On December 16, 2011, Aiko signed a recording contract with American record producer No I.D.'s record label Artium, distributed through Def Jam Recordings. She has been described as having gentle and pop-tinged vocals. [Tyler Antonius]
Jhené Aiko was born and raised in Los Angeles, California, the daughter of Christina Yamamoto and Dr. Karamo Chilombo (birth name Greg Barnes), a pediatrician. She is of mixed race background—her mother is of Japanese, Spanish, and Dominican descent, while her father is of African American, Yaqui, Choctaw, Cherokee, Navajo, and German Jewish descent. She often states her ethnicity as "Japanese, African American, Native American, etc." based on percentages but identifies with all parts of her heritage. Aiko has also stated that she has French ancestry and has stated regarding her ancestry, "I’m a quarter Japanese. That’s the only percentage I know for sure because it’s my grandfather's. And then everyone else is pretty much like mixed." Her older sisters Miyoko and Jamila were in the R&B group Gyrl and toured with Immature, who were signed to MCA/Silas Records. This led to Jhené’s first meeting with producer Chris Stokes when she was five years old, and eventually he heard her sing. When B2K signed with Epic Records, Jhené was signed as well. She served as the opening act for B2K on their Scream Tour 3.
Aiko began her musical career contributing vocals to several B2K releases in 2002. She featured on tracks five through eight of the R&B group's remix album B2K: The Remixes - Volume 1. "Santa Baby", a cover she recorded, was also featured on their album Santa Hooked Me Up and she appeared as a guest vocalist on the song "Tease" from Pandemonium!. Her song "Dog" appeared as a bonus track.
Aiko also appeared in numerous music videos including O'Ryan's debut video, "Take It Slow", B2K's debut video "Uh Huh" and "Why I Love You", P.Y.T.'s "Same Ol' Same Ol' (Remix)" featuring Sarai, Play's "M.A.S.T.E.R. (Part 2)" featuring Lil' Fizz video and Morgan Smith's 2004 video "Blow Ya Whistle". Jhené also has songs featured on the soundtracks of Barbershop, The Master of Disguise, You Got Served, The Proud Family, and Byou. She released a video for her single "NO L.O.V.E" (re-recorded from Tha' Rayne version in 2002) which debuted on BET's 106 & Park when she was 15 years old.
Aiko was set to release her debut album, then-titled My Name Is Jhené, however the album was never released due to tension at the record label Epic, which ultimately led to Aiko asking to be released from the label. She then began to focus on school and continue her education.
In 2007, she made a return to music, in an interview she spoke on the choice saying “Shortly before I conceived my daughter, I stepped back into the field and took a meeting with a label head. In this meeting, I was innocently told, to ‘sell’ myself when walking into these meetings. “That’s when I decided I would ‘sail’ myself rather than sell myself.” Aiko released a mixtape on March 16, 2011 entitled Sailing Soul(s) via her official website, JheneAiko.com. All the songs on the mixtape were written by her, except “July” which was written by Micah Powell and most of the songs were produced by Fisticuffs, except “July” and “You vs Them” which were produced by Bei Maejor, “Real Now” which was produced by Roosevelt, “Do Better” which was produced by J. Lbs and “Growing Apart” which was produced by Tae Beast. The album's artwork was shot by photographer Jay 3. The mixtape also features collaborations from Miguel, Drake, and Kanye West, as well as others.
To promote the mixtape Aiko was joined by Grammy-nominated R&B singer Miguel on a one-off free secret tour on Sunday, July 15. The free tickets were given away at the Key Club box office on July 6 from 11AM-5PM on a first-come, first-served basis. The concert started at 7:00pm and finished as 9:30pm, lasting a duration of two and a half hours. On October 21, 2012 Aiko released a music video for the song "My Mine". Aiko also released a video for the mixtapes second track "Stranger". Datpiff certified the mixtape gold with downloads of 100,000. In 2011, she also began working closely with artists from Carson-based independent record label Top Dawg Entertainment such as Schoolboy Q and Ab-Soul.
