BELOVED

GIVĒON has been working on his craft these past few years, and the fruits of his labour are resplendent on <i>BELOVED</i>, a love letter to R&B that has the timeless feel of ’70s soul sides while possessing a distinctly 21st-century sensibility. “There’s that element where I’m doing this because it’s in my DNA,” GIVĒON tells Apple Music’s Zane Lowe. “I didn’t choose music. I tell people all the time, ‘I didn’t choose it. It chose me.’ But I care about rhythm and blues. It means a lot to me.” <i>BELOVED</i> starts off in a big way: Surging strings create a high-drama atmosphere that sets the mood for “MUD”, a poison-pen letter to an ex that’s given a cushion by GIVĒON's supple croon and the sonic splendour surrounding it. Not only does the song send a message to the person who did GIVĒON wrong, it lets listeners know that the singer-songwriter has levelled up in the years since his last album, 2022’s <i>Give or Take</i>. “I think I grew as an artist exponentially,” he says. “There’s a leap in my knowing how to articulate what I feel, or what I have a taste for.” On <i>BELOVED</i>, GIVĒON showcases his evolution in a way that’s dazzling without being showy—the longing “I CAN TELL” frames his vulnerable vocals in rhythmic snaps and dry horns, while on the slow-burning “KEEPER” he fully throws himself into his plea to a lover he’s missing. Much of <i>BELOVED</i> came out of GIVĒON and his collaborators jamming in the studio, and its grooves possess the sort of loose yet locked-in feel that characterises the most sublime soul. Despite growing up in Southern California, GIVĒON was raised on East Coast R&B, and he studied records by the likes of Teddy Pendergrass, as well as the productions of Philadelphia soul architects Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff, to get properly inspired for <i>BELOVED</i>. He also got better at fully tuning in to his artistic desires and curiosity. “I know what artist I am,” he says. “I understand my process. I understand how to evolve as well.”