Being a hopeless romantic could be why Giveon‘s disappointment toward failed relationships has been on full display in his music and is palpable throughout his debut album, “Give or Take.”
“I just feel like the way society is going now, so many people, they just want to give up on it,” says Giveon of “At Least We Tried” from the new project. “I understand that, but we can’t have a loveless world. What does that even look like?”
In a musical climate where mainstream male R&B and rap often overlap both sonically and in subject matter with tales of partying and living in the moment, Giveon has skillfully penetrated radio rotations and playlists with stories about the mercurial nature of love.
“The moment I go through something, I’ll write a song about it and that will just make me feel a lot better,” said the singer. “When I’m happy, I’m not too much running to the studio. I’m enjoying whatever it is that’s making me happy.”
Debuting last month at No. 11 on the Billboard 200, the 15-track project is the first full-length album from the 27-year-old baritone whose hit ballad “Heartbreak Anniversary” competed for best R&B song at the Grammys this year.
A collection of saved voice notes and voicemails from his mother — unbeknownst to her — serve as a through line for the album.
“I chose no features because it’s such a personal album and just personal stories that I just can’t imagine anyone else on it besides my mom and myself,” he explained.
Led by the singles “ Lie Again ” and “ For Tonight ” in which he continues his ballad expertise, the album, which reached No. 3 on the Top R&B albums chart, features producer credits from Boi1da, Sven Thomas and Giveon himself.
On “Another Heartbreak,” the artist belts, “But my heart can’t take another blow/And that’s just why I’m scared to let you close/’Cause every time I’m in love, end up with nothing/Nothing but these songs.”
“(People say), ‘Here Giveon goes making these songs’ — I don’t want to make this. I don’t want to go through this,” he said with a laugh. “I was like let me just write a song about the paranoia of the PTSD I’ve had from a previous heartbreak that I feel like this cycle is going to repeat.”
