lennox’s initial tweets to losing the AOTY honor read as follows:
Shea Butter Baby will always be special. I made a soul album for black people. I made my album for black people lol.
She returned to Twitter Tuesday (November 19) to share more thoughts about the industry and lashed back at those who found the singer’s expression of disappointment worthy of critique.
“You know what I realized? People who genuinely f*ck with me understand my frustration. People who are self hating haters and clearly have never given my music a chance got the biggest problem with me always,” Lennox tweeted. “No one will have to worry about me complaining after this current complaint. Lol what I will not do is ever be this depressed again.”
She added, “It’s not just an award. It wasn’t any award show. It was the soul train awards. As you can see I’m big fan of soul music and huge fan of soul trains history. Being snubbed was something I always expected and was definitely prepared for just not by them.”
As expected, fans of both Lennox and Lizzo have been adding their commentary from the sidelines with some being understanding of Lennox’s position while also supporting Lizzo’s big year and win. However, it was Lennox stating that she’s done with music that turned the most heads.
“I’m not selling out. So I quit,” Lennox tweeted later in the day, adding, “To all those annoyed with me, you got it. I won’t lose my mind over this sh*t. I will save my sanity first.”
It cannot go unsaid that Lizzo deserves recognition for her art, even if, as many have argued today, that her music skews towards pop stylings over the soul bops Lennox produces.
We hope Ari Lennox just steps away for a while and continues giving us dope art either way.
Out of respect for reporting the story fairly, we’re including responses to Lennox’s tweets from all angles below. And before someone says it, we’re aware that Ari never named names.
And if you needed a reminder of how dope Ari is on the vocals, peep the tweet below:
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Photo: Getty