SZA - Ctrl ALBUM REVIEW

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I haven’t covered a lot of Top Dawg Entertainment reviews mainly because I haven’t had time and I’m waiting for the next Kendrick Lamar album to drop so I can do a bunch of TDE albums. Now, I decided to review one of the higher reviewed debut albums of 2017, SZA’s Ctrl. One of the newer members of the TDE family, SZA has been on the rise for a long time, and this is her highly anticipated album. There’s pretty much all there is to it. Kendrick has hyped her up quite a bit since joining TDE, and I think it’s about time to look over her debut album. Let’s get into Ctrl and see what I think of it.

Ctrl is an alternative R&B album with soul influences. Now, the genre of alternative R&B has been beaten to death for the past decade. SZA has been around since the early 2010s, releasing her first projects at around the time that The Weeknd was putting out his Trilogy mixtapes. I like it when artists try to keep changing the genre they call their sound, and if it’s good, it could have a game-changer. If it’s bad, I think the effort is put in. Ctrl is an example of by-the-books alternative R&B, and it isn’t all bad. What lacks in the instrumentations, SZA makes up for it in her matured songwriting. It’s more introspective and consistent, and that also shows off SZA’a haunting and somewhat unique voice. The features from Travis Scott and TDE members Isaiah Rashad and Kendrick Lamar are fine, but it’s mainly SZA’s project, and she takes a commanding role.

I love the alternative R&B genre, and SZA’s Ctrl is the best entry point to the genre. Yes, it’s a bit of a basic sound, but that’s a lot of alternative R&B these days. What makes this stand out is SZA’s performance and songwriting, along with an overall good vibe this album has. I don’t really consider it a classic like some people, but I completely understand why they think that. I guess I’m more of a House of Balloons kind of guy.


7/10


Stream Ctrl here

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