In 2012, Aiko met with No I.D., record producer and vice president of A&R at Def Jam, who ended up signing Aiko to his Artium Records imprint through Def Jam. Aiko released the track "3:16AM" which was made available for digital download on iTunes September 4, 2012. The song was released as the first single from Sail Out. In 2012, Aiko was also the opening act on the highly anticipated “Life Is Good/Black Rage” concert tour headlined by fellow American artists, rapper Nas and singer-songwriter Lauryn Hill. In June 2013, Aiko was featured on the Big Sean song "Beware", which ended up reaching the Top 40 in the United States. This was her first song to chart on the US Billboard Hot 100. In October 2013, it was revealed Jhené Aiko would open for Canadian rapper Drake on his Would You like a Tour? concert tour. She had previously collaborated with Drake on his third album Nothing Was the Same (2013), lending her vocals on the tracks "Wu-Tang Forever" and "From Time".
Aiko then released her debut EP Sail Out, on November 12, 2013. "Bed Peace" featuring Childish Gambino was released as the album's second single on September 17, 2013. The single's artwork was inspired by John Lennon and Yoko Ono’s Bed-Ins for Peace protest against the Vietnam War. The EP features guest appearances from American rappers Vince Staples, Childish Gambino, Kendrick Lamar, and Ab-Soul. The EP debuted at number eight on the US Billboard 200 chart, with first-week sales of 34,000 copies. On January 14, 2014, "The Worst" was serviced to rhythmic contemporary radio in the United States as the album's third single. On May 2, 2014 "The Worst" rose from three to one on the airplay Mainstream R&B/Hip-Hop, in doing so she became the first female artist to top the chart as a lead with a debut single since Jazmine Sullivan reached the same feat with "Need U Bad" in 2008. "The Worst" also rose forty seven to forty three on the Hot 100. The song peaked on the US Billboard Hot 100 at forty-three, becoming Aiko's first solo release to chart in the region, the song also peaked at number eleven on the US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs.
On January 18, 2014, Aiko appeared on Saturday Night Live performing the song "From Time", with the episode's guest host, Drake. In a January 2014 interview with Vibe, Aiko announced her debut studio album Souled Out would be released in May 2014. However the album would be delayed. On March 16, 2014, Aiko premiered a song titled "My Afternoon Dream," along with an accompanying music video directed by Aiko and Krissy. It has yet to be revealed if the song, produced by Key Wane, will feature on the album.
On June 23, 2014, Aiko posted the cover art and a snippet of Souled Out's first single, titled "To Love & Die", on her official Instagram page. The single's artwork was described as "space-y" by Adelle Platon of Vibe magazine. The song was released for digital download on iTunes, the following day. On June 26, 2014, Canadian singer-songwriter The Weeknd, announced he would be headlining the "King of the Fall Tour", essentially a mini-tour across America in September / October 2014, the tour will consist of four shows and start on 19 September 2014 in New York, at the Barclays Center and end on October 10 in San Francisco, at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium. Aiko and frequent collaborator Schoolboy Q, were confirmed as the tour's supporting acts.
Aiko is a Christian, having been baptized when she was 16 at the evangelical Pentecostal Foursquare Church. At the age of 20, Aiko became pregnant by American R&B singer O'Ryan and gave birth to her daughter Namiko on November 19, 2008. Before losing her brother Miyagi to cancer on July 19, 2012, Aiko recorded "For My Brother" on her laptop, which was initially intended only for her brother's ears. He died soon after hearing the record. On August 27, 2013, Aiko was involved in a car accident in Los Angeles along with her daughter Namiko, older sister Miyoko, and her daughter's father O'Ryan. Aiko suffered a broken wrist, chipped tooth and had stitches in her chin. Her daughter, however, was unharmed in the accident.
Triggered
Jhené Aiko Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You were the trigger
You brought me to an obstructed view
When you knew the picture was bigger
Who am I kiddin'?
Knew from the beginnin'
You'd ruin everything, you do it every time
You are my enemy, you are no friend of mine, muhfucker, uh
You muhfuckin' right
You muhfuckin' right, I'm bitter
You muhfuckin' right, I'm triggered
You muhfuckin' right, I
Wanna fuck you right now (hmm)
I just turned the lights out now
And you know when the sun go down
That's when it would all go down
Been a minute, been a while
Ain't let nobody hit it since you hit it
I know you always know what to do wit' it
But ain't no me and you without you in it
Damn, I'm 'bout to burn this bitch down
Think I need to lie down
'Cause I'm not tryna wild out now
But right now
Don't know what I'm capable of
Might fuck around and go crazy on cuz
Might fuck around, have to pay me in blood
This ain't the way that you want it
Might catch a case in this bitch
Don't let me catch you face-to-face in this bitch
Tryin' my hardest not to disrespect you
After what you did, man, what you expected?
