''Drive'' is the first

extended play An extended play record, usually referred to as an EP, is a musical recording that contains more tracks than a single but fewer than an album or LP record.

(EP) by American recording artist

Amerie Amerie Mi Marie Nicholson ( Rogers; born January 12, 1980) is an American singer. Born in Fitchburg, Massachusetts, she gained an appreciation of the classical arts from her mother Mi Suk Rogers and of music from her father Charles Rogers, and ...

. It was released for

online streaming Streaming media is multimedia that is delivered and consumed in a continuous manner from a source, with little or no intermediate storage in network elements. ''Streaming'' refers to the delivery method of content, rather than the content it ...

and purchase on May 20, 2016 through her independent recording label Feeniix Rising Entertainment. It contains production by

Mike City Mike City (born Michael Flowers) is an American singer, songwriter and record producer. He is best known for producing the singles "I Wish" for Carl Thomas, " Heard It All Before" for Sunshine Anderson, "Full Moon" for Brandy and "One Woman M ...

and Focus..., as well as long-time collaborators The Buchanans and

Rich Harrison Richard Christopher Harrison (born 1979) is an American record producer and songwriter from Washington, D.C., specializing in R&B and hip hop music. The winner of a Grammy Award, Harrison is well known for producing songs such as "Get Right" ...

. Lead single "Out Loud" was released on March 16, 2015. It serves as her first musical release since her fourth studio album, '' In Love & War'' (2009). The EP was recorded during the same time her upcoming studio albums ''Cymatika, Vol. 1'' and ''BILI''. Her following EP was announced for July 2016, however, nothing came out from those plans.

Background and release

In July 2011, it was reported that Ameriie was in the studio working on her fifth studio album, titled ''Cymatika Vol. 1''. The EP's title is based on the word ''

cymatics Cymatics (from grc, κῦμα, translit=kyma, translation=wave) is a subset of modal vibrational phenomena. The term was coined by Hans Jenny (1904-1972), a Swiss follower of the philosophical school known as anthroposophy. Typically the surf ...

'', the study of visible sound and vibration. The production lineup consists of Riley Urick, The Buchanans, and Andre Harris (of

Dre & Vidal Dre & Vidal is a songwriting and production duo consisting of Andre Harris and Vidal Davis, who are best known as the main producers for Jill Scott and Glenn Lewis. Alumni of DJ Jazzy Jeff's A Touch of Jazz production team, Dre & Vidal were also ...

), amongst others; Ameriie said that she may reunite with Rich Harrison for the project but that it would be "a matter of when and in what way." ''Cymatika Vol. 1'' will also include special guest appearances from Drunken Tiger's

Tiger JK Seo Jung-kwon, Hangul: 서정권, Hanja: 徐廷權, also known as Tiger JK (born July 29, 1974) is a Korean-American rapper, record producer and entrepreneur best known as a founding member of Korean hip hop group Drunken Tiger. He has also foun ...

and

Tasha Reid Natasha Shanta Reid (born May 31, 1981), better known by her Korean name Yoon Mi-rae (), often stylized as ''Yoonmirae'', is an American-born South Korean-based solo rapper, singer, songwriter, and producer, who is also a member of Korean hip ho ...

. According to the singer, ''Cymatika'' will explore freedom,

androgyny Androgyny is the possession of both masculine and feminine characteristics. Androgyny may be expressed with regard to biological sex, gender identity, or gender expression. When ''androgyny'' refers to mixed biological sex characteristics in ...

, and the new world order, and is influenced by

trance Trance is a state of semi-consciousness in which a person is not self-aware and is either altogether unresponsive to external stimuli (but nevertheless capable of pursuing and realizing an aim) or is selectively responsive in following the dir ...

electronica Electronica is both a broad group of electronic-based music styles intended for listening rather than strictly for dancing and a music scene that started in the early 1990s in the United Kingdom. In the United States, the term is mostly used to r ...

house A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condi ...

, and new wave. Second and third volumes of ''Cymatika'' are planned. In 2012, Ameriie announced a forthcoming 'mini-LP' titled ''The Prelude''; subsequently, in 2013, she stated that she had been working on a new project, ''Because I Love It Vol. II'', a follow-up to her 2007 album. Ameriie said that this album, now titled ''BILI'', stemmed from songs that did not fit sonically or thematically onto ''Cymatika''—"songs that are heavy in percussion, but have a very aggressive, soulful element to them. They don't exist in any one time, or sound of the moment." ''BILI'' and ''Cymatika'' are both slated for release in 2015. A single, "What I Want" (which samples "

Apache The Apache () are a group of culturally related Native American tribes in the Southwestern United States, which include the Chiricahua, Jicarilla, Lipan, Mescalero, Mimbreño, Ndendahe (Bedonkohe or Mogollon and Nednhi or Carrizaleño an ...

" by

Incredible Bongo Band The Incredible Bongo Band, also known as Michael Viner's Incredible Bongo Band, was a project started in 1972 by Michael Viner, a record artist manager and executive at MGM Records. Viner was called on to supplement the soundtrack to the B-film ' ...

), was released from ''BILI'' in 2014. Later in the year, Ameriie premiered the track "Mustang" and announced a UK tour for March 2015. In March 2015, Ameriie collaborated with long-time friend and producer Rich Harrison on a single, "Out Loud". She promoted the song through live performances and made it available on

SoundCloud SoundCloud is an online audio distribution platform and music sharing website that enables its users to upload, promote, and share audio. Founded in 2007 by Alexander Ljung and Eric Wahlforss, SoundCloud is one of the largest music streaming se ...

and

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

. In May 2016, she appeared on The Breakfast Club and announced an EP titled ''Drive'' set for release on May 20, a second untitled EP due in July, and that she was still at work on her ''Cymatika'' album trilogy.

Title and artwork

The artwork features a photo taken from a car. Ameriie stated on an interview that the EP is titled ''Drive'' because it's "music that you can put in your car and drive to". It shows a road with fog and nature around it. It also shows Amerie's name on the bottom right (stylized as ''AMERIIE'').

Track listing

Sample credits *"Every Time" - contains a sample of "

You Don't Have to Say You Love Me "You Don't Have to Say You Love Me" (originally a 1965 Italian song, '"Io che non vivo (senza te)", by Pino Donaggio and Vito Pallavicini) is a 1966 hit recorded by English singer Dusty Springfield that proved to be her most successful single, re ...

" by

The Floaters The Floaters were an American R&B vocal group, from the Sojourner Truth housing projects in Detroit, Michigan, that formed in 1976. The group are best known for their 1977 song " Float On", which reached No. 2 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, No ...

Personnel

*Ameriie – primary artist (all tracks) * Fabulous – featured artist (track 1) * Focus... – producer (track 1) * The Buchanans – producer (track 2, 3 and 5) *

– producer (track 4) *

– producer (track 6)

Release history

References

External links

Official website
{{Amerie Amerie albums 2016 EPs Contemporary R&B EPs Soul EPs Albums produced by Focus... Albums produced by Mike City Albums produced by Rich Harrison