It’s been a year since TDE’s latest signee SiR dropped his EP Her Too. Now, the singer is back with his debut album November, an 11-track, Afrofuturist-tinged love story.
In the opening track “Gone,” we first hear the dulcet vocals of K, who sets up the listener for a journey that explores various aspects of love. K also happens to be SiR’s wife, “K is actually my wife,” SiR told ESSENCE during a recent visit. “We have this running joke where when I first put out my first mixtape, which was a long time ago, nobody’s ever heard it, she did this voice where she was the intro in that. I decided to bring it back because she’s like my … she’s the person that nobody really sees in my life but she’s my guide. She keeps me strong, keeps me grounded. She’s like my navigation, basically.”
Two songs, “Summer in November” and “I Know,” display why exactly the growing label signed the burgeoning Inglewood talent.
“Summer in November,” the video for which was released Wednesday, steers away from being pigeonholed into any genre. The sound reflects R&B’s recent willingness to take influences from anything and anywhere, much like SiR’s labelmate SZA. For his part, the singer revealed he was listening to tons of Pink Floyd while recording, “I created a lot of music. I think the album kind of has a good spread of vibes” the singer told ESSENCE.
“It’s very musical at times, then at other times it’s just kind of kick- and snare-driven, hip-hoppy… I can’t even lie to you, I was listening to a lot of Kendrick. To Pimp a Butterfly is one of the albums that is always in rotation in my life. And, I was listening to [Pink Floyd’s] Dark Side of the Moon a lot, actually.”
Then SiR switches gears with “I Know,” a taunting song about baby mamas and “badass kids.” It’s a fun track that jolts you from the smooth, tranquility of the rest of the album, but gives listeners a glimpse of the singer’s sense of humor. A voicemail from an unknown woman on “Never Home” adds a little something extra too, he told ESSENCE that we can thank a friend for recreating that.
With November and an upcoming tour with Miguel on the horizon, SiR has established himself as another TDE artist to watch.