Sailing Soul(s) is the debut mixtape by Jhené Aiko; it was purposefully released on March 16, 2011, the same day as the artist turned 23 years old, and was her first official piece of work since she departed from the group B2K in 2003, as her original debut album My Name Is Jhené got scrapped due to multiple failed attempts to publish it. Mainly inspired by a disappointing experience Aiko had during a meeting with a label, Sailing Soul(s) presents themes of love, personal struggle, self-empowerment and free expression, all centered around Aiko’s will to preserve and celebrate her identity, as she said in an interview with Vibe Magazine: Definitely the whole “sailing souls” thing. A lot of people are still confused about what that means, and it just means to stay true to yourself and go with what you feel. Feeling are really the only thing that is real. I kinda want to convey the message to just be yourself. Don’t ever lose yourself for whatever reason—because you want to make more money, because you want to be prettier or whatever. I’m not a slave to anyone; I’m sailing my soul instead of selling it. Aiko began working on the project in 2009, shortly after she gave birth to her daughter and experienced a new frenzy of creativity; the duo The Fisticuffs held most part of the producing credits on the record. Though the mixtape was initially released independently and made available on platforms such as DatPiff, Sailing Soul(s) quickly became a critical and public success, prompting Aiko to sign a deal with ARTium Recordings and Def Jam in 2012. In 2021, on the tenth anniversary of the mixtape’s original release, Aiko brought the project to digital platforms and streaming services for the first time, with a slightly edited track-list and several bonus tracks.