''Pho'' is the debut extended play by American singer

Ari Lennox Courtney Shanade Salter (born March 26, 1991), known professionally as 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 began gaining re ...

. It was released on October 21, 2016 by

Dreamville Records Dreamville Records is an American record label founded by American rapper J. Cole and his manager Ibrahim Hamad. The label is currently distributed through Interscope Records, a unit of Universal Music Group. The roster includes Bas, Ari Lenno ...

and Interscope Records.

Background

The EP was mainly produced by DJ Grumble, with additional production from Felly, Hollywood JB, and Dave James. The only guest appearance in this EP was from Dreamville label-mate,

Cozz Cody Rashad Osagie, (born October 1, 1994), better known by his stage name Cozz, is an American rapper from Los Angeles, California. He is signed to J. Cole's label Dreamville Records and Interscope Records. His debut studio album '' Cozz & Eff ...

, on the song "Backseat".

Singles and promotion

On December 8, 2015, "Backseat" was originally released on the collaborative effort, ''

Revenge of the Dreamers II ''Revenge of the Dreamers II'' is the second compilation album by American record label Dreamville Records and was released on December 8, 2015. The album includes contributions by Dreamville artists, J. Cole, Bas, Cozz, Omen, Lute, and Ari L ...

'', as promotion for Ari Lennox's debut release. The music video for "Backseat" was released on October 14, 2016. The music video for "GOAT" was uploaded to Ari's

Vevo Vevo ( , an abbreviation for "Video Evolution", stylized as VEVO until 2013) is an American multinational video hosting service, best known for providing music videos to YouTube. The service is also available as an app on selected smart TVs, ...

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and 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 Google, and is the second mo ...

on November 13, 2017.

Critical reception

Stereo Champions gave the extended play a 9 out of 10 saying "Overall, this is a great EP, definitely one I’ll hold on to forever as it’s definitely some of her best work. I’m sure this year will also yield big results for Ms. Lennox as she’s just getting started. Hopefully, if she’s reading this she knows we appreciate her music and Washington, DC is watching and cheering her on all the way to the top."

Track listing

Sample credits * "Backseat" samples "Come Make Love to Me" by

Jeanie Tracy Jeanie Tracy is an American singer-songwriter, actress, and record producer. She rose to fame in the late 1970s as a background singer of Sylvester, an American disco singer. Her first album, '' Me and You'' (1982), featured post-disco hits "I'm ...

. * "Night Drive" samples "You Light Up My Life" by Jean Carne. * "Cold Outside" samples "Life Moves On" by

Rodney Franklin Rodney Franklin (born September 16, 1958) is an American jazz pianist and composer. Biography Franklin was born in Berkeley, California, Berkeley, California in September, 1958. In 1964, aged six, he took jazz piano lessons at the Washington El ...

. * "Backwood" samples "Whole Lot of Love" by Heaven and Earth. * "GOAT" samples "Beverly Hills" by Steve Gray.

References

{{Ari Lennox Dreamville Records albums 2016 debut EPs