Philadelphia emcee/vocalist Ivy Sole has made a big splash in a short amount of time. After releasing her debut recording, Eden, in 2016, she followed that up with a pair of EPs in 2017, East and West. Wasting no time, she comes right back in 2018 with her full-length album, Overgrown.

While Ivy Sole has only been releasing music for a couple of years, the amount of growth she’s shown in that time is remarkable. Part of the fun of listening to Eden was being transported back to my early 20s and being excited about the newness of life and love as an adult. She’s been working hard ever since, and in the process, she’s not only grown in her confidence as a musician, but also as a Black woman learning how to navigate the world on her own. It all comes across on Overgrown, and album that’s as smooth and soulful as can be. With production from CRO, CS-W, Ethan Thomas, Kam DeLa, we get this splendid blend of R&B and hip hop that sounds very contemporary and intimate at the same time. On the mic, Ivy Sole sounds confident enough to become very vulnerable to her listeners as she raps and sings about finding and losing love, facing her insecurities, and just trying to carve out her own path as a musician. She’s learned when to lay back in the cut and let the listeners come to her, and when to jump out ahead of the music and get aggressive with an urgent message. It’s the type of album that immediately feels familiar, and the warmth of the production and Ivy Sole’s vocals will just draw you into her world and take you for a ride.

Ivy Sole has quickly become one of my favorite new artists, and with an album like Overgrown, it’s easy to see why. She’s incredibly mature in her approach to the music, creating something that’s very sexy and intimate, while also coming across as thoughtful and challenging. She’s learned from her triumphs and well as her failures, and she’s come back stronger than ever. I can’t wait to see where she goes from here.