The Choice arrives as Washington's answer to a question Heaven and Earth posed.
The Choice came out as a companion to Heaven and Earth (2018), Washington's fourth studio album. This is important context because it tells you something about how Washington was thinking at that moment in his career — not as a separate artistic statement but as something that needed to exist alongside the larger work, something that clarifies or extends it.
By this point, Washington had built a reputation for ambitious, orchestra-scaled projects. Heaven and Earth (2018) itself was a sprawling double album, the kind of record that demands attention and rewards patience. The Choice, arriving as an EP, operates differently. It's more contained, more focused. Where the parent album unfolds across two discs, The Choice is precise. This is Washington distilling rather than expanding, which can be more revealing than you might expect. An extended play in the shadow of a double album isn't a lesser thing — it's often where an artist clarifies what they were really after.
This sits somewhere in the middle of Washington's trajectory — not an early statement that defined his voice, not a late-career reconsideration. It's working material, a piece of a moment. If you're already committed to Washington's work, The Choice fills in texture. If you're new to him, start with Heaven and Earth (2018) first. This EP makes more sense once you understand what it's responding to.