Amber Sadiq, Reporter
@asadiqcourant
R&B, referred to originally as Rhythm and Blues, was developed in the 1940s by Black-American musicians. Derived from gospel, jazz, folk, and traditional blues music, it has shown its significance primarily in black culture.
In the past 20 years, it has become one of the most commercially successful genres in the music industry today. Periodically, there are artists that continue to test the borders of the genre. Sza, originally named Solána Imani Rowe, first came into view in the early 2010s shortly after the release of her extended play, See.Sza.Run. Despite using internet beats and production apps for this debut, it was met with critical acclaim, comparing her work to artists such as Drake, The Weeknd, and Miguel. In 2013, she signed with Top Dawg Entertainment where she then went on to release her extended play, Z.
It was her release of Ctrl in the summer of 2017 which established her into the R&B scene as the expressive but casual poet of heartbreak. Across all fourteen tracks is the vulnerable reflection of all the aspects of love, relationships, and satisfaction. Despite being a coming-of-age album, she confronts adult issues of insecurity and emotion. From tracks like Normal Girl and Drew Barrymore, where she desperately pleads to an unrequited lover against an upbeat track, to Pretty Little Birds and Love Galore, where she reflects on a messy, sexually frustrated, but intimate relationship.
In this album Sza has managed to dwell on the more specific events in her life, particularly sleeping with her man’s friend because he ditched them for a trip to Vegas on Valentine’s Day, all while remaining relatable to her audience. Doves in the Wind, featuring California rapper and the singer’s frequent collaborator Kendrick Lamar, is one of my personal favorites. Her lyrics, making frequent references to the 1994 film Forrest Gump and his box of chocolates, come off as sarcastic and playful, almost taunting her partner. Paired with Kendrick Lamar’s sneering verse, placing women’s sexuality on a pedestal and poking fun at dissatisfactory men, it easily completes the album. Ctrl’s melancholic neutrality is one that easily made it one of the best releases that year.
