Lalah Hathaway is a national treasure, much like her father Donny Hathaway. For almost 35 years, the second-generation superstar has entertained and enthralled us with music that’s the perfect brew of soul, R&B and jazz and as invigorating as a morning mug of coffee yet as relaxing as an evening cup of tea. Now, the woman who brought us classic albums like her eponymous debut Lalah Hathaway and Self Portrait, is entering her next era with the announcement that her eighth album VANTABLACK is on the horizon. Due for release in June, Lalah gives fans an introduction to the project with its official lead single “So In Love.”
As the title suggests, Hathaway is all heart eyes and butterflies on “So In Love.” She’s loud and proud as she proclaims how her loved one makes her feel. Lalah paints a vivid vision of love with her lyrics.
“It’s like the sun in my eyes / Blinding, love so satisfying / Carry me right up to the clouds / Ooh, just tell me how you do what you do / You got me, you got me running to you,” she sings in her liquid gold tone on the first verse. She continues pouring out sweet sentiments in the next verse, singing, “I ain’t never, no never been in love quite like this before / Now my heart is an open door / There ain’t nobody that makes me feel this way / I’m digging you more and more each and every day.”
This may be a love song, but it’s no slow jam. Lalah wants you and your boo to get your groove on to the smooth two-step-ready and body roll-worthy track prominently featuring percussion, bass and horns. Co-written and co-produced by Hathaway and Phil Beaudreau, the pair originally had plans to pitch the song to other artists. However, they fell in love with it, and Lalah decided to keep this hit for herself. “‘So In Love’ has such a vibe and like a lot of the work I do, it explores some of the more non-traditional ideas about love and self-love,” she stated about the song in a press release.
“So In Love” is one of 16 songs that will find a home on Lalah Hathaway’s new album VANTABLACK. Included on the set will be her previously released love letter to Chicago, “The Energy.” She’ll also welcome a host of exciting collaborators to join her on the LP, including Michael McDonald, Gerald Albright, MC Lyte, Common, Rapsody, Phonte and WILLOW.
VANTABLACK will be released on Lalah’s label imprint Hathaway Entertainment in association with SRG-ILS Group (Virgin Music Group). The collection will drop on Friday, June 14th amid Black Music Month, which was an inspired choice given the album’s title. The word “Vantablack” describes a super-black coating that is widely considered the world’s darkest material.
“VANTABLACK was always the name of the project. The word itself has so much weight on it,” Lalah shared about the title. “At the time, what I thought were conflicting perspectives actually began to shape the concept of not only this album but also how I saw myself. I started reframing how I saw color, in terms of being the blackest I’ve ever been, and even though I’m steeped in who I am, it doesn’t exclude the other things that make up the sum of me. Similar to how all the music around me informs the black music that I create.”
Excited and intrigued yet about what’s to come from our beloved Lalah Hathaway? You absolutely should be! Fall in love with “So In Love” when you listen to it right here. Also below is the cover art and tracklist for VANTABLACK. Stay tuned for much more from Lalah who is premiering the music video for the single later this week and dropping additional singles every other week until the album’s June 14th release.
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Lalah Hathaway VANTABLACK tracklist:
1. BLACK. feat. Rapsody & Common
2. No Lie feat. Michael McDonald
3. Mood For You feat. MC Lyte
4. You Don’t Know feat. Phonte
5. Vantablack
6. Returning
7. So In Love
8. I AM
9. The Machine
10. Myth Of Being
11. Higher
12. The Energy
13. #BITMFW
14. Clearly
15. Lower feat. Gerald Albright
16. Tunnels feat. WILLOW