You muhfucker, uh
You muhfuckin' right
You muhfuckin' right, I'm bitter
You muhfuckin' right, I'm triggered
You muhfuckin' right, I, uh
Tryna let the time fly (yeah)
Tryna let the time go by
Tryna let the time heal all
Tryna let the time kill all
Of our memories
All you meant to me
All that history
All that's history
I'll calm down eventually
Fall back eventually, please
Call me back eventually
Fall back into me, yeah
Maybe I'm overreacting
Baby, I don't know what happened
You know all of my bad habits
You know it's hard for me to control that shit, man
'Cause when I get mad, I get big mad
Should have never did that, get back
'Bout to feel the wrath of a menace
In my bag, in my feelings
I'm a bad lil' bitch, and uh
I'm triggered, when I see your face
Triggered, when I hear your name
Triggered, I am not okay, uh
You need to stay out my way
Triggered, when I see your face
Triggered, when I hear your name
Triggered, I am not okay, uh
You need to stay out of my way, uh
You need to stay out of my way (yeah)
You need to stay out of my way
Oh, oh-oh, I, yeah-yeah
Jhené Aiko’s song, “Triggered,” is a heart-wrenching and emotionally charged song about the pain and bitterness that comes with a failed relationship. In the opening lines, Aiko lays the blame on her partner, suggesting that they were the trigger that led to her downfall. She accuses them of being aware of the bigger picture but deliberately obstructing her view. She admits to having known from the beginning that they would ruin everything, as they’d done many times before. Their actions have turned them into her enemy and not her friend.
The chorus reveals her bitterness and anger towards this person. She’s triggered by their very presence, and it’s evident that she’s still struggling with her emotions. She reveals that all she wants is to have sex with them, but before that can happen, they need to discuss their situation. She may burn everything down or even go crazy because of what they did to her. Aiko is fully aware of her limitations and tendencies, but she tries to control the situation and not disrespect her partner, despite their actions towards her.
The repetitive nature of the chorus shows that Aiko is struggling to come to terms with the end of the relationship. She’s trying to move on and let time heal her wounds as she reflects on their shared history. She wants to fall back into them eventually, but first, she needs to calm down and control her emotions. As she confesses that she’s a bad lil’ bitch, the song reaches a crescendo, with Aiko repeatedly singing that she’s triggered whenever she sees their face or hears their name. This song is a testament to the fact that heartbreak can consume a person's emotions deeply and forever dominate their thoughts and emotions.
Line by Line Meaning
Go figure
I am not surprised
You were the trigger
You were the cause of my current emotional state
You brought me to an obstructed view
You have made it difficult for me to see things clearly
When you knew the picture was bigger
You knew that there was more to the situation than what was apparent
Who am I kiddin'?
I am not fooling myself
Knew from the beginnin'
I knew from the start
You'd ruin everything, you do it every time
You always mess things up
You are my enemy, you are no friend of mine, muhfucker, uh
You are not my friend, you are my enemy
You muhfuckin' right
You are absolutely right
I'm bitter
I am resentful
I'm triggered
I am emotionally activated
Wanna fuck you right now (hmm)
I want to have sex with you at this very moment
I just turned the lights out now
I have turned the lights off
And you know when the sun go down
You know that things get wild at night
That's when it would all go down
That is the time when everything would happen
Been a minute, been a while
It has been a long time since we last hooked up
Ain't let nobody hit it since you hit it
I have not slept with anyone else since I slept with you
I know you always know what to do wit' it
I know you are skilled in bed
But ain't no me and you without you in it
I cannot have a relationship with you if we do not have sex
Damn, I'm 'bout to burn this bitch down
I am about to go crazy and do something destructive
Think I need to lie down
I need to calm down and rest
'Cause I'm not tryna wild out now
Because I do not want to act crazy
Don't know what I'm capable of
I am not sure what I might do
Might fuck around and go crazy on cuz
I might end up acting crazy
Might fuck around, have to pay me in blood
You might end up having to compensate me for what you've done
This ain't the way that you want it
This is not the way you would like things to go
Might catch a case in this bitch
I might end up getting in legal trouble
Don't let me catch you face-to-face in this bitch
Do not confront me in person
Tryin' my hardest not to disrespect you
I am doing my best not to insult you
After what you did, man, what you expected?
