''Crown'' (stylized in

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) is the second studio album by rapper and entertainer Aja, released independently on May 21, 2021.

Background and release

''Crown'' follows the 2019 release of her debut studio album ''

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'', as well as her collaborative

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-themed extended play with rapper and producer Shilow, '' Nail in the Coffin''. The album draws from her heritage and spiritual Lukumi faith and is also inspired by her experience in the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

which she says allowed them to "re-evaluate myself, my life, my story and how I want to deliver that". Aja has said that the more vulnerable moments on the album were inspired by

Billie Eilish Billie Eilish Pirate Baird O'Connell ( ; born December 18, 2001) is an American singer-songwriter. She first gained public attention in 2015 with her debut single " Ocean Eyes", written and produced by her brother Finneas O'Connell, with whom ...

's discussion of mental health struggles on the song "

Everything I Wanted "Everything I Wanted" (stylized in all lowercase) is a song by American singer and songwriter Billie Eilish, and co-written by Eilish and her brother Finneas O'Connell, who also produced it. Darkroom and Interscope Records released the track ...

". She said that each song was inspired by a specific orisha, or deity, and used "drums, cowbells" and "songs in the traditional tongue of the Lukumi faith" to construct them before they were sent to producers to craft the album's interludes. She also said that she wanted to separate herself from other ''

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'' alumna in order to "not just perform the art, but be the art" and break from the "template for what people expect" from the show's former contestants. The 47-minute, twenty-track album was released in May 2021 following the release of three singles (alongside their associated interludes) over a span of two months.

Track listing

References

2021 albums Aja (entertainer) albums {{2020s-album-stub