When it comes to A.J. Bray, you have to remain on pins & needles as you anxiously await what new trick he has up his sleeve. You may think you’ll get one thing from him but he’s constantly throwing curveballs with his music, stylistically an “Enigma”, with his latest dive into R&B with “Love Abuse.” Bray delivers his most poignant collection yet & in the usual fashion, I’m here to guide you through my impressions on each track so shall we?

“Last Conversation”

The subtleties of the acoustics before you find yourself then nodding your head to the nostalgia-tinged instrumentation are straight from the heavens. You instantly feel the timelessness this record will undoubtedly garner & Bray’s storytelling is top-notch, him & her are both on separate paths, meeting in the middle whenever time permits, lying to one another cause honesty is honestly not always the best policy though Bray has never sounded more sincere, instantly setting the tone for the remainder in a beautiful fashion only he can make work.

“Need Your Love”

I love how sinuously the previous record bleeds into this one & Bray is feeling needy, someone has caught his eye & he’s lulling her in, she was looking too good for him to resist & he’s reminding her that she felt the connection too the night prior & they both need each other’s love right now, Bray sure knows how to romance a woman into feeling secure, this is the lights in the bedroom dimming, the scent of fine wine & the silky touch of velvet, instantly setting the mood for the nightcap.

“Dangerous”

When I 1st saw that A.J called upon Brooklyn Michelle to be the lone feature on this project, my heart nearly leaped out of my chest with excitement & boy do the two complement one another. The upbeat pop sensibilities are nothing new to Bray, peep records like “Come Back”, “Fall In Love”, “Popular”, this one falls in line with those records but for Brooklyn, it’s beautiful to hear her enter more & more into this uncharted territory. Well with the success of her irresistible “Retail Therapy” single, which took a lighter approach so it’s great to see her continue to surprise while still keeping that infectious, melancholic tonality of hers & what a win it is for the city for these two to come together & give us another smash hit that will surely grant them even more success once the TikTokers inevitably get a hold of it.

“Not Your Husband (Interlude)”

Bray is not ready to commit, in fact, he feels a bit disrespected, like there’s something else going on with her so maybe it’s best that they keep their distance. If they were married, maybe he’d be more understanding of where she’s coming from but they’re simply not so she needs to move on & accept what she lost in him. Once again, we get these smooth, reflective vibes he subtly bounces & floats his lyrics over, the songwriting is almost too impeccable. She has to be sitting in awe, lost in translation from the trance this is surely putting her in, reminiscing on what was & pondering what could’ve been had she acted right.

“Free AJ Bray”

How the man manages to make each song a hit is beyond me but he does, time & time again, kinda has the same rhythm of a “Ride Wit Me”, but this feels more like the sunset kicking in where that felt more afternoonish for me. Him & her just basking in it, enjoying the moment as he runs her through precisely how he’s gonna hold her down, allowing her to let her guard down around him cause clearly she’ll be secure. The artillery the man has will make you think twice & personally, I love that he does all the gun talk, I’ve noticed most of the newer R&B singers do that a lot but something about the way Bray does it is just, better, honestly.

“End of an Era”

Bray caps off the project & the era more bittersweet than ever cause that’s exactly how everything feels, true colors have been exposed, reminding us that nothing lasts forever, even the good things or that of which we thought was good at the time but has now grown dull, Bray is a little disappointed but he’s not allowing the fake love to keep him from moving forward but as the where he’s headed, you never really know.

A.J. delivered his magnum opus with this concisely timeless piece of work, which even holds one of his longer songs with the closer. There’s nothing to not appreciate about him, how he keeps you more & more captivated, intrigued as to what he’ll do next. Though it’s been a long time coming since his debut E.P. “Wavyfire,” the build-up to this moment was extraordinary & when we look back on this year, we can at least be grateful that we received a silver lining from the one, the only, A.J. Bray, hats off to you sir.

Before the release of his R&B EP, Love Abuse, we got to interview AJ Bray to see how the process went for the project along with the growth of his work and how it played a part to his music today. Take a step in the doors to see the show.

Frank: You’ve stated on Twitter at the beginning of the year that you only had intentions of dropping singles and most recent news came about the EP, did something happen or motivate you to change that motive?

AJ Bray: I had a lot of songs that started to sound like a story together. I could’ve put them out as singles but my fans have been asking for a project so I figured it was about that time.

Frank: Since your last project Hello Beloved, we’ve seen some growth and a transition to a new sound from you, what were some of the different remedies that you went through in making this EP?

AJ Bray: I think part of it was just maturing as a person and going through life. I’m getting older so naturally, my music is growing with me. I don’t want to talk about the same things I was talking about a year ago because I’m not in the same spot I was a year ago. When it comes to the subject manner I feel like everyone can relate to songs about love. Everyone can’t relate to songs about Balenciagas because they might not even know what those are.

Frank. Is there a personal favorite track off the EP that meant more to you whether it be the writing process or the record process?

AJ Bray: End of An Era. I had gone through a situation with a woman the night before I made that song and I was really emotional about it. I drove to Austin with Alvynne one of my producers and we linked up with Kee from Wave Tribe at the Music Lab. I freestyled that song in about 20 minutes off pure emotions and when I finished it I immediately knew it was different. That song is so real and personal to me because it’s so pure.

Frank: We’re there any inspirations you had to help structure the process of the EP?

AJ Bray: Women. One woman in particular inspired a lot of the themes within the songs. And I listen to a lot of 90s R&B so I was trying to recreate that feeling for our generation in a more street way.

Frank: Your only feature on the EP is Brooklyn Michelle, was this something that was planned for the project or was this something you’ve had holding on to for awhile?

AJ Bray: I’ve known Brooklyn for about a year now. We met at Free Week last year. Our sets were around the same time so we watched each other and we both vibed. So after we exchanged info. This was the first song I ever sent her though. I was recording for the project and made that song and I knew I wanted someone on it. She was the first person I thought of who could slide on it and she sent a rough draft the next day and I knew it was going to be a hit asap.

Frank: Because we don’t hear much rapping on this tape. Instead, we hear more crooning and R&B style verses, do you think Fall In Love helped people get fixated on that wave from you to help get prepare for this project?

AJ Bray: Yeah 100%. If it wasn’t for Fall in Love and Come Back I think people would still be waiting for another 2 Cell Phones. I haven’t dropped anything singing since those two songs so I knew this had to be done right so people would receive it correctly. I never want to be put in a box.

Frank. Will we see any performances from you whether it be a live intimate setting (social distancing of course) or maybe a quarantine IG performance again?

AJ Bray: YES! I want to do both. A small intimate show for my real fans. Very exclusive. Then something on IG for people who might not live in the area or they might not feel comfortable being out.

Frank: I’m sure we’ll be seeing some visuals from the project make its way soon but do you have any other planned releases before 2020 is up or have you secured the bag for the year?

AJ Bray: Yeah I plan to do a video for every song on the project. Dangerous is the first drop. Shooting the next one soon. And I’m dropping a deluxe version of the album as well.

Frank: What are 3 things you hope people takeaway from “Love Abuse”?

AJ Bray:

I’m the king of R&B
I really be going through it with these beautiful women but it makes for some great music
Love can be the most beautiful thing and also the most dangerous thing depending on how it exists at certain times.

Frank: You’ve dropped 10-singles this year along with visuals to go with them, eyelashes & now this EP being the latest, is there anything that AJ Bray can’t do at this moment?

AJ Bray: I can’t be a fake nigga. It’s not in my blood.

The Deep End with AJ Bray in Love Abuse