2011–2017: Career Beginnings and Pho EP Ari Lennox began uploading her music on the internet in 2009. She released her debut mixtape,
Five Finger Discount, and debut EP,
Ariography, in 2013. In 2014, she independently released the single "Bound". On July 21, 2015, she was featured on
Omen's album
Elephant Eyes on the track "Sweat it Out". Later that year, her music began circulating the
Dreamville Records team, as its founder
J. Cole wanted her to work with him on
references for
Rihanna. She signed with the label in December 2015, and guest performed on their compilation album
Revenge of the Dreamers II that same month—on the track "Backseat" with
Cozz. On October 21, 2016, she released her debut extended play,
Pho. 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.
2018–2020: Shea Butter Baby In 2018, she went on to guest feature on two songs with her label-mates:
EarthGang on "Nothing but the Best", and
Bas on "Icarus". On July 16, 2018, Ari Lennox released the first single, "Whipped Cream", from her debut album,
Shea Butter Baby with an accompanied music video on September 5. On November 9, she released two more singles called "40 Shades of Choke" and "Grampa". On November 13, she then released two more singles called "No One" and "Pedigree". She then appeared on the
Creed II soundtrack with J. Cole on a track entitled "
Shea Butter Baby" on November 16, and 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. In December 2018, she was a supporting act on the, From East Atlanta With Love Tour, with
6LACK. On March 27, 2019, she announced her first headlining tour, with the first leg beginning on May 12 and ending on June 14 in her hometown of
Washington, D.C. Baby Rose and Mikhala Jené supported her on the tour. Her debut studio album,
Shea Butter Baby was released on May 7, 2019. She also supported
Lizzo on the
Cuz I Love You Too Tour from July to October of 2019. 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.
2021–present: Age/Sex/Location, Away Message, and Vacancy On September 10, 2021, Ari Lennox released the single "
Pressure", produced by
Jermaine Dupri and
Bryan-Michael Cox. The song became her first solo charting single on the
Billboard Hot 100, her first Radio No. 1 single, and reached number 3 on
R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay. On March 31, 2022, she appeared on the Dreamville compilation
D-Day: A Gangsta Grillz Mixtape, on the songs "Coming Down" and "Blackberry Sap". On August 12, Ari Lennox released her second single, "Hoodie", and announced the title and release date for her second studio album,
Age/Sex/Location. On August 31, she released the surprise EP
Away Message, including the single "Queen Space" featuring
Summer Walker. On April 24, 2025, Ari Lennox officially left
Dreamville Records after months of conflicts with the label, remaining an
Interscope Records artist. On January 23, 2026, Ari Lennox released her third studio album
Vacancy, her first album since her departure from Dreamville Records. == Artistry ==