Lalah Hathaway Turns Chicago Memories Into a New Musical Chapter
Lalah Hathaway is making her hometown the starting point for her next musical chapter. Made In Chicago, listed for October 1st on Apple Music, connects her present-day voice with the places, people, and early listening experiences that shaped it. The project’s central question is how an artist carries home forward as life changes.
In her official album biography, Hathaway describes Chicago as the place where she was born and learned to become a musician. Her family’s connection to the city is part of that history, but the concept reaches beyond a hometown salute. The nine-song collection draws on memory, love, loss, and the music that remained with her after childhood.
Her father, Donny Hathaway, is one part of that foundation. Lalah’s account also points to the joyful music she heard as she entered her teens. Attending a performing arts school at 13 expanded her sense of what was possible, giving her early piano studies a new context. Those experiences help explain why the album’s story includes both family inheritance and personal discovery.
The label’s announcement presents Made In Chicago as a reflection on the singer’s past, present, and future. SRG-ILS introduced the project alongside “Can’t Let Go,” which provides a direct entry point for listeners. The official player below lets readers hear the single while exploring the ideas behind the larger collection.
Hathaway’s music page also offers a Chicago inspiration playlist selected by the artist. Alongside the single, it gives listeners a second way to approach the project: through the surrounding musical world she has chosen to share. Readers can follow those connections without treating the album as a simple history lesson or assuming every song tells the same story.
That makes this a creative-process story as much as a release announcement. The emphasis is on the relationship between place and artistic identity, with Hathaway’s own account guiding the discussion. Visit her official music page for the listening links, and explore PowerPage’s R&B News section for more conversations about the people and choices behind the music.
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