Heatseeker: Jhené Aiko

We have a sneaking suspicion Jhené Aiko is about to become a main priority for Def Jam. Ostensibly signed to producer No I.D’s imprint Artium, Aiko released the EP Sail Out last month: a breezy, crystalline effort, which features Childish Gambino (Donald Glover) and Kendrick Lamar.

First single Bed Peace – with its Disney-lite production and excellent, stoned bed-in video featuring Glover and Aiko in John and Yoko mode – didn’t break at Australian radio, but has scored over 1.2 million YouTube views. The hypnotic Stay Ready, which features Lamar, is too much of a slow-jam to make much of an impact at Australian radio either, but it acts as a great showcase of Aiko’s laconic vocal qualities – a style which flows effortlessly throughout the entire EP.

Aiko has been bubbling in the musical underground for years. After a number of false starts with former label Epic, she left the label and self-released a mixtape Sailing Soul(s), which featured contributions from Kanye West, Miguel and Drake. The success of this release led to her signing with Artium.

With her appearance on Childish Gambino’s excellent Because The Internet (out today) and Drake’s unstoppable Nothing Was The Same, plus a debut album slated for release in 2014 through Def Jam, Aiko should become a main player in the next six months.