BJ The Chicago Kid has enlisted Ledisi for a new version of his song “Never Change,” which features Philip Bailey of Earth, Wind & Fire.
The endearing soul tune, produced by Yeti Beats, is among the new tracks featured on BJ The Chicago Kid’s Gravy (Deluxe) album, released Oct. 4.
“‘Never Change’ was already special to me. So, to have the one and only Ledisi join to further the feeling and the timelessness makes me even more happy. She’s one of my faves. It has made it all 10 times more special,” says BJ The Chicago Kid.
“This is already a wonderful song with two of my favorite male vocalists,” adds Ledisi. “An ICON and the other a pioneer in today’s contemporary R&B/Soul Music. I am truly honored that BJ invited little ‘ole me to give a woman’s perspective on ‘Never Change.'”
Ledisi previously collaborated with BJ on “Us 4ever” from her 2017 album, Let Love Rule.
Yeti Beats, who collaborated with BJ for the entire album, notes, “Adding the legendary voice of Ledisi on the remix of ‘Never Change’ put sugar on top of one of my favorite songs from Gravy. The combination of BJ, Phillip Bailey, and Ledisi on one track is spectacular. Three iconic voices of soul/R&B on 1 classic song.”
Gravy (Deluxe) includes all the songs from the original album plus three new tracks. In addition to BJ and Ledisi’s “Never Change (Remix),” the expanded set includes live versions of “Crazy Love” with Andra Day and “Forgot Your Name” with Cory Henry, recorded at The Sun Rose in Los Angeles.
The standard edition of Gravy was released Nov. 10, 2023, via Yeti Beats’ Reach The World Records in partnership with RCA Records. The album included the singles “Forgot Your Name,” “Liquor Store in the Sky” featuring Freddie Gibbs and “Spend the Night” featuring Coco Jones. It featured additional collaborations with Chlöe (“Honey“) and Robert Glasper (“Smoke Break”).
Gravy was recorded at the historic Royal Studios in Memphis, Tennessee, where soul icon Al Green recorded his iconic albums Let’s Stay Together and I’m Still in Love with You.
Regarding the album’s title, BJ explained to Rated R&B, “It smothers. It covers. It makes everything taste better. Sometimes, stuff it shouldn’t even touch makes it taste better. I think that’s what we do as Black people. That’s our flavor. That’s who we are as an essence.”
He added, “Long before our existence, previous generations been blowing people’s minds. To even want our body types to be enslaved. We have something that others don’t have. We’ve always been special, but I think to remind ourselves that we are special. I think the more our kids and our kids’ kids see these things, that confidence gets even bigger than what we have. We begin to evolve into better things.”
Earlier this year, BJ The Chicago Kid joined Ledisi as a special guest on The Good Life Tour, along with Raheem DeVaughn. After supporting Ledisi, BJ embarked on The Gravy Tour.
Stream BJ The Chicago Kid’s Gravy (Deluxe), which includes “Never Change” with Ledisi and Philip Bailey.
