Today (Sept. 17), one of R&B’s favorite sister duo VanJess releases the deluxe edition of their well-loved Homegrown EP. The extended version boasts five brand new tracks and collaborative efforts TOKiMONSTA and Lucky Daye. The latter consists of a remix for their fan-favorite “Slow Down” single, which also has a live performance visual that was presented prior to the project release.
VanJess aforementioned Homegrown EP originally arrived filled with nine smooth R&B cuts and a great list of assist from names like Phony Ppl, Jimi Tents, Garren, and Devin Morrison. Leading up to the release, they gave a teaser with the Jimi Tents and Garren-assisted “Curious” single. Their last full-length project was Silk Canvas in 2018, and the following year they would go on to release a project titled Silk Canvas (The Remixes). The latter body of work is filled with reimagined versions of their Silk Canvas hits, and the roster of features boasts names like Ari Lennox, Saba, Bas, and Xavier Omar. The original project included assists from Masego, Goldlink, Little Simz, Berhana, and Leikeli47.
In terms of other appearances from the lovely R&B duo, VanJess can recently be heard on Kito’s “Recap” track with Channel Tres, and also VanJess assisted Gallant on his Neptune EP.
In a recent conversation, VanJess explained how effortless it is for their authenticity to shine through because it is all they know. “It’s very easy to seem inauthentic, and for us, this is who we are. This is where we come from, this is our essence, this is our soul, but we’re not going to exploit it,” Ivana says. “When we were coming up with our album artwork, we were inspired by the idea of what it would be like to be quarantined in the 1970s in Nigeria. What would we look like, and what would we be wearing? … We are Nigerian-American, and we want that to be at the forefront of our aesthetic moving forward.”
Be sure to press play on VanJess’ brand new deluxe version of Homegrown.