While Jhené Aiko won the hearts of many a man with her notable mix of stunning good looks and undeniable talent, fans have been waiting three years for her follow-up to 2014's Souled Out. Now, the singer has announced her upcoming album will be titled Trip 17, and Def Jam shared a page from her feature in Playboy's next issue. But don't get your hopes up - it's not for what you might be thinking. The feature is set to explore some of Jhené's sources of musical inspirations, along with a few key details on the direction of Trip 17.
Evidently, one of the main themes stems from a literal trip, as Jhene ended up seeking inspiration in the Edenic beauty of Hawaii. On the topic of her vacation of discovery, the singer told Playboy the following: “I’m a bit of an escape artist. I like to take myself out of my element and create. I went to Hawaii by myself and hiked. When you connect with nature, you connect with yourself."
It sounds like the album will be inspired by nature, but it sounds like Aiko is venturing into deeper conceptual territory. In the profile, Aiko tells writer Rebecca Haithcoat that Trip 17 is “inspired by every type of trip you could imagine: mental, physical, even psychedelic. I’m at a point where I put it all in the music. It’s a puzzle I want people to put together.”
The most obvious thing that comes to mind is a drug trip, especially with references to psychedelics. Perhaps Aiko ended up discovering a certain type of mushroom while on some of those Hawaiian wilderness hikes. Whichever way you spin it, Jhené Aiko has proven herself an exciting and talented name in the rnb world. There's no doubt that her trip will prove an exciting one.