KOKOnista Of The Day: Ari Lennox Is Bold, Black And Badass Beautiful

Courtney Salter, known professionally as Ari Lennox, is an American R&B singer-songwriter and a badass beauty.

Courtney Shanade Salter was born on March 26, 1991 in Northern Virginia and spent her formative years in the Washington metropolitan area. Her stage name was influenced by Mary Lennox, a character in the film adaptation of The Secret Garden.
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Ari Lennox began uploading her music on the internet in 2009. She released her debut mixtape, Five Finger Discount, and debut EP, Ariography, in 2013. In 2014, she independently released the single “Bound”.
On July 21, 2015, she was featured on Omen’s album Elephant Eyes on the track “Sweat it Out”. Later that year, her music was circulating around the Dreamville team, as J. Cole wanted her to work with him on some references for Rihanna.


She is the first female artist to be signed to J. Cole’s record label, Dreamville Records. She released her first EP Pho on the label in 2016, when she began gaining recognition. Her debut studio album Shea Butter Baby followed in 2019.

On December 8, it was announced that she was signed to Dreamville Records. She made an appearance on the collaborative album Revenge of the Dreamers II, on the track “Backseat” with Cozz.
On October 21, 2016, she released her debut EP titled Pho. Ari Lennox later appeared on J. Cole’s song “Change”, and performed as an opening act on the 4 Your Eyez Only Tour during 2017.

Photo Credit: Getty

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