As we grow up, being vulnerable becomes harder. But for Rozzi, openness is a sign of strength. That’s how the LA-based neo-soul luminary has designed her “dangerously personal” new Hymn for Tomorrow EP — the first installment of a new full-length album coming later this year — due out July 2 on BMG. Mostly recorded in London and New York with a handful of stellar producers, including: George Moore (YEBBA, Clean Bandit), Andrew Hollander (Carly Rae Jespen, Coyle Girelli), Pretty Sister (Betty Who, Jordin Sparks), Michael Dragovic, Eric Leva and Jurek (Matoma, NCT Dream, Blackbear), and with Rozzi sharing production duties on “i dk,” Rozzi’s smoky, full-bodied vocals spectacularly amplify each song, as they move seamlessly from upbeat pop, funk and R&B to low-key acoustic ballads.
 
With the recent single and title track “Hymn For Tomorrow,” she learns to find the strength in letting go of past disappointments in order to make room for something new. Rozzi has unleashed the bold, R&B-styled “I Can’t Go To The Party” single alongside a striking new video directed by Jack Begert. At the time that she wrote it, the song described a “brutal” experience running into an old flame at a social gathering and reflects on personal growth through experiences. The single now holds a dual meaning. It also encompasses the spring awakening that we are all feeling as we come out of lockdown, while still not ready to party safely quite yet. 
 
Rozzi shares, “I wrote the song after running into my ex-boyfriend at a party and feeling like the months I’d spent getting over him had suddenly vanished. Being so affected by the sight of someone that you’re willing to let all your friends have fun without you, is a really lonely feeling.  For the video, we wanted to capture that vulnerability, moodiness, and melodrama by showing me all dressed up in diamonds, with nowhere to go… Just alone, eating popcorn in bed, with a full face of makeup on. Our brilliant director Jack Begert captured it perfectly. And of course, with the Pandemic, none of us have been able to go to any parties for the last fourteen months- so it took on a whole other meaning!”

The much-anticipated Hymn for Tomorrow EP arrives three years after the San Francisco-born singer’s 2018 debut, Bad Together, which followed a series of high-profile collaborations with Kendrick Lamar and Pusha T, plus a sold-out arena tour supporting Maroon 5. If Rozzi, who has made a career out of connecting to audiences via intensely personal songs, wants us to take anything away from Hymn for Tomorrow, it’s that showing emotion can be empowering. “If I can do anything with this record,” she says, “it’s to make people feel like their vulnerability is a strength.”

Passionate about the recovery effort for the disastrous fires that ravage her home state of California each year, Rozzi, her co-writer/producer – Eric Leva – and her label, BMG donated a portion of proceeds from recent single “Orange Skies” to The American Red Cross (Western Wildfires) and the Bay Area’s Sonoma Family Meal.  Rozzi followed this by discussing her point-of-view on climate change, and voting for science on appearances with political platforms NowThis and Sierra Club. Impressed by both the song’s message and her incredible delivery, Simon Le Bon of Duran Duran featured the track on his WHOOOSH! Podcast. Her relatable quarantine track “Best Friend Song” found support across SiriusXM Pulse, Spotify “Pop Prism” + “Tomorrow’s Hits” and much more.

Photo Courtesy: Imogene Strauss