On this Christmas Day, I’m going to bring all of us back to a very different time in our worlds. Let’s take it back to June 2017, specifically we’ll be going to the ninth of that month. Which was actually two days before I went and graduated from Rock Ridge High School.
June 9th, 2017 was the day that SZA dropped her debut studio album, “Ctrl”. An album that would go on to become a staple for all of our musical experiences. The album was her “official” breakthrough, selling just about 60,000 units in the first week and debuting at #3 on the Billboard 200 charts (behind label-mate Kendrick Lamar & Katy Perry).
As of today, December 25th, 2023, over five of the songs have achieved platinum status and at least three have achieved gold status. “Ctrl” set SZA on the path that she currently is on now. Which is dominating the charts with every appearance she makes, no matter how far apart her releases are.
Almost seven years later, let’s take a look back at “Ctrl” together. It deserves its flowers, and then some. Let’s get into it.
“THE YSN REVIEW”
- Broken Clocks
- 20 Something
- Prom
- The Weekend
- Supermodel
- Love Galore ft. Travis Scott
- Normal Girl
- Drew Barrymore
- Anything
- Doves In the Wind ft. Kendrick Lamar
- Go Gina
- Garden (Say It Like Dat)
- Wavy (Interlude) ft. James Fauntleroy
- Pretty Little Birds ft. Isaiah Rashad
When you hear SZA’s voice, you know that she’s the only one with that sound. Let me give you an example. It’s a late July night and I’m sitting at an AMC theater in Tysons Corner, Virginia. I’m at the premiere of Travis Scott’s movie, “Circus Maximus”.
Throughout the movie, the man known as La Flame, is playing the songs from his new album “UTOPIA” while showing these crazy visuals. At the end of the movie, Travis is being shown walking out of the “arena” that he was performing in. And while he’s walking out, the song that we know now as “TELEKINESIS” starts playing.
I remember a bunch of people in the theater started cheering because we all knew the snippet that we had heard this from. What I was not expecting, was hearing SZA’s voice come booming through the speakers as the credits rolled. It was like I was glued to my seat, and I think everyone else was too. I could say with confidence, that she out-performed everyone on the album with just that part.
That same feeling, is what I first felt when I pressed play on this album to listen to “Supermodel”. She starts and ends the album with voice notes from her mother.
“That is my greatest fear
That if, if I lost control”
And both of these messages left by her are very integral to the album.
Something that I’ve noticed in both of SZA’s studio albums, is her ability to be very open and vulnerable in all of her music. And one thing that she struggles with is the thought of being alone and you can especially hear that on “Supermodel”.
“Why I can’t stay alone just by myself?
Wish I was comfortable just with myself”
To tie that to her latest release with “SOS”, she also talks about struggling with loneliness on the song “Kill Bill”. She goes as far to say that she would rather be in both jail and hell, then be alone.
We’ve now covered the fear parts of SZA, let’s talk about what else she is dealing with on her albums. Throughout her music, SZA talks about struggles that a lot of people face in their daily lives. Just like the title of the 12th track on “Ctrl”, the issues she talks about really make her to be a “Normal Girl”.
Insecurities, loneliness and the fear of her youth going by too fast are three themes that seem to have made her fans grasp on to her not only as an artist, but as a person as well.
On “Drew Barrymore” she talks about struggling to find her self-worth, and is comparing herself to the other women that her man is dealing with.
“I’m sorry I’m not more attractive
I’m sorry I’m not more ladylike”
She also relays the same message on her song “Special” from “SOS”. Talking about how she’s just an “ordinary girl” and she’s not comparable to this girl that worked at the Gucci store and never wore makeup.
And this all goes back to the message left by her mom at the end of “20 Something”. I’d like to think that SZA has connected both of her studio albums, even though they are five years apart. In “SOS” she is still talking about the same issues that plagued her back in 2017. She is still looking for control in her life, still dealing with insecurities and still trying to heal from her own toxicity (see The Weekend & Kill Bill).
But it’s real, and that’s what keeps her fans coming back. She gives her all out on these songs, because she is telling her life story as we go. She is showing through her music that healing through anything, is never going to be quick.
There’s going to be times where you feel like you can’t escape and it’s okay for that to take some time. And even if you’re dealing with certain problems, it’s better than to just be living a life of feeling nothing. Feeling these emotions that she’s talking about in the music is what makes us/her feel human. And I think that message is so beautifully put by her mother at the end of “20 Something”.
I can’t relate to a lot of her music, but I know that hearing “20 Something” just hit different (pun intended). Like I was talking about at the beginning of this article, I graduated high school in 2017. That was almost seven years ago, but it feels like just yesterday. So while my “20 Somethings” are passing, I’m trying to find enjoyment and happiness through it all. I’m hoping they don’t end anytime soon, but when they do, I want to be happy with the end results.
That will be all for this throwback album review of SZA’s “Ctrl”. And album that I truly loved and will definitely never forget.
I hope everyone is doing well mentally through all the craziness in the world.
I can happily announce that both my favorite songs and albums of 2023 articles are now complete. I’m just waiting to upload them at the end of the month.
This is YSN, until next time, signing out.
