After wooing the R&B world with his emphatic debut effort Platinum Fire, Arin Ray looks to shake the genre again with his sophomore album Hello Poison. The 15-track celebration thrives in its decadence: live instrumentation, woozy wordplay, and buttery vocals from Arin. The album features both of the breakout talent’s acclaimed recent singles, the D-Smoke collaboration “The Mood,” praised by Rated R&B for its “infectious chorus” and Ray’s “honeyed vocals…over the silky production,” and “Gold,” which Billboard called “a lush, romantic ode.” The album also finds Arin head-to-head with some of R&B’s preeminent stars, including Ty Dolla $ign (“Nothing’s Forever”), Ari Lennox (“What It Is”), and Blxst (“Bad Idea”). Arin also sneaks in a treat for R&B purists by tapping Brandy on background vocals for his stirring record “Storm.” Listen HERE.
“The Mood” and “Gold” rollouts included stunning music videos for the tracks, with Arin hopping in the director’s chair alongside Whipalo. In “The Mood,” Arin taps into the bedroom jam’s vibe and enjoys a night of escapades with the visual’s leading lady. The passion revs up again for the “Gold” video, in which Arin and his woman crush revel in a sun-drenched private getaway. Check out the clip for “The Mood” HERE and “Gold” HERE. In addition, Arin takes a substantial leap on the production front, co-producing his second album alongside R&B savant DJ Camper. Hello Poison also includes many more touted producers, including Hitmaka, Bizness Boi, and oft-collaborator Terrace Martin.
Hello Poison marks Arin’s first body of work since his Phases II EP in December 2019 and first full album since his critically acclaimed major-label debut, Platinum Fire, in 2018. The projects captured the versatile vocal stylings that crisscross hip-hop, contemporary jazz, and neo-soul instrumentals and have shot him to more than 175 million streams in the U.S. alone. Between projects, Arin has remained active through a spate of features, supplying material for Cordae, Kiana Lede, EARTHGANG, Terrace Martin, and most recently, Blxst on “Fake Love in LA.” Ray also returned to live performing, appearing on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon to perform “This Morning” alongside Terrace Martin and Smino. He joined Martin for a slew of New York performances at the Blue Note in February.
Hello Poison Tracklist:
1. Serious
2. This Is Nice
3. Gold
4. Freak
5. Dead Players Testimony (Interlude) feat Childish Major
6. Hideout
7. Set It Off
8. The Mood feat D Smoke
9. Lovely
10. Storm feat Terrace Martin
11. Close 2 Home
12. Ms. Frustration
13. Bad Idea feat Blxst
14. What It Is feat Ari Lennox
15. Nothing’s Forever feat Ty Dolla $ign & Rose Gold
Arin Ray – “Hello Poison” eAlbum
https://arinray.lnk.to/HelloPoison
