Grammy-nominated musician/artist Terrace Martin and Grammy-nominated R&B singer Kenyon Dixon have delivered their new collaborative album, Come As You Are.
Spanning 35 minutes, Come As You Are welcomes listeners into Martin and Dixon’s progressive soul reverie, informed by their musical upbringing and Los Angeles roots.
The 13-track set opens with “Isley’s Hymn,” a beautiful duet with Dixon’s daughter, Isley-Rose, who harmonizes, “Don’t hide your story, don’t hide your scars / Being yourself has got you this far / So come as you are.”
The 90-second opener helps set the mood for the rest of the album, which brims with soul-enriching tunes. “Love Yourself” lifts the weight of outside pressure, offering a gentle reminder that love begins within. “Stop the chase, it’s all in you,” Dixon sings over a psychedelic backdrop.
On “Body & Soul,” Dixon paints a portrait of love in its purest essence: “Warm turning silver into gold / We just keep falling like stars that never missed the sky.”
Come As You Are includes contributions from artists and musicians such as Robert Glasper, Rapsody, Keyon Harrold, Charlie Bereal and Ogi.
If there’s one thing to take away from Come As You Are, it’s Martin and Dixon’s mastery of crafting a paragon of limitless R&B that’s both deliberate and authentic. They blend elements of jazz, hip-hop and soul, with a cohesion that only elevates the listening experience. It’s a body of work by music lovers, for music lovers.
“Come As You Are is really about freedom—creative freedom, cultural freedom, and just personal freedom,” says Dixon. “Me and Terrace both grew up surrounded by both the church and the realness of LA—different experiences, but the same energy.”
Dixon continues, “This album is what it sounds like when you stop trying to separate the layers that made you. Spirit, soul, the streets, musicianship—it’s all in there. You don’t have to pick a side or fit a mold. That’s really what it’s about. Just come as you are.”
Martin adds, “Come As You Are is a mixture and a sonic picture of the true roots of Los Angeles Jazz, R&B & Hip-Hop. From the soul of Watts to the heart of the Crenshaw District, I feel we have painted the best piece for its time.”
Martin, known for his contributions to rap giant Kendrick Lamar‘s To Pimp A Butterfly, has been on an incredible run with R&B artists as of late.
In 2023, he released collaborative albums with James Fauntleroy (Nova), Alex Isley (I Left My Heart In Ladera) and Gallant (sneek). Those projects arrived shortly after the release of Enigmatic Society as part of Dinner Party, his supergroup with Robert Glasper, Kamasi Washington and 9th Wonder.
Meanwhile, Come As You Are follows Dixon’s 2024 EP, The R&B You Love: For the ’99 and the 2000s. The project, inspired by his 2023 album, The R&B You Love, was his “ode to the R&B that has inspired us all throughout the years.”
Since then, Dixon, a leading voice in independent R&B, has collaborated with several artists, including Full Crate (“Bring It Back”), TAVE (“Laid Back/Old Skool Chevy”), Jaz Karis (“LYTM Remix“) and Vedo (“You’re Invited”).
Stream Terrace Martin and Kenyon Dixon’s album Come As You Are below.
