HEARTS SOLD SEPARATELY

“This is a warning: Your time is up,” announced Mariah the Scientist in the trailer for her fourth album, <i>HEARTS SOLD SEPARATELY</i>. “We will not be led by heartless womanizers. We are more than soldiers. We are heartbeats in a world of hollow men, defenders of a cause worth living and dying for. This is for the lovers.” Since her debut album, 2019’s <i>MASTER</i>, romantic drama has been the Georgia native’s muse, as she unpacks the complexities of disappointment and desire with an old soul and a light touch.

Drawing from the classics of ’80s R&B, when slow jams by the likes of Sade and Babyface ruled the radio, <i>HEARTS SOLD SEPARATELY</i> harkens back to a smoother, sexier time, though there’s a tinge of melancholy to singles like “Burning Blue” and the Kali Uchis duet “Is It a Crime.” The pair of singles represent the 27-year-old singer’s biggest hits to date. “I tried new things with my voice,” she tells Apple Music. “I tried new vibes. New perspectives.”

As for what’s changed personally since 2023’s <i>To Be Eaten Alive</i>—after four years of her highly publicized relationship with Young Thug, during most of which he was incarcerated, the rapper was released in October 2024. Mariah delves into the situation on “Sacrifice,” the wistful opening track. “When you love somebody, you make sacrifices,” she says. “There was a point in time when there was a lot of distance in my relationship, and I feel like I had to make that sacrifice.” Amidst the sea of love songs floats one self-reliance anthem: “All along, it was me, myself, and I,” the self-professed loner sings on “More.”