Ari Lennox is an American R&B singer from Washington, D.C. She is the first female artist to be signed to J. Cole’s record label, Dreamville Records.
She became popular after the release of her first EP, Pho in 2016, she also released her debut studio album in 2019.
Courtney Shanade Salter was born on March 26, 1991, in Washington, D.C. and spent her formative years in the DMV area.
She attended Wilson High School and Duke Ellington School of the Arts. Her stage name was influenced by Mary Lennox, a character in the film adaptation of The Secret Garden.
Full Name: Courtney Shanade Salter
Date of Birth: March 26, 1991
Place of Birth: Washington, D.C., U.S.
Age: 30
Nationality: American
Relationship: N/A
Genre: R&B, Soulneo, Soul
Occupation: Singer-songwriter
Labels: Dreamville, Interscope
Career: Ari Lennox started her career by uploading her songs on the internet in 2009, when she released her debut mixtape, Five Finger Discount, and debut EP, Ariography, in 2013. In 2014, she independently released the single “Bound”.
Ari Lennox later appeared on J. Cole’s song “Change”, and performed as an opening act on the 4 Your Eyez Only Tour during 2017.
On November 13, she then released two more singles called “No One” and “Pedigree”. She then appeared on the Creed II soundtrack with Cole on a track entitled “Shea Butter Baby” on November 16 and was released as a single on February 26, 2019, for her debut album of the same name.
The track was accompanied by a music video on February 20, 2019, and surpassed 3 million views via YouTube within the first week.
Her debut album, Shea Butter Baby was released on May 7, 2019. The second leg of her headlining tour was in Europe, during December 2019. In February 2020, Ari Lennox was placed on BET’s “Future 40” list, which is a list of “40 of the most inspiring and innovative vanguards who are redefining what it means to be unapologetically young, gifted & black”.
She released multiple singles in 2020 including “Bussit”, “Chocolate Pomegranate”, and a cover of “If You Want Me to Stay”, as well as guest appearances and collaborations with Kiana Ledé, Skip Marley, 6lack, and Spillage Village, among others.
Songs:
Shea Butter Baby
Ariography
Pho
Revenge of the Dreamers II
“Backseat”
“Whipped Cream”
“Got Me”
“BMO”
“Bussit”
“Pressure”
Awards:
Grammy Awards: Best Rap Album Revenge of the Dreamers III (Nominated)
Soul Train Music Awards: Album/Mixtape of the Year Shea Butter Baby (Nominated)
NAACP Image Awards: Outstanding New Artist Herself (Nominated)
Outstanding Duo, Group or Collaboration