D.C.-area native Alex Vaughn has all the makings of becoming R&B’s next star. Earlier this year, Spotify named her to its “R&B Rising’s Artists To Watch” list; she’s signed to arguably the hottest label in hip-hop and R&B; she’s working with some of the best and brightest artists and producers; and this weekend, she’s coming home for some of the last few dates of her first nationwide tour.
Vaughn is the marquee opening act on Ari Lennox’s Age/Sex/Location tour. The two singers from the D.C. region have two shows at The Fillmore Silver Spring this Saturday and Sunday and two at the historic Howard Theatre on March 28 and 29. (These were originally the tour’s last U.S. dates, but a February show in Oakland was rescheduled to next month.)
These shows mark a pivotal moment in Vaughn’s early career because Lennox, one of the faces of J. Cole’s Dreamville Records imprint, announced in December this tour will be her last — though she wouldn’t be the first to make such a declaration and go back on it. Either way, when the duo take the stage for their respective sets, it will be a clear endorsement from Lennox of Vaughn as an ascendant talent. Lennox, who has herself made the leap to being a household name, could have picked anyone to be the final opening act — but she handpicked Vaughn to be the perfect appetizer for her audience.
It’s not the first time Vaughn, born and raised in Prince George’s County, has stood out amongst a crowded field. Six years ago in College Park, in a room filled to the brim with braggadocio and heavy bass pumping through the speakers, it was her gentler but no less confident energy that won over the crowd.
Vaughn — then a singer who had been gaining a small, mighty following by performing original songs and YouTube covers of the most recognizable R&B and pop hits ever recorded — wowed an open mic audience with her vocal talent, mastery of the keyboard, and even more importantly, her undeniable star quality. Her self-assuredness separated her from the others trying to make a name for themselves in front of a cadre of the region’s tastemakers.
“She commanded a rap show, and if you’ve ever been to a D.C. rap show, it’s too crazy,” remembers her manager, DJ Money, who’s worked closely with artists like Wale, Mac Miller, and many more. “It automatically got my attention.”
From an early age, Vaughn was enamored with music and the bright lights. She remembers watching award shows, envisioning herself on the screen commanding the world’s attention with her voice.
“Singing has always been my favorite thing in the world to do,” Vaughn told DCist/WAMU in an interview.
After all, Vaughn grew up surrounded by it. Her grandmother owned a piano that Vaughn learned to play as a little girl, and her parents would often play soul music in the house and on car rides. She was a member of school choirs throughout grade school and took formal classical lessons in Suitland High School’s performing arts program.
For college, Vaughn attended Hartford University in Connecticut on a vocal music education scholarship with a focus on classical music. But after realizing she wanted to abandon her classical education, Vaughn returned home without a plan of what her path would be.
“I didn’t know what was possible for me,” she admits. “All I knew was that I had a burning passion and a dream that I had to follow, and now was time to really trust the journey and wherever it would take me.”
The path took Vaughn through several odd jobs — as an admin at a YMCA in D.C., at the clothing store Zara, and at a call center — none of which fulfilled her the way making music did. “Music has always been the one thing that’s understood me best, so I’ve always taken it very seriously,” she says.
Vaughn started to hone in on writing and producing her own music in 2015, when she recorded her first project, The 4pm Mix. Three years later after releasing a few singles like “Gotta Have It” and “Good Morning,” Vaughn dropped The Shift, her first feature-length independent album. Local fans gravitated to the vulnerability she displayed in her music and to the vocal and instrumental talent she showed off at live shows. Before she left the area in 2018, Vaughn performed to a sold-out crowd for a “sendoff” show at the now-defunct Big Chief in Ivy City.
Matt McGhee, Vaughn’s friend and frequent collaborator, watched as Vaughn’s talent blossomed during the early days of her singing career: “She just has a quality about her that everybody just kind of wants to be a part of,” he said in an interview.
