Tears falling down a face like rain pulled by gravity, slowly building into a downpour—that raw, aching emotion sits at the core of Givēon’s artistry. It’s a feeling he channels through his music, anchored by a striking baritone that reaches deep into the listener’s soul. The singer has returned from a musical journey and is now bringing the classic genre of R&B to its sonic origins. Hailing from Long Beach, California, Givēon has released his sophomore album Beloved, and the personal body of work feels like a bold offering that Givēon was always fated to craft in his artistry.
Givēon’s debut album, Give or Take, came out over 3 years ago, and what motivated him to mold the storybook world of Beloved was that the vocalist had to live. “Maybe, there is a world where I can just keep creating and keep writing stories,” Givēon says of his album-making process. “But—I have to live first. It’s a non-negotiable. Amongst that, I’ve gained a lot more confidence in knowing how to articulate exactly what it is that I want to create visually, sonically, and lyrically.”
The music video for “Rather Be” features the artist in a trench coat with vibrato, toiled up and lovestruck. Similar to the album’s sound, the visuals emphasize film noir undertones and romantic motifs commonly found throughout old school R&B depictions. The 14 tracks off of Givēon’s Beloved score a climactic romantic cinema where two lovers can’t escape conflict or consolation. With grand crescendoing violins, aligned harmonies, and soft chimes, Beloved is a world felt more than listened.
“I refer back to films frequently, I love it when the movie starts with something big happening, and then you rewind and it tells you how the story got to that point,” the 30-year-old singer says. “I like to approach this album the same way, with heavy drums and powerful strings right out the gate to just hook the listener.”
Under Epic Records, Givēon shares Beloved — a conceptual work best listened to all the way through as the grandiose abilities of the artist’s vocals battle against the explosive grandeur of arranged sonics. Music producer, Sevn Thomas submerged the project with big band production as Givēon engages the spectator with the spectacle of frank storytelling — oozing with heartache, intense emotion, and love. In tracks “Mud,” “I Can Tell,” “Don’t Leave,” or “Numb,” Givēon relies on the real pain of a failing relationship. The artistic spirits of a Vandross or Otis Redding live on through the album’s vulnerable, heartfelt perspectives on the very human risk of taking a chance on a lover. “Diamonds For Your Pain (Interlude)” stuns and the following song, “Keeper,” has a dagger of a melody. “Romance is a part of my DNA,” he discloses. “But in all senses of the word, my favorite genre of films has always been romantic comedies, so I’m always submerged in romance, whether it’s something I’m consuming or just my lifestyle.”
Once Givēon made “Strangers”—the oldest record on Beloved—the artist knew which direction he wanted this LP to go in and how vast the world-building had to be for the album to be received the way he intended. The song sings about heartbreak and emotional indifference, a familiar creative route for Givēon, whose signature voice reigns throughout the popularity of his 2021 single, “Heartbreak Anniversary.” But as a self-proclaimed loverboy, Givēon relishes a silver lining; he leans on the surrealism of cinema and the tenderness of humanity to douse listeners in a glittering universe where love prevails which plays out in the album’s curtain-closing final song.
“Everything was made with live musicians playing,” Givēon says of singing alongside instrumentalists who added the cinematic textures to Beloved. A typical approach to creating a 70’s R&B record, similar to how Motown became a household genre during its heyday.
This album is a penned confessional, and the breadth of Givēon’s lyrical mastery honors the genre of R&B, which is known for conveying private thoughts into relatably sentimental, musical poetry. The singer’s vibrating register and vocals ascend to higher altitudes as the LP depicts the true range of Givēon’s distinguishable voice. Through Beloved, he enters an exclusive legion of R&B singers who remain intimately close to the source of the genre’s inception and help expand its creative terrain.
Givēon’s sophomore album Beloved is available now.