Eric Bellinger Bridges Cultures with Afro-Inspired Album, It'll All Make Sense Later
From Hitmaker to Global Artist
Commonly known as the Grammy award winner singer/song writer in the R&B and Hip Hop fraternity. Eric Bellinger appears to be the only one who can do both with so much efficiency. Most of them remember him from a viral video of him performing Usher’s ‘Superstar’ during NPR’s Tiny Desk Concert.
Reflecting on the impact of that performance, Eric shares:
It was a great privilege to be with Usher for the Tiny Desk concert, and naturally observing it gain the most votes is a blessing. It encouraged me to make songs with a purpose, songs that inspire and can relate with individuals across the globe,”
A Journey to Africa: Where Music and Culture Meet
In January of this year, Eric set off on a change mission to Cape Town, South Africa, plunging himself into the sonar, color and beat of the continent. The result? His latest album, It’ll All Make Sense Later—it is a 15 track album that complements R & B with Afro rhythmic elements.
“This project was inspired by my own life and identity,”, Eric comments. Meanwhile, the experience I earned in South Africa; it’s beaches, woods, and foods helped me concentrate on music without any distractions. He said: “It felt like a creative rebirth.”
The album features several other African artists, such as Ghana’s Afro-Fusion singer Gyakie, and Nigerian artists Burna Boy, Reekado Banks, Oxlade, Tempoe and Taves. These five tracks combine world music with the tunes which promote life, love, and the search for oneself.
Dancing to New Rhythms: Afro Meets R&B
To those that are familiar with previous albums and consistent with Eric’s R&B, this album may come as a shock. Eric describes this project as a celebration of triumph and joy:
“As much as I have been known to stick to the basics of R’n’B – bedroom music, slow lyrics and slow rhythms or fast rhythms to dance to this time I did. I wanted to celebrate. Afro was the first place my heart led me and I rejected what I deemed to be the norm for my music.
Some of these include Feelings Never Die and Shooting Star (Oxlade). Shooting Star is an R&B song that will have anyone grooving to it’s consistent rhythm while Feelings Never Die focuses on issues of heartbreak and one’s ability to recover from it.
I could not have asked for a better partner to work with on this project: Oxlade. This song Tyrant describes hope and going after your dreams and it’s all about victory according to Eric.
A run of countless hits and shifting genre: the experience of penthouse.
From charting hits for Chris Brown (new flame, champion), usher ( Lemme see), and Justin Bieber, G.O.A.T and VALET as an artist, Eric’s story is Unbelievable right from Compton to worldwide. In addition to being of music royalty as he is the son of Robert ‘Bobby’ Day the man behind songs for the Jackson 5, his music has earned him a Grammy Award in addition to the creation of more than 300 songs in 40 albums.
With It’ll All Make Sense Later, released now, Eric goes even further in exploring different fronts of electronic music, incorporating also Amapiano, Afrobeats and R&B.
The Future of Cross-Cultural Creativity
This album is just a start in a new phase of his relation with Africa, the motherland. That is why he is already contemplating a second trip to the continent next year, January 2025, to deepen the cooperation with African artists and promote cultural exchange.
This is how Eric philosophizes about this album: “I see this album as a faith walk.” It’s about believing that more is possible now than what one can see now. It’s my hope that my fans will be encouraged to trust their own processes.”
As Bellinger connects two continents with It’ll All Make Sense Later, the audiences globally can sing, twerk, and go beyond boundaries granted by the music. Could this be the beginning to a new generation of Afro R&B hybridity? Only time will tell.
Watch or Stream It’ll All Make Sense Later now, and let the story develop!
