The Texas-native connects with Bernard Jabs for a poignant new track
Ariaa detaches from the masses by applying his authenticity as an artist to forge an unbreakable sound. He has previously asserted the range of his talents with tracks like “Vibe To”, “Space Coupe”, and “Farsi.” The latter even boasts a feature from the one-and-only T-Pain, a noteworthy nod indeed. With “Cross Your Heart,” Ariaa proves he has no issue bringing his R&B roots into a new sonic territory, enlisting the prolific Bernard Jabs to perfect this process.
As daylight lessens in approach of the Winter season, this single presents a melancholy milieu to match. The collaborative production, handled by H and Chu, sets the stage with potent percussion as a fiery guitar riff flirts with a soaring synth-lead overhead. With the stage set, Ariaa and Bernard share the chorus to display their thrilling contrast. They are seamless in transition, trading lines about loyalty, lust and the future. To start, Ariaa opens with, “I still couldn’t miss her, send the pin / Time to call your friends up / If you ain’t gang then I can’t let you enter.” Then, Bernard retorts with his distinctive grit, “When I die all my hoes they gon’ cry for me / Cross your heart, play your part, hold it down for me.” The dynamic difference in delivery between this duo is what makes it so compelling. As Bernard brings his catchily raspy cadence to the table, Ariaa hits all the high notes and waning coos to cultivate this combination of highs and lows.
In the verse, he dives deeper into his past experiences of love and life in general. With noticeable emotion packaged into beautifully mastered vocals, lines like, “Wanna at least try for her, used to wanna die for her / Now I’m too alive for her,” carry a more substantial weight to them. Ariaa knows what he’s doing, and uses his voice to build a brilliant bond between harmony and raw unfiltered feelings. Yes, the vocals are particularly clean-cut, but this actually enhances the audible emotion behind what he’s saying, instead of diminishing it. In totality, this all seems to be part of his plan, as he presents an adage in the hook, “Blueprint! / On to the next vibe.”