Ari Lennox’s net worth is estimated to be $4 Million. She is an American singer and songwriter who began her music journey in 2012. Early on, her music caught the attention of rapper J. Cole who signed her under his label “Dreamville Records”.
Lenoxx earned fame in the music industry with the release of her second EP “Pho” in 2016. The project became a massive success by peaking at #20 on the US R&B charts. She also collaborated with Crown Royal to record a cover of Sly and the Family Stone’s “If You Want Me to Stay”.
Ari became a mainstream star upon releasing her debut album “Shea Butter Baby” in 2019, which included two hit singles “40 Shades of Choke” and “Whipped Cream”. Later, she was nominated for the Grammy Award in the Best Rap Album category. Let’s take a look at the biography and net worth of Ari Lennox.
Contents
Ari Lennox’s Net Worth
[table id=517 /]
Early Life
Courtney Shanade Salter was born on March 26, 1991, in Washington, D.C., the United States, to parents Gloria Salter and Shane Salter. As a child, she never considered herself a singer but it was her grandmother who discovered Ari’s musical talents.
Ari’s grandmother encouraged her to sing, telling her she had the voice of an angel at just three years old. Her grandma motivated her to perform at functions like Church gatherings when she was still quite young.
Despite the encouragement she felt from her family, Ari still grew up feeling like an underdog. One day while watching performances at the apolo with her other grandmother and seeing some very young girls sing on stage Ari knew in that moment that music would be her future.
Ari Lennox Net Worth Growth
[table id=518 /]
Career Beginnings
She got a chance to make her first public appearance at her school “Poplar Tree Elementary” and Ari remembers it as something of a learning experience. After that, she attended Wilson High School before enrolling at the Duke Ellington School of the Arts.
In terms of her school career, Ari described herself as a high school misfit who knew from early on that she wasn’t going to head down the typical college path.
She was inspired by a whole litany of different artists including Whitney Houston, John Legend, Erykah Badu, and acts like Coldplay, as well as Red Hot Chili Peppers. This mix of cross-genre influences helped shape her sound and form her into a unique artist once Ari decided to take music seriously at the age of 18.
Ari Lennox Biography
[table id=519 /]
Music Career
Ari started her career by performing in various competitions and won a couple of shows including the BET Music Video countdown show called “106 & Park”. Around that same time, she auditioned for “American Idol” but didn’t enter the show.
In 2009, she auditioned for American rapper Diddy’s band but was not selected. After this, she decided to alternate means to get her career off the ground by launching her YouTube channel. Ari started uploading her songs on the platform in 2009 just after completing high school.
At the start of her music career, Ari was just uploading the covers of popular songs on her channel but none of them gained her attention. Ari earned a little traction after uploading Beyonce’s “Drunk in Love” and her version of “Thinking About You”.
Even though these covers were getting noticed, they could only take her so far. So Air decided to make another change by creating original content on SoundCloud and leaving her YouTube behind. Some of her fans resisted the change but this decision would ultimately pay off handsomely for Ari in the end.
Breakthrough
Ari dropped her debut mixtape “Five Finger Discount” and an extended play “Ariography” in 2013. The following year, she released her song “Bound”. Soon, Ari’s music caught the eye of popular rapper J. Cole who invited her to his studio.
Cole was impressed by Lennox’s musical talents and quickly signed her to his label named “Dreamville” at the end of 2015. She became the first female artist to sign with the “Dreamville Record Label”. From there, she continued to record music for her EP. Additionally, she was featured on J. Cole’s track “Change”. Ari Lennox accumulated a net worth of 4 million US dollars.
Further Success
In October 2016, Ari released her debut EP “Pho” which became commercially successful. Her breakout single “Whipped Cream” was released in July 2018 and went viral. In May 2019, Ari dropped her debut album “Shea Butter Baby” which hit number 7 place on Billboard’s US R&B Charts.
In September 2021, Lennox dropped her song “Pressure” which peaked at #3 on R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay. Additionally, this song led her to receive a lot of fame as it became the first song to chart on the Billboard Hot 100.
In August 2022, Ari Lennox released her third extended play “Away Message” that boasted the hit single “Queen Space” featuring Summer Walker. Before this, Ari was featured in Summer Walker’s song “Unloyal” which was included in Summer’s second album “Still Over It”.
Other Ventures
During her 20s, she was still working a series of odd jobs moving around constantly. around this time, Lennox was feeling extremely aimless as she bounced around from Papa John’s to Pizza Hut to Planet Fitness, Whole Foods, and Wendy’s.
Ari had never earned one thousand dollars paycheck until she started driving for Uber between the ages of 24 and 26. But through it all, she kept plugging away at her music. Within two years she was featured in Omen’s song “Sweat it Out” in 2015.
Since her breakthrough, Ari has also gone on to be listed on BET’s Future 40 List. That takes a look at some of the most inspiring and innovative individuals who are redefining what it means to be unapologetically young and gifted in black.
Ari Lennox Net Worth
Ari Lennox has a net worth of $4 million as of 2024. She amassed a lot of popularity and wealth following the release of her debut EP “Pho” in 2016. Since then, Ari continued to release one hit project after another and received several accolades including a Grammy Award nomination.
Lennox is one of the most aspiring singers in the American music industry. She was internationally recognized when her first album “Shea Butter Baby” went viral. The music video of the song garnered over 63 million views on YouTube. Ari Lennox’s yearly income is over $500 thousand.
Conclusion
When fans and critics talk about the music of artist Ari Lennox, they often use words like: “classic” or “timeless” to describe her R&B sound. Despite the praise they are eager to heap on her now, it was a long road to success for Ms. Lennox.
After years of work on the independent scene by uploading her music online she became the first female to sign onto J Cole’s “Dreamville label” in 2015. Even after that, it took Ari a few years to continue developing her music and sound before she was ready to release her first studio album “Shea Butter Baby”.
Frequently Asked Questions
[acf field=”schema”]
Related Post