Some of the biggest names in the music industry seem to agree. In 2021, Vaughn caught the attention of Love Renaissance (LVRN), a record label and management company whose portfolio includes artists such as Summer Walker, 6lack, and Westside Boogie. LVRN invited Vaughn to perform live on Love Renaissance Radio, a Sirius XM show the label’s executives used to discover up-and-coming artists. Shortly after, LVRN announced they would be signing Vaughn to the label.
Right around then, Vaughn quit her job to focus on music full time, and it has paid off. She went viral with her major-label debut single “Mirage,” as a video of her live performance of the song collected over 4.5 million views on Instagram. She released Voice Notes, an EP she produced using her phone’s voice notes app, and dropped The Hurtbook, her first major label album, in October. To date, Vaughn has 589,692 monthly listeners on Spotify and her top two songs, “So Be It” and “Mirage,” have been streamed 4.6 million and 3.9 million streams, respectively.
While Vaughn currently resides in Los Angeles, a move she made as her career began to take off, she maintains a footprint in the District. Pie Shop on H Street NE continues to host a monthly music showcase Vaughn co-created. AV Sessions, which Vaughn and her friend and publicist Lena Lavonn launched in 2018, provides aspiring singers, rappers, and musicians a stage on which to perform original music or cover other artists’ songs with the backing of a live band.
While she no longer oversees the series’ day-to-day operations — she has a team in place for that — Vaughn makes it a point to attend whenever she’s in town. For many of the performers, it’s the first opportunity they’ve had to play regularly in front of a live audience.
“More than anything I want to make sure the DMV has a safe space for artists to perfect their craft, while also forming their own creative communities,” Vaughn says about the AV Sessions. “There’s been a stigma about our area not supporting one another, and I’m grateful to play any part in putting an end to that narrative once and for all.”
She’s following in some other local artists’ footprints with that approach. Reaching out to lift up the next up-and-comer has become something of a recent tradition for major artists hailing from the D.C. area, debunking a widely held but largely untrue narrative that the region suffers from a “crabs in a bucket” mentality. In 2016, D.C.’s Shy Glizzy lent his bouncy flow for the final verse on GoldLink’s now RIAA 6x-platinum record “Crew” along with Columbia, Maryland native Brent Faiyaz.
Two years later, Wale gave a buzzy new singer named Ari Lennox a spot on his 2018 Wale & Friends show for the opening of Ward 8’s Entertainment and Sports Arena, according to Money, Vaughn’s manager. Lennox, by choosing Vaughn as her marquee opener, is building upon that growing lineage.
“It’s been such an inspiration to watch her operate in her gifts and have me on board to share her sold-out crowds every night,” Vaughn says of Lennox.
The feeling is clearly mutual. Last Friday, Vaughn released The Hurtbook: (Homegirl Pack), a deluxe version of her debut album with remixes of her biggest songs (“So Be It” and “Demon Time,”) and one new song (“IYKYK”), featuring contributions from Vaughn’s labelmate Summer Walker, Muni Long, and Lennox herself.
Vaughn is already feeling Lennox’s influence. After watching how the elder artist has evolved over the years and handled the responsibilities of a tour, Vaughn says she can envision herself headlining one of her own soon: “She’s definitely put the fire in my heart [to headline a tour],” Vaughn says.
It would be easy to become overwhelmed by the success, but Vaughn isn’t taking it for granted; she knows what her childhood self would do if she could see her future self on stage.”
She would smile,” Vaughn says. “To be able to perform in front of four sold-out crowds, filled with the same people who watched me grow, is a beautiful feeling. I’m excited to share this win with my hometown.”
The Age/Sex/Location tour stops at The Fillmore March 25-26 and the Howard Theatre March 28-29; the shows are sold out, but tickets are available on the secondary market. Vaughn is also being honored by 93.9 WKYS at the WKYS Women’s Empowerment Brunch on Sunday, March 26 at the Bethesda Blues and Jazz Club. Tickets are on sale here.
