Olivia Longott, mononymously known as Olivia, has returned with her first album in 23 years, You Are.
The seven-song set includes the title track, which is a heartfelt ode to Olivia’s late mother, who passed away in 2018 from Parkinson’s disease.
“You are everywhere / Although you’re not here / You are, you are / There’s no need to cry / Now you’re in these skies / You are,” she softly sings over beautiful instrumentation.
In an unpublished interview from 2022 with Rated R&B, Olivia spoke about what the song meant for her. “One song in particular that I truly love and you guys will feel how vulnerable I was on this track was a track about my mom. It’s called ‘You Are.’ Most of my supporters know I lost my mom in 2018 to Parkinson’s disease. This was the first time I was able to sing my feelings and it took a lot.”
You Are also finds Olivia basking in the highs of love on the sultry devotional “Yours” and the ride-or-die anthem “Genuine.” The rest of the album showcases the Brooklyn native’s artistic range, exploring reggae (“Dirty Dance”), trapsoul (“Join Me“), Latin pop (“One More Chance”) and disco (“Wait For It”).
“I want humans of all ages – may they be children, teens, adults, or seniors – to be able to enjoy my music. I just want them to get up and dance, or, feel like wanting to hug each other and get emotional,” Olivia says about the album.
You Are is the follow-up to Olivia’s 2001 self-titled debut album, released on Clive Davis’ J Records. The album included the lead single “Bizounce.”
When asked about the first memory that comes to mind from that era, Olivia told Rated R&B, “The simple fact that I was the very first artist signed to J Records with the legendary Clive Davis. That’s probably the biggest thing that stands out, just remembering him, walking me around his house and seeing Whitney Houston pictures and just the aura of everything. It was such an honor to even be the first and have that record come out. That’s my baby album.”
Although it’s been over two decades since Olivia released an album, she has kept her fans fed throughout the years with mixtapes and standalone singles. Most recently, in June, Olivia joined Ghanaian artist KiDi on the Afrobeats-tinged “Solo.”
Before that, the former First Lady of G-Unit released “No Permission” in 2022 and “Join Me” in 2020.
Stream Olivia’s Longott’s new album You Are below.