Ari Lennox performs during the 43rd Annual BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn! Festival Opening Night at the Prospect Park Lena Horne Bandshell on July 31, 2021 in New York City.
Roy RochlinAri Lennox has been arrested in Amsterdam after she claims on social media to have been racially profiled in the airport Monday morning (Nov. 29).
Early Monday, Lennox sent out a flurry of tweets about her negative experience with airport security in Amsterdam, writing, “F— Amsterdam security. They hate black people.” In her final tweet, Lennox wrote, “I’m being arrested in Amsterdam for reacting to a woman racially profiling me.”
Dutch military police, who are in charge of security at Amsterdam Schipol airport, told Reuters that the singer (real name Courtney Shanade Salter) was arrested for disturbing public order after accusing airline personnel of racial discrimination. The police said Lennox was held for acting aggressively toward an airline official and for being drunk in public.
“Our unit found a woman full of emotions, that wouldn’t calm down,” spokesman Robert van Kapel told the publication. “That’s why she had to be taken into custody.” It remains unclear how long the “Shea Butter Baby” star will remain in custody since police are still investigating claims of possible threats Lennox made during the incident.
Billboard has reached out to Lennox’s reps for comment but did not hear back at press time.
The R&B singer performed her latest single “Pressure” and “Unloyal” with Summer Walker from the latter’s Billboard 200-topping album Still Over It at the 2021 Soul Train Awards, which was taped at New York’s Apollo Theater on Nov. 20 and was broadcast Sunday night on BET.
See Lennox’s tweets about her arrest below.
Fontaines D.C. have teamed up with Rosalía for their new collaboration, Where Is Gone?.
The song features on the Irish rock band's forthcoming album, Dopamine Chamber, which arrives on Friday (16.10.26). For guitarist Carlos O’Connell, working with the Spanish superstar is particularly special because of his own Spanish roots.
He explained: “I’ve admired Rosalía ever since her debut album, which I thought was absolutely beautiful.
“What excited me most was the way she continued to preserve Spain's musical traditions, something that felt spiritually connected to what we've been trying to achieve with Irish music. Having roots in both countries, it's been really special to witness. "She's an artist who has continued to amaze me at every point in her career.”
Frontman Grian Chatten has also described the collaboration with Rosalía as one of the most memorable achievements of his career.
He revealed that he felt "humbled" when she agreed to lend her voice to the band's album.
Speaking to NPR, Grian said: “I've always felt there's something almost like a single big idea that I'm personally trying to communicate to the world before I get old and die, if that makes sense. There's one thing I think I'll spend my life trying to express. I have a feeling she has a similar outlook. … I mean, she's an amazing arranger, composer and lyricist. It means so much that she wanted to sing on something we'd put together. It's definitely one of the highlights of my career.”
Rosalía's links to Irish rock music extend beyond Fontaines D.C. She also offered inspiration and helped develop the Spanish lyrics for U2's The Mirror Maker (Rosalía), a track from their forthcoming album, Carnaval de Luz.
During an appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon last week, she spoke about frontman Bono, saying: “I don't know him personally, but he sent me a text explaining that he was working on a new project and had written a song called The Mirror Maker."
Rosalía joked that Bono had invented a few words of his own.
She recalled telling him: “I wasn't sure what to make of it, but I told him he could create his own language if he wanted to.”
She described the opportunity to collaborate with the 66 year old music veteran as a real privilege.
She added: “Bono is a legend.
“It's amazing.”
Bono recently revealed that he was worried about seeming like a stalker when he reached out to Rosalía to ask whether he could name the song after her.