After what you did, what did you think would happen?
Tryna let the time fly (yeah)
I am trying to pass the time
Tryna let the time go by
I am trying to let time pass
Tryna let the time heal all
I am hoping that time will heal my emotional wounds
Tryna let the time kill all
I am hoping that time will erase all memories of you
Of our memories
Memories of our past relationship
All you meant to me
How much you once meant to me
All that history
Our shared romantic past
All that's history
Our past relationship is over
I'll calm down eventually
I will eventually calm down
Fall back eventually, please
Please give me some space
Call me back eventually
Please call me back at some point
Fall back into me, yeah
Come back to me
Maybe I'm overreacting
Maybe I am making too big of a deal about this
Baby, I don't know what happened
I do not understand what caused this situation
You know all of my bad habits
You know all of my flaws and tendencies
You know it's hard for me to control that shit, man
You know I struggle to control my emotions
'Cause when I get mad, I get big mad
I tend to get very angry when I am upset
Should have never did that, get back
You should not have done what you did and need to make it right
'Bout to feel the wrath of a menace
You are about to feel the full force of my anger
In my bag, in my feelings
I am in a negative emotional state
I'm a bad lil' bitch, and uh
I am a strong woman who will not be defeated
I'm triggered, when I see your face
I become emotional when I see your face
Triggered, when I hear your name
I become emotional when I hear your name
Triggered, I am not okay, uh
I am not doing well emotionally
You need to stay out my way
You need to avoid me
You need to stay out of my way, uh
You need to keep your distance from me
You need to stay out of my way (yeah)
I am warning you to leave me alone
Oh, oh-oh, I, yeah-yeah
I am feeling intense emotions right now
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, O/B/O DistroKid, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd., Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Brian Keith Warfield, Jhene Aiko Chilombo, Julian-Quan Viet Le, Maclean Robinson, Ross James O'donoghue
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Boss
[Verse 1: Jhené Aiko]
Go figure
You were the trigger
You brought me to an obstructed view
When you knew the picture was bigger
Who am I kiddin'?
Knew from the beginning
You'd ruin everything, you do it every time
You are my enemy, you are no friend of mind, muhfucker
[Chorus: Jhené Aiko]
You muhfuckin' right
You muhfuckin' right, I'm bitter
You muhfuckin' right, I'm triggered
You muhfuckin' right, I...
[Verse 2: Jhené Aiko]
Wanna fuck you right now
I just turned the lights out now
And you know when the sun go down
That's when it would all go down
Been a minute, been a while
Ain't let nobody hit it since you hit it
You know you always know what to do wit' it
But ain't no me and you without you in it
Damn, I'm 'bout to burn this bitch down
I think I need to lie down
'Cause I'm not tryna wild out now
But right now
Don't know what I'm capable of
[Verse 3: Jhené Aiko]
Might fuck around and go crazy on cuz
Might fuck around, have to pay me in blood
This ain't the way that you want it
Might catch a case in this bitch
Don't let me catch you face-to-face in this bitch
Tryin' my hardest not to disrespect you
After what you did, man, what you expected?
You muhfucker
[Verse 4: 21 Savage]
I was triggered when I seen you with that scrub (On God)
He can't handle you, you know you need a thug (Straight up)
They said never wife a woman that you meet inside a club
But I slept with half the club, baby who am I to judge?
I went against the world when they changed you (21)
I was ready to go to war when it pertain to you (On God)
How you leave a real nigga for a lame dude? (Straight up)
I did things with that pussy that he can't do (On God)
The way I lick it, the way I used to hit it
Sucking on that clit so long I left a hickey
Made her cut a hole in her Vickies for the quickies
Then she hit a pawn shop to buy me all the blickies
Thinking 'bout the faces that you made when I would hit it
That you prolly making with another nigga, got me trippin' (21)
Man, you got me triggered, got me in my feelings
If I see him now, up this bitch and get to clickin' (21)
[Verse 5: Summer Walker & Jhené Aiko]
First thing that I gotta do, I gotta go remove my tattoos
I gotta get up out of this place
I, I can't stand to look at your face
I know that I always get big mad
I cannot believe I did that
Nobody gets me so fired up
Nobody gets me so fired up
I tried little 'till I thought I died inside
I, I want to take it easy on me
'Cause when I get mad I get big mad
Shoulda never did that, get back
'Bout to feel the wrath of a menace
In my bag, in my feelings
I'm a bad little bitch, you know
[Outro: Jhené Aiko]
I'm triggered, when I see your face (Oh)
Triggered, when I hear your name (Oh)
Triggered, I am not okay (Oh)
You need to stay out my way
I'm triggered, when I see your face
Triggered (Oh), when I hear your name (Oh, oh)
Triggered, I am not okay (Yeah)
You need to stay out of my way (Mm)
You need to stay out of my way (Yeah)
You need to stay out of my way, yeah
Oh oh-oh-oh, ayy, yeah
Claudia Chavez
[Verse 1: Jhene Aiko]
Go figure
You were the trigger
You brought me to an obstructed view
When you knew the picture was bigger
Who am I kiddin'?
