Since the summer release of his tranquil Trinidad James collaboration “Dreams,” Elijah Blake had us all anxious for his new album, The Neon Eon.
With the song starting to bubble on R&B radio in select markets, the brilliant singer/songwriter has issued his first full-length album in four years.
Speaking on his new album, Blake explained, “The Neon Eon is the death of sub-genres and the birth of One Genre that encompasses all sound and culture that is no longer limited by color, background or gender. It’s the most fun I’ve had on a project lyrically, melodically and conceptually.”
The 10-track set was co-executive produced by Killah B and features his “Bad Liar (Remix)” with Keyshia Cole, a song he told Rated R&B in September that almost didn’t make the tracklist.
Blake shied away from collaborating with other artists because of the politics and the fear that they would fail to consider the song’s message. “It shows me you’re not paying attention, or you don’t respect my craft,” he explained to Rated R&B.
On The Neon Eon, Blake embraces collaboration, teaming up with some new and familiar faces like Muni Long, Durand Bernarr, D Smoke, Boppai, Rome Flynn, and Tamar Braxton, who appears on the LP highlight, “Time and Space.”
Going against what corrupt media and society have normalized as Black men’s role is Blake’s goal with his new album.
“I want to perpetuate freedom of thought so that these gender norms are broken down, and Black men are free to fully express themselves and be their best selves moving forward,” he said.
The Neon Eon follows Blake’s 2017 album, Audiology, a title inspired by Prince’s 2004 LP, Musicology.
Regarding Audiology, Blake told Rated R&B, “Anyone who knows me or who is familiar with my music knows that I’m heavily influenced and in love with Prince’s artistry. He had an album called Musicology,” he shared. “In order to get to the freedom I inhibited for this project, I had to do a lot of studying of myself and understanding why I am set in my ways sometimes. If you look at biology, the study of life, I just basically put the study of myself in audio form, which is this project.”
Listen to Elijah Blake’s new album, The Neon Eon, below.
