Stream Jidenna's Debut Album 'The Chief'

All hail The Chief. Two years after breaking onto the scene with “Classic Man,” Jidenna unleashes his debut album.

The 14-track project features “Little Bit More” and “The Let Out,” as well as collaborations with his Wondaland labelmates Janelle Monáe and St. Beauty (“Safari”) and Roman GianArthur (“Long Live the Chief”).

But the album isn’t just a collection of bangers for Jidenna, who says it’s also largely autobiographical. “The Chief is a story of manhood,” he told KMEL, “the story of me coming into my manhood after my father passed and the trials and tribulations I had on that journey.”

That story will be told through a diverse body of work. “There’s a lifetime of stories in one album as opposed to some albums you hear today [described like] ‘It’s a vibe,'” he added. “That’s a cool way of saying it’s the same song for 14 tracks. This is not that. I’ve lived in too many places to make the same song back to back.”

Back in 2015, Jidenna spoke with Rap-Up about the project, which was then slated for release in 2016. “You can expect swank,” he said at the time. “You can expect an album that feels like the adventures of classic man. What does a classic man do when he’s in his hotel? What does he do when he explores South Central L.A. all the way to Dubai? You can expect the best album in 2016, hands down, feet down.”

Stream The Chief below.