Jhene Aiko Coachella: Singer Brings Out Drake And Debuts New Song 'Spotless Mind' At Festival [VIDEO]
ARTium / Def Jam artist Jhene Aiko brought out Childish Gambino and hip hop heavyweight Drizzy during her Coachella Festival set in Indio, California. She also performed her new song Spotless Mind backed by waving palm trees and a string quartet.
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Spotless Mind is slated to appear on her upcoming album debut, Souled Out, due this summer. The album follows her EP Sail Out, released November 12, 2013, and her mixtape Sailing Soul(s) released March 28, 2011. The Los Angeles crooner's concept of "sailing soul" came after having a meeting with a record label. She was told that she need to sell herself when she comes into meetings, but decided she would "sail" her soul instead.
And sail out she did. In 2012, Aiko was the opening act for the Life is Good / Black Rage tour headlined by Nas and Lauryn Hill - who Aiko describes as "living legends" in an interview with RapUpTV on December 10, 2012. She is also influenced by Brandy, Beyoncé, India.Arie, John Mayer, Aaliyah, Eminem, Kendrick Lamar, Kid Cudi, Big Sean and Tupac, who is "a big inspiration for me just to stick to who I am and to actually stand for something through music."
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Aiko is a Christian, baptized when she was 16 at the evangelical Pentacostal Foursquare Church. Her music is a soft, sultry blend of gentle pop vocals, hip-hop beats and bold lyrics that Aiko takes much pride in. Listening to all those rappers definitely had an effect on the artist. According to Vibe on September, 2012, Aiko used to listen to 90's hip-hop and learned all the words to The Chronic album at a very early age.
So don't always expect Aiko to float on the breeze, she's got a budding rapper inside named J.Hennessy. "I literally feel, throughout the day, I go through about 12 different personalities in my head," said Aiko on The Boombox on July 16, 2013, "So one of them is J. Hennessy, and she's an aspiring rapper. She still sings, but she's more aggressive. She likes to really talk a lot of s--- and talk about things that a lot of R&B singers don't talk about."
