The Deep End with AJ Bray on Love Abuse 2

Last time Bray let us in on the abuse his heart has suffered, it was the “End of an Era” but now it’s safe to say that he’s ushering in a new one with the second installment in his “Love Abuse” series, which quite honestly, blows the 1st one out the water but let’s not act like those records weren’t & still aren’t incredible but this new batch of heartstring pullers is yanking on them even more so join us for a deep dive into this Love Abuse, it couldn’t have arrived at a better time.

“Does He?”

Bray immediately hits us with a curveball, I mean, I thought “Last Conversation” was a great throwback feeling record to open up the 1st installment so Bray, being the genius he is, pushing that even further to offer us his most Neo-Soul esque record to date with “Does He?”, an earnest little number where we find Bray pining over the loss of a significant other to another man. Haven’t we all felt this feeling at least once, it’s brutal, especially when you know that you probably were the one who pushed her away into the arms of another man but Bray will be damned if she doesn’t acknowledge him & all he used to do for her, that’s not something that you can just forget but apparently she’s choosing to, much to his disdain. Again, the Neo-Soul vibes Double G Beats supplies this record with is a beautiful way to open things up, it literally brought tears to my eyes as I pondered my own love life upon hearing.

“Frisco, TX”

One of Bray’s strengths is his versatility, his ability to jump from sound to sound, offering the listener a variety of what he’s capable of doing musically. Bray is girl crazy on “Frisco, TX” as he hits city after city on this subdued banger. The nighttime atmospheres of this record are the perfect bed for Bray to express his feelings for the women he’s dealing with & no, I do not feel bad for the men they’re leaving behind to fuck with Bray, unlike them, Bray has this sincerity to his crooning that will have them on their knees begging for a little time with him, whenever he’s available of course, I’m sure he’ll always make the time for them though. Yung Beck’s production here is so subtle but will for sure give you some good vibrations upon cruising to it & that climatic drop towards the end though!

“I Don’t Think Ur Ready”

She’s not ready for the love Bray has to offer yet she’s conflicted cause she may have a man but she can’t help her attraction to Bray, the other dude just ain’t cutting it but she ain’t of the promiscuous sort, or at least that’s what she’s led Bray to believe but he’s almost certain he can get her to change her mind, without pressure of course cause he’s such a gentleman about it, probably because he’s actually interested in her, it isn’t just pure lust though it is underlying. Once again with these old school R&B feels provided by D-Lo the Doctor, Bray takes this time to try & lull her into a state of relaxation, to give her this sense of comfort that it’s okay to let her guard down around him, whenever she feels so inclined to do so, Bray promises to remain patient & only do what’s asked of him, which is powerful cause you know those urges are just as.

“Switch Your Focus”

I love this back & forth fluctuation between the sounds so far cause this is yet another subtle nighttime banger, Bray is on cruise control with this one. He’s urging her to switch her focus from her man to him, the same way he seamlessly switches lanes though he knows in his heart that he may be in way over his head, always falling for girls he simply cannot have cause they were never his to begin with. He did have her at a time but he dropped the ball & wanted her all to himself but she’s too independent to be locked down like that, they just weren’t meant for that. It really sucks once that honeymoon phase wears itself out eventually & you’re left desperately trying to re-attract someone who is no longer as invested as you are.

“Dominatrix”

I’m honestly very used to males being the dominant ones & Bray still is but the fact that he’s able to set his kingdom aside to be a little submissive for her makes him all the more dominant, I’m sure women will agree that it’s nice for a man to take charge but they too like to take charge from time to time so why not allow her to put forth some effort for once. The female empowerment in these records is impeccable & the Caribbean like feels Sam Forento has presented here will for sure have them swaying those hips. I wonder which lucky girl would be willing to be his “Dominatrix” for a day & the way he carries himself, she just may stay his, permanently.

“Wyd Tonight?”

I’m curious what car he was in to be speeding like that, he’s hell bent for leather in his pursuit of her on this little number. Things have clearly ended between them, amicably by the sound of it, it was probably mutually a long time coming but just cause you change the name of the relationship, doesn’t necessarily mean that the feelings change with them & his haven’t being that he’s still thinking about her, pondering a reconnection though it may be a shot in the dark, he’s not gonna not take it. I did this recently cause it’s difficult to get over someone who at one time was your everything so I appreciate that Bray once more is getting me right in the feels & Larkin Noir with that dauntingly atmospheric vibrations that ease into your soul so smoothly.

“Play the Field”

Bray is such a heartthrob, not a player, I always get the sense that he would much rather prefer a committed relationship as opposed to playing the field like this girl is. I don’t understand why we want those we can’t have & even worse, wait around for someone who will probably never change their mind. Bray ain’t sweating it though, he’s just continuing to do his thing, allowing her to reach out to him instead of the other way around, if she really loves him like that, she’ll make the effort but Bray knows in his heart, it’ll most likely be a while before she comes back around & even the way the record pans out, lets me know that he’s ready to let go now.

