Elujay’s Adojio means to the era of future-funk soul what few solo projects by impossibly young artists have ever come to mean for their respective eras. Mysteriousness surrounds its creator early on in a career bound for romantic and emotion-evoking smoothness, but openness and warmth define the music itself. Only his second project and the follow-up to 2016’s debut, Jentrify, Elujay comes into his own and finds balance and maturity without losing his sense of experimentalism and the youthful DIY texture that makes his music that much more relatable and sultrily imperfect. 

 

Focused on the R&B nuances of his foundation, Adojio is a prime example of what’s possible when a boundless talent uses bits and pieces of his influential backdrop to make something completely new. Hip-hop, soul, funk, electronica, and speakeasy jazz are prevalent aesthetics throughout and fall in line only after R&B where Elujay’s uncanny vocalism and sensual penmanship bring to light stories of love, lust, and loss. 

 

Most importantly, Adojio comes as one of the first true and seamless blends of modern R&B weaving in and out of the direction of modern mellow pop artists that boast a similar home-grown, handmade aesthetic. That, in an era of imminent post-genrefication is a beautiful lane that to this point remains relatively unexplored. Adojio is bound to pave the road for more.