Knew from the beginning
You'd ruin everything, you do it every time
You are my enemy, you are no friend of mind, muhfucker
[Chorus: Jhene Aiko]
You muhfuckin' right
You muhfuckin' right, I'm bitter
You muhfuckin' right, I'm triggered
You muhfuckin' right, I...
[Verse 2: Jhene Aiko]
Wanna fuck you right now
I just turned the lights out now
And you know when the sun go down
That's when it would all go down
Been a minute, been a while
Ain't let nobody hit it since you hit it
You know you always know what to do wit' it
But ain't no me and you without you in it
Damn, I'm 'bout to burn this bitch down
I think I need to lie down
'Cause I'm not tryna wild out now
But right now
Don't know what I'm capable of
[Verse 3: Jhene Aiko]
Might fuck around and go crazy on cuz
Might fuck around, have to pay me in blood
This ain't the way that you want it
Might catch a case in this bitch
Don't let me catch you face-to-face in this bitch
Tryin' my hardest not to disrespect you
After what you did, man, what you expected?
You muhfucker
[Verse 3: 21 Savage]
I was triggered when I seen you with that scrub (On God)
He can't handle you, you know you need a dub (Straight up)
They said never wife a woman that you meet inside a club
But I slept with her at the club, baby who am I to judge?
I went against the world when they changed you (21)
I was ready to go to war when it pertain to you (On God)
How you leave a real nigga for a lame dude? (Straight up)
I do things with that pussy that he can't do (On God)
The way I lick it, the way I used to hit it
Sucking on that clit so long I left a hickey
Made her cut a hole in her Vickies for the quickies
Bitch she hit a pawn shop to buy me all the blickies
Thinking 'bout the faces that you made when I would hit it
That you prolly making with another nigga, got me trippin' (21)
Man, you got me triggered, got me in my feelings
If I see him now, up this bitch and get to clickin' (21)
[Verse 4: Summer Walker & Jhene Aiko]
First thing that I gotta do, I gotta go remove my tattoos
I gotta get up out of this place
I, I could sit and look at your face
I know that I always get big mad
I cannot believe I did that
Nobody gets me so fed up
Nobody gets me so fed up
I tried little 'till I thought I died inside
I, I want to take it easy [?]
'Cause when I get mad I get big mad
Shoulda never did that, get back
'Bout to feel the wrath of a menace
In my bag, in my feelings
I'm a bad little bitch, you know
[Outro: Jhene Aiko]
I'm triggered, when I see your face (Oh)
Triggered, when I hear your name (Oh)
Triggered, I am not okay (Oh)
You need to stay out my way
I'm triggered, when I see your face
Triggered (Oh), when I hear your name (Oh, oh)
Triggered, I am not okay (Yeah)
You need to stay out of my way (Mm)
You need to stay out of my way (Yeah)
You need to stay out of my way, yeah
Oh oh-oh-oh, ayy, yeah
Maraj
JHENÉ AND SUMMER ARE SPOILING US AT THIS POINT 😍😍😍😍
Donna’s Tingz
Breana L can’t wait for summers album to drop
Angel of Scorpio
Right 😍😍😍
sabidoobydoo
Breana L ikr we not worthy😭😭❤️
Sarah Elizabeth
Wait... Summerella??
your local rat
When 21 ended with "21" I felt that 😔✊🏽
Jaz Alva
yambè * 😂😂
Sky
LMSO
Ambii
Ong 😭
Damari Estrada
Lmaooo me 🤣😂