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Accompanied by a twelve minute long visual on Youtube, Summer Walker released a surprise EP entitled Clear. What struck me to share my thoughts on the project firstly was the fact that it was recorded all live. In the digital age I literally grew up in, such a thing is unheard of nowadays. Technology has advanced in a way that producers and engineers can take a couple programmed oos and ahhhs and create an entire song from it, without anyone ever picking up a microphone. So the fact that Summer took a simple yet powerful approach to her EP is greatly appreciated by a music purist such as myself. You cannot hide behind synthesizers and pitch correctors with a live fed mic.

Riot

“For my love, I need a riot”. With ample control of her voice, Summer explains to her lover that she needs their love to be a riot. From what I gathered, she doesn't mean confusion or violence as the title suggests but fire and spontaneity. This gem is under two minutes long and its lyrics are so powerful and ring true for many. Who wants a love that is without passion? Not I.

Grave

The only uptempo song on the EP comes with gusto. She is not taking any shit from anybody and is unapologetic about it. If you must tell her anything she does not want to hear Walker tells you to put the nonsense on her grave. I believe the story is truly told on the break down of the song. Her live band takes you to another place without the use of words just a few scats. And just like that, the song comes to an end.

Wasted

“Wanna get wasted off you”. Summer Walker uses the metaphor of getting drunk to describe the feelings of her lover. They have an effect on her as an unhealthy addiction. Feeling the burn of their love hit her throat as she consumes more than necessary or even safe.

Settling

‘I can't live with you, but I can't live without you”. Something we all grew up hearing we shouldn't do, settle for less than what we deserve. But as they say, when that love jones comes down on you it can be a MFer. Summer is clearly in love but knows she could do better. The bass guitar is the catalyst of the record. The low sounds of the instrument compliment the low tones of the vocals. To add to the drama of this track there is a sudden pause towards the middle of the song makes you think it is all over quickly picking back up where it left off. This reminded me of the uncertainty of love. One second everything is copacetic the next there is a jarring pause of fear then it subsides to a low hallow feeling.

|tiffanytorree|

God Bless Them 20 Somethings | Ctrl | SZA

This monumental debut album by SZA has thoroughly secured my relationship with music. I now know how my mom felt in ‘98 when The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill graced the airwaves. There is no other album to date, by a young artist made in the 21st century that I have connected with as much as CTRL. There are moments on the album where SZA’s mother and grandmother are giving advice on the various topics the album presents. The first voice heard on CTRL is Mommy, as her daughter refers to her, saying the following kicking off the album : 

“ That is my greatest fear That if, if I lost control Or did not have control, things would just, you know I would be… fatal “

 Tiffany Torree’s Picks

| Supermodel |

 This track was produced and written in part by Pharrell Williams who also lends his voice for the whispers in the outro of the song. Solans reveals in the song that, as a result of her boyfriend not being with her on Valentine’s Day (and a host of other reasons), she has been sleeping with one of his friends behind his back. There is a line in “Supermodel” where she says, “You know I need too much attention for shit like”. I appreciated this lyric and other lyrics throughout the album for its raw emotion and plain language. As a young woman, daying in the digital can quite frankly trash. Everyone’s worried about a fantasy world made up of algorithms online instead of the physical bleeding breathing person in front of them let alone the people they are in a relationship with. 

 Another line I resonated with on this particular track is as follows: “Wish I was comfortable just with myself”. I agree with her on this one. Why is it so hard for people to be alone? In the past I struggled to come to terms with being single, feeling like I was less than for not having someone to claim me as theirs. It is perfectly normal to just be getting to know yourself without the added pressure of palming someone else's happiness. You should know yourself wholeheartedly before entering a connection with another as to not lose yourself in the other person when things don't work out. 

 Lastly, the lyric,” I get so lonely I forget what I'm worth, We get so lonely we pretend that its worst…...lonely enough to let you treat me like this”, is basically saying that she’ll get so lonely that she temporarily forget how she is supposed to be treated by a significant other. Then, she says that the loneliness gets to the point where she convinces herself it feels like the toxic relationship would be better. 

The electric guitar strums compliment the dark quality of the song. In the last 30 seconds of the song, SZA repeats the same line but it is met with drums in front of the guitar making the audience feel her words even more than the times previously saying the same thing. 

 | Garden (Say it Like Dat) |  

Solana’s love language is her man telling her that her butt is getting bigger even it doesn’t appear to be so. She expressed her insecurity of not being shapely like other women. Granny comes in the outro with a warning to her granddaughter telling her to “stand her ground”. The inspiration for “Gardens (Say it Like Dat)” was her desire to write a song for “[her] new self, writing to [her] old self to the someone [her] old self needed”.  

| Wavy(Interlude) featuring James Fauntleroy |

Interludes always seem to make it into my top picks on album reviews. I think its the aspect of leaving me yearning for more makes me appreciate the song that much more. The opening line is as follows: “I think I’m bad as hell, I got issues out of line”. Solana is playing off the term “bad as hell”, meaning a hot woman, to throw off the listener from the coming lyrics “I got issues out of line”. 

The following is an excerpt from Genius.com, annotating the lyrics,

 “I was wavy I've been waitin' for you, boy And I was drownin'” 

: An allusion to the 1953 poem, “Not Waving but Drowning” by Stevie Smith. The poem is about a man that from the shore appears to be waving at the people on the beach, but in reality, he is drowning. The first stanza goes: Nobody heard him, the dead man, But still he lay moaning: I was much further out than you thought And not waving but drowning SZA and James Fauntleroy may appear to be having a good time in their relationships, but in reality, they are crying out for help. (Genius.com)

| 20 Something |

This is my ultimate favorite song on Ctrl. When I first heard “20 Something” I cried like a baby because I felt such a deep connection to the lyrics. I can remember driving up I10 in Houston, at night and blasting the album but when this song would come on I'd be so distraught that I needed to pull over. It was 2017 and the album had just dropped and I was dumbfounded at how well she could compute emotions I didn't know I had.”How could it be 20 something, all alone still not a thing in my name”. Your twenties are a time where you have fun, they say. You're supposed to be exploring different types of people and be traveling, they say. But in reality, you end up being treated like a child but expected to take care of responsibilities. You're broke and so disassociated that we can't even do whats so say expected of us.

“But God bless these 20 somethings

 (God bless, oh God bless, oh God bless, oh God bless, oh) 

Hopin' my 20 somethings won't end Hopin' to keep the rest of my friends 

Prayin' the 20 somethings don't kill me, kill me”

Happy 2nd Birthday Ctrl !

 |tiffanytorree| be sure to follow me on all social platforms @tiffanytorree