Future Asian & Pacific History Month: Jhené Aiko's Old Soul With a New Vibe

Fuse is celebrating Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month by looking at a variety of rising forces who are creating Future Asian and Pacific History before our eyes. Today we are honoring Jhené Aiko, who continues to bring a fresh sound to R&B.

We were first introduced to the singer in the early '00s, where the then-teenager lent her chirpy vocals to a handful of B2K songs. Aiko (who has a mixed ethnic background of Japanese, Black, Spanish and Native American) later stepped out of the boy band shadow and emerged as her own solo artist with her debut mixtape—2011's Sailing Soul(s). Rather than giving us the processed urban-pop sound that many expected, Aiko displayed her innate artistry with a fusion of neo-soul, alternative R&B, electronica, pop, folk and hip-hop.

"The greatest lesson is to let go of your ego. Let the e...go so you can free flow. It's super easy to get caught up in who you are and who you're becoming and what you're obtaining," Aiko, who always stays true to herself, tells us in the interview above. "But that the end of the day, everyone dies and no one gets to take anything with them but their soul and their energy. So I've just learned to keep my feet on the ground and not feed into the hype even if it's my own."