G2

Growl was the discovery: Pearl Jade locating and nurturing her voice as a solo artist. Its follow-up, G2, turns to the other side. It is a study in vulnerability, an open invitation to experiment across genre, from the dance floor to soul, pop, and whatever lies beyond.

For years, her sound existed in the plural, shaped inside groups, in the act of merging with other voices and building a collective identity. Her first real education in how a record is built came in that setting, during the mentorship of Mary J. Blige; the environment itself, more than any direct tutelage, is what fostered her understanding of the craft. The work she is making now is singular: her own sound, on her own terms. Growl opened that conversation. G2 carries it further than she has gone before, in melody, in songwriting, in the freedom to move between genres. There is play in it, and there is confession. The lyrics ring true; the melodies feel renewed.

She writes and engineers every record herself: the arrangements, the layering, the harmonies. She is a creator who keeps her hands in every aspect of the craft, artist and architect at once. G2 carries a single feature: LA MC Austin Antoine, who appears on “Fall In.”