Elijah Blake Compares New Album To ‘Aaliyah,’ Teases Deluxe Edition With Female R&B Acts
Elijah Blake‘s new album is his most personal work of art thus far, and there’s a reason for that.
The crooner stopped by the VIBE offices in Los Angeles to perform “Sugarwater & Lime” from his latest LP, elijah., and opened up about why this is the first of his albums named after himself.
“I always was inspired by Aaliyah,” the singer-songwriter confessed. “She made her third album self-titled, and I was like, ‘why did she wait so long?’ Most people make their first album self-titled, [but] I saw an interview and she was like, ‘this is the first time she felt like the songs were about her.’ She was indented and her DNA was in the music.”
He felt he did the same with elijah.. “I’m producing on this record. The arrangements are all me. I had so much control. So you’re really getting me and there’s no features and that was very intentional,” Blake explained. “I love features. I love the collaborative effort of co-writes; I love somebody else jumping on the song, but this time I just didn’t want anyone interrupting my conversation with the listener.”
Compared to his previous projects, Blake feels this time he “really honed in on my storytelling.”
“I’ve always been known for my songwriting, but I never really embraced that I’m a storyteller. It kinda was in the way. I always wanted to just sing songs, being a church boy and I felt like when I was signed to Def Jam, it almost worked against me. It’s like,’ is he a songwriter or is he an artist?’”
He likened himself to acts like Lauryn Hill, Prince, and Stevie Wonder, who are all singers and songwriters. Now, Blake is finally embracing both sides of himself. “Of course you’re going to get the church-isms and my layering and my arrangements, but it’s really the story first on this project,” he noted.
Most of the records on elijah. are about love in some capacity.
With “Sugarwater & Lime” though, it’s him holding himself accountable after a bad breakup. “We were trying to make something beautiful, but we didn’t really understand people’s boundaries and their needs and saying, ‘okay, you wanted lemonade, and I tried to make the best lemonade. So my intention and my consideration was there, but all I had was limes.’”
Before departing and giving us a cover of Tamia’s “So Into You” —that’s eerily reminiscent of Childish Gambino’s— Blake teased a deluxe version of elijah. with a desired feature from Jazmine Sullivan and a confirmed duet with Sevyn Streeter.
He noted, “You know how when you tell a story, but then someone else gets to reimagine it for you? That’s what I’m looking forward with the deluxe version.” The release date for the extended version has yet to be announced.