2015 marks five years since Jeremih's last album, three since his his last full-length mixtape and two since the supposed first single of his next album dropped. Time and time again, fans have asked where the new Jeremih album is, only to be rewarded with another false start from Def Jam.
Recently, we've seen a lot of artists claim that they feel "imprisoned" by major label deals, but Jeremih's case is possibly the most unfortunate. Songs have been reworked to be more commercially-friendly, leaked out in unfinished forms, taken down from SoundCloud and YouTube minutes after being posted-- this whole thing is really a mess. The saga of Jeremih's still-unreleased third album is ongoing, and there's really no end in sight at this point.
The best we can do right now is trace the haphazard path of everything we know about the project, thought to be titled Late Nights: The Album, and hope for the best.
April 16, 2013 - "All The Time" is released as a single
Originally included on the dope 2012 tape Late Nights With Jeremih as "Fuck U All The Time," this track was reworked for Jeremih's next commercial release, appearing on Amazon and iTunes as a for-purchase single a few months after it was originally released.
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July 1, 2013 - Diddy named executive producer
In an interview with Rap-Up TV, Jeremih announced that he had hired Sean Combs as his manager, and that Combs would also be executive producing the album, then known as Thumpy Johnson. During the interview, Jeremih added:
"I look forward to a first-quarter release of my album, but believe in the next six, seven months you'll be hearing a lot more form me, whether it's going be my joint or just being on someone else's song... What I make is kinda like drugs for your ears."
May 15, 2014 - "Don't Tell Em" is released as a single
As 2014's first quarter came and went without a trace of a new Jeremih album, we got a new single that ended up being quite the radio smash last summer. Almost 50 million SoundCloud plays later, the song most likely won 'Mih some new fans, but didn't get us any closer to an album.
July 17, 2014 - Jeremih & Shlohmo release the "No More" EP
Although 2014 didn't bring us the Jeremih album, we did get two slick, short free releases. The first of these was the No More EP, produced entirely by Shlohmo. It included another new version of "Fuck U All The Time," which made many believe that the song had been cut from the upcoming album.
August 1, 2014 - Title is changed to "Late Nights: The Album"
Towards the tail end of last summer, Jeremih announced that Bumpy Johnson would now be called Late Nights: The Album, stating:
"The last body of work I put out was Late Nights. I still feel like how I was feeling when I recorded that. I was traveling, up late nights, recording all the time. It just felt like every record was catering to… I imagined if it was a big bed in the club, everybody would be in one big ass orgy off of all the songs [on the LP]. My first two albums I was making sad songs. I don’t feel like that no more. I was in a relationship then. I’m single as hell right now. You’re getting the best of my last single years."
August 4, 2014 - Jeremih releases the "N.O.M.A." (Not On My Album) tape
Just a few days after the name change, Jeremih got some non-album tracks off his chest with another short tape, his second in under a month.
Late Nights: The Album
October 29, 2014 - Cover art & tracklist revealed... JK!
Amazon UK accidentally let Late Nights: The Album's tracklist and artwork slip out into the world, only to have Jeremih come back and disown them.
mih album tracklist leaked last week along wit the wrong date almost done working on the final master new date & album art soon #LateNights
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November 2014 - Album delayed again, Jeremih blames personal issues
Just a few days after putting the kibosh on the Amazon leak, Jeremih spoke on the umpteenth delay, blaming himself for it:
"I blame myself," said the reclusive singer of the failed video shoot for "Don't Tell Em". "I had a video scheduled. I just didn't show up to it because of... I'm not going to point my finger at somebody else at this point."
He also placed some blame on Def Jam:
"[Def Jam] is hesitating and not being on my side," he explained. "I see other artists and how they're supported. It's hard when I'm on a roster with Rihanna, Rick Ross and Kanye West."
January 15, 2015 - "Planes" is the next single released
"Planes" was originally a track featuring Chance The Rapper, but Jeremih's label must've objected to that, because he was replaced with "Mr. Safe Choice" himself, J. Cole, when the song surfaced again. Even in its more commercially viable form though, the song wasn't allowed to slip out uncontested. It first leaked online, and then Jeremih's team hit us up to premiere it, and then even that MP3 was taken down. What gives?
April 6, 2015 - "Tonight Belongs To U!" drops
A few days ago, we got the latest development in the Jeremih saga. "Tonight Belongs To U!" is a much more mainstream-sounding track than "Planes," even without the Flo Rida feature, and thusly, it doesn't seem like Def Jam made any attempt to block it from coming out. Is this what the majority of Late Nights: the Album will sound like? We might have to wait another decade to get that answer.