Pressure

Album: Age/Sex/Location (2021)
Charted: 66
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Songfacts®:

  • Here, Ari Lennox implores her lover not to be timid during foreplay. She tells him she's a "tough cookie" and urges him to "apply pressure."
  • Lennox linked up with an R&B superteam of songwriters and producers for this sensual track. They are:

    Legendary producer Jermaine Dupri and songwriting giants Bryan-Michael Cox and Johnta Austin. All three are members of the musical collective Ocean's 7, whose hits include "Burn" and "Confessions, Pt. 2" by fellow member "Usher"; "Be Without You" by Mary J. Blige; and "We Belong Together" and "Don't Forget About Us" by Mariah Carey.

    Hip-hop producer Anthony "Elite" Parrino. He is known for his work with J. Cole, including "Crooked Smile" and "4 Your Eyez Only."

    Lennox's friend, the Atlanta singer-songwriter Jai'len Josey.
  • Jermaine Dupri, Bryan-Michael Cox, and Elite built the production over a sample of Shirley Brown's 1977 soul hit "Blessed Is The Woman (With A Man Like Mine)."
  • Lennox told Apple Music she was initially very intimidated by Jermaine Dupri, but once he started creating some "beautiful beats," she relaxed. When Lennox heard this song's instrumentation in her headphones, she told him it was the one she wanted to work on. The singer and Austin started writing to it, then she sat on it for some weeks. When Lennox returned to the studio, she called in Jai'len Josey, and her pal completed the song for them.
  • The word "Pressure" is repeated 28 times throughout the song.

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