Giveon Goes Back To The ’70s In His New Album “Beloved”
Giveon is done playing it safe. R&B’s resident baritone’s new album, “Beloved,” dives headfirst into the lush soul of the 1970s. Yet, he is not doing it solely as a retro gimmick, but as a heartfelt excavation of everything that shaped him.
Unlike many artists who dabble in homage, “Beloved “feels like full immersion. The 30-year-old Long Beach native channels the velvet textures of Philly soul. The sound is definitely shaped by Teddy Pendergrass, the Delfonics, and the smooth orchestrations of TSOP. Yet, Giveon isn’t just mimicking the past. He’s reviving it, reimagining it. Thus, it molds it into something unmistakably his own.
“This is the record I always wanted to make,” Giveon says. “I wasn’t ready before — I had to grow into this.”
“Beloved” and New-Found Self
It’s a bold shift, but one that feels organic. “Beloved” is Giveon’s second full-length project and his most sonically ambitious to date. Produced in collaboration with longtime creative partner Sevn Thomas. The album bridges old and new with care and clarity. The sweeping strings and mid-tempo grooves aren’t ironic throwbacks. They’re lived-in, emotionally grounded, and surprisingly contemporary.
“This album is rooted in the music my mom used to play when she was cleaning the house or during family barbecues,” Giveon recalls. “Luther Vandross, the Isley Brothers, Smokey Robinson’s ‘Cruisin.’ She was born in ’73, so I think she picked it up from my grandparents. That music just became a part of me.”
It’s also what made him start singing. “I’d hum along, and one day my Uncle John said, ‘You’re staying in pitch.’ After that, my mom had me sing ‘Happy Birthday’ to everyone. That was her way of showing me off,” he laughs. “I wasn’t a straight-A student, but she applauded so loudly I couldn’t hear the people who didn’t. That gave me the confidence to keep going.”
Giveon and Finding His Inner Push
The inner push eventually led Giveon to the Grammy Museum’s education program. The same one that nurtured talents like Billie Eilish and Finneas. There, he deepened his love for baritone legends like Barry White and Sinatra. “I kept sneaking back into the program even though you’re only supposed to go once,” he says.
Thus, eventually, he crossed paths with Sevn Thomas. He signed Giveon to his Not So Fast imprint via Epic Records. The Drake co-sign came quickly, and with it, a new level of visibility — all during lockdown.
“My first EP dropped the same week the world shut down,” he remembers. “We had to promote it online, with videos and social media. But I think people responded because it felt honest. It felt like me.”
The Road Towards The Second Album
That honesty is exactly what powers Beloved. Where his early EPs hinted at his love for vintage soul, this album commits fully. And while the shift might surprise some fans, Giveon isn’t afraid of the tradeoff.
“Evolving can be scary, especially when people know you for a certain sound,” he says. “But I had to be okay with maybe losing a few people to gain the ones who really understand what I’m trying to do.”
For Sevn Thomas, Beloved is the project they’ve been building toward all along. “We created a world with that first project, and now we’re expanding it,” he says. “I’m older now, and I hear things differently. This feels like a progression.”
And in an era where TikTok trends often dictate sonic direction, Giveon is proudly zigging while everyone else zags.
“There’s no one else really doing this right now. If I’m going to be the face of this contemporary soul thing, I can’t do it halfway,” he says. “I might be nostalgic — but I’m still a modern guy.”
With Beloved, he proves you can be both.
