Ari Lennox
Ari Lennox is a singer who grew up in Washington, D.C. She holds the distinction of being the first female musician which high-powered rapper J. Cole signed to his label, Dreamville Records.
Ari was formally making music even before being signed as she issued her first EP, “Ariography”, back in 2013 (making it a free-to-listen-to project). She dropped her first extended play under Dreamville, entitled “Pho”, in 2016. And in 2019, her debut studio album, “Shea Butter Baby”, came out. Her single of the same name, which featured J. Cole, has been certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America. During 2019, she was also part of the highly-successful Revenge of the Dreamers III project, which topped the Billboard 200. And in addition to her Dreamville labelmates she has worked alongside numerous artists, including the likes of Rick Ross, Chance the Rapper, En Vogue, 6lack and Skip Marley.
And for the record, Lennox is not actually her birth name. Rather it is Courtney Salter. Originally her stage name was Mary Lennox, a moniker she derived from a 1993 movie entitled “The Secret Garden”. And later she changed the Mary to Ari.