I personally hope Bray continues this series cause love is sure a sad but profitable business, the amount of people these songs, these real life experiences Bray continues to share will resonate with a lot of them, myself included obviously. It’s a much more bittersweet batch of songs here as opposed to it’s predecessor but listening to both back to back is quite the experience. It’s astounding how resilient the man still is & how his heart hasn’t been completely shattered due to the abuse it’s been forced to endure, it seems to have only made his heart that much more open.

In the fields of player-ism & respectfulness is the one & only, AJ Bray. We took a deeper into his most recent release “Love Abuse 2”, which is the follow up to his 2020 release and the one you lady has been anticipating to hear. So come & take a seat by the rose beds and hear what AJ has to stay about his latest opus.

Frank: At last the follow up to your riveting 2020 EP “Love Abuse” is now surfacing today, what’s the feeling like to have people finally embark into the next chapter of the love abuse series?

AJ Bray: It’s amazing. I’m always excited to share my art with everyone and the Love Abuse series is near and dear to my heart. It’s been a long time coming so I’ve been real excited for this release.

Frank: Even before diving into the project, I felt with the cover and the way you tweeted leading up to the release it helped give listeners a better perception of what to expect, was this something that you were going for or just worked in your favor?

AJ Bray: It’s not really planned. I didn’t sit down and think to myself “okay let me tweet certain things that have to do with my album so people can get a feel for it. Naturally since I was starting the roll out for the project I think my tweets kind of just started to be about the project. But for the most part I’m not tweeting anything much different from any other time I tweet…it just has a little more context now.

Frank: I got to bring up the intro first since I couldn’t believe at first that was you crooning with such  a maestoso manner, what made you step out of your comfort zone to bring such a stunning start to the project?

AJ Bray: I think I just wanted to start with something that would catch someone’s ear…no matter if they are a long time fan of mine…or someone who is discovering my music for the first time. That was actually the last song I recorded for the project. I had a different intro and hadn’t even recorded in weeks. But then I came across that instrumental and wanted to try it out and that’s what came out. 

Frank: Love Abuse felt like a letter to a special lover while this feels more of a book of poetry to the same person, is the motivation still for the same girl as the first or is there a new love?

AJ Bray: I think it’s a mix of both. A lot of the songs were definitely inspired by the same person but some records were inspired by other muses I’ve experienced throughout my life. I think it’s dope you caught onto that tho lol.

Frank: Stepping out of your element was the main focus of the first Love Abuse, is it safe to say this sound is here to stay moving forward or will we be getting the eccentric rapping from you once again? 

AJ Bray: I don’t think I’ll ever not rap occasionally…even if the songs never see the light of day. I love rapping so I’ll always rap. But I love singing as well and creating stories on the R&B records. In terms of the music I personally put out it will definitely normally be closer to the Love Abuse sound than anything else. But I also do a lot of features where people want rap verses so those will always be around too even if it’s not on my song per se.

Frank: I enjoyed the sounds from the album since during my first play through it gave me Jodeci’s Diary Of Mad Band vibes right out the gate, we’re there any inspirations you had while making this album?

AJ Bray: It’s actually wild you said that because that was the EXACT direction I was going for. Anyone who has been around me while making the project knows that’s the album I had in rotation heavy. I wanted to have that old R&B feel with a modern twist to it. Again you hit the nail on the head. 

Frank: I know when we talked about the first Love Abuse, you said you were attempting to recreated 90’s R&B music with more street elements but I feel in this project you perfected the 90’s sound in the most stunning way to date without the street draw, would you agree there was a huge change up from the predecessor to your latest opus? 

AJ Bray: I think so. After putting out the first Love Abuse I realized the streets and love don’t always mix the best so I didn’t wanna focus on the street aspect as much. I also realized women are not trying to hear that all the time they want the heartfelt and introspective music I make so I wanted to provide as much of that as I could. 

Frank: I know sometimes when making a follow up to a successful project, there’s a brief moment of doubt that it won’t be as good as the first, did you run into any doubts or did you instead felt confident this would exceed expectations?

AJ Bray: I think for a second I did. Love Abuse did very well and Dangerous was a huge record for Brooklyn and I. I decided to not have any features on this one which is a risk but I felt very confident in all of the songs by themselves. After the project was all mixed and completed my doubts went away. 

Frank: We know your an artist who enjoys making a spectacle of your releases, will we be seeing any special performances or drops for the EP?

AJ Bray: For sure. I have a lot of things planned and I’d say the music dropping is just the appetizer. 

Frank: I’m sure it’s early to say but will this be a continued series that you will sought out to deliver for fans every year? 

AJ Bray: I plan to do a Love Abuse 3 that will be a full length project and it will be the last one in the series. But I’ll be dropping other projects before that comes out. 

Frank: AJ Bray, you have the floor to let the people of the world on what they should know about you, what would it be? 

AJ Bray: The real ones know who is special. I’ll leave it at that. Love Abuse 2 out now. 

photos taken by THATKIDCARTER