Still have no idea where all of the crazy hype for this album came from, it was mindboggling! However, not completely unjustified clearly as we're in at number 19 with SZA and her solo debut Ctrl.
I first heard about SZA a few years through soundcloud, when she put out her EP - Z - and I liked it so much I even wrote about it here. Since then her name's always stayed in the back of my mind but I wasn't really anticipating anything as the years went on. When she dropped her single "Drew Barrymore" (still one of my favourites from the record) last year that brought her right back to the forefront of my mind and all of a sudden I was excited again. Just as suddenly, almost overnight, she was one of the most well known, and anticipated artists of the year. SZA fans came out of the wood-work and they sure made a lot of noise.
My favourites on the album right now are "Drew Barrymore", "Doves In The Wind (feat. Kendrick Lamar)", "The Weekend" and "Go Gina". Each of the tracks on this album has helped shape a lot of the more recent pop music that we've listened to and been exposed to this year. It's not often that a debut album puts so much influence on any one genre in such a short time, but SZA did exactly that. One of the main things that was clear from track one, and something I particularly love about this record is SZA's candour. She holds little back from her romantic tales and the emotions that accompany them, and this probably plays a large part in how this album caught the attention of so many ears and hearts this year.
There is definitely room for expansion on a lot of the songs with this one, despite the fantastic production, some tracks lack a je ne sais quoi. However, this is a minor criticism given just how much potential is shown in these few tracks. It can only be onwards and upwards from here for SZA.
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