“Speak” by Jhené Aiko

The lyrics of “Speak” read as if they are Jhené Aiko’s equivalent to a female-empowerment song. Indeed we discover in the third verse that the title of the song is based on the songstress encouraging fellow females to freely and truly express themselves. And apparently, the whole premise of this oration is the singer having dealt with a repressive romantic partner. We’re talking about the type who did not approve of her dressing sexily and generally sat on her freedom. 

So basically, successfully breaking free of him also put her in the position where she could advise others how to do likewise. And what her advice basically boils down to is having the heart to “speak from your gut”, a metaphor pointing to the overall idea of always keeping it real with yourself and others. Indeed the overarching insinuation is that she considers doing so to be more important than pleasing a man.

Writing and Production

This track was produced by Lejkeys and The Fisticuffs (Brian Warfield and Mac Robinson). They also co-wrote “Speak” along with Jhené Aiko.

Release Date of “Speak”

Def Jam Records put “Speak” out on 6 March 2020. It was a feature on Jhené’s commercially successful album “Chilombo”.