Earlier this week, Jhené Aiko released a trailer for her short film, TRIP, leaving the short visual’s whimsical nature up to the interpretation of fans.

Now, the singer has broken her silence, sharing a three-minute audio clip revealing the inspiration behind her forthcoming creative work.

During the three-minute clip, which Aiko posted to SoundCloud, she explains that her next project is inspired by her brother, who passed away in 2012.

“When I was born, my Grampy gave me the nickname ‘Penny’,” Aiko begins. “Penny is me in my purest, most authentic form. On July 19th, 2012, I lost my brother Miyagi to an inoperable brain tumor. He was 26. My brother and I were very close. We were only 2 years apart. I never thought of him as a separate person, but an extension of myself. He was my reflection. In his presence, I was confident and always so sure. I was Penny.”

She then explains the various methods she tried to cope with the pain of losing her brother, admitting to her fans the tragedy has been extremely difficult for her to go through, with everything she does leading her back to his memory.

“I try to get closer to my brother by doing different drugs, hoping that if I get high enough I can reach him, but they only take me further away,” she says, further elaborating. “I distract myself with work, which buys me things I wish I could share with him. I distract myself with work, which causes stress I wish he were here to help me with.”

Following this sincere confessional, Aiko adds that she’s been documenting the emotions she’s experienced following his untimely passing and has turned to these journals for what she refers to as her “MAP,” with the acronym standing for the components of her next project: movie (TRIP, a short film), album (TRIP) and poetry book (2fish).

“This map has been helping me navigate through my suffering, uncovering the righteous path that has been carved out before and for me,” Aiko says in the recording. “Helping me identify my pain and my mistakes so that I can move forward and reach my full potential and find the light at the end of the tunnel.”

Absolutely beautiful. Listen to Jhené Aiko detailing her forthcoming project below.