In 2017, SZA released her breakthrough album, Ctrl, which immediately boosted her into stardom. The album sat at #3 on the Billboard 200, sold 600,000 units during its first week, and granted her a Grammy nomination for Best New Artist. Apart from her prior EPs, S and Z, Ctrl is widely known for its unique sound, lyricism, and emotional resonance.
Redefining R&B
As a neo-soul album inspired by flares of electronic, hip-hop, and indie, Ctrl was a project that challenged the standards of R&B, featuring artists like Kendrick Lamar, Travis Scott, and Isaiah Rashad. In this record, SZA portrays her lack of control over her life while struggling with her own internal conflict. Each track expresses confessional vulnerability conveyed by lyricism and storytelling. For example, in “Broken Clocks,” she sings, “All I got is these broken clocks I ain’t got no time just burnin’ daylight.” In this track, SZA expresses how she’s running against a cycle of “broken clocks,” trying to balance love and self-acceptance while being caught in the pressures of her everyday hustle. The beauty of this album is how she intertwines complex emotions with spacey, ambient, and sultry sounding music.
Cultural Significance
With this album, not only did SZA change the norm of R&B, but she also made a shift in Black womanhood. In history, Black women were put into stereotypes. They were always expected to be angry, composed, and selfless. Even as things are different now, Black women are still expected to abide by a certain standard, sometimes even from within the race. In Ctrl, SZA showed the versatility and depth of Black women. She demonstrated feelings of insecurity, pettiness, longing, vulnerability, self-love, and more. It shows how Black women are allowed to feel many types of contradictory emotions and still be valued.
In short, Ctrl musically and lyrically redefines the boundaries of R&B while changing the narrative of how Black women are perceived in music. Although I’d argue that Ctrl is her best album, I greatly encourage you to listen to her other albums as well. Each one of her works include themes similar to this album and they’re definitely worth hearing!
Sources:
Ctrl (SZA Album) – Wiki
Broken Clocks – SZA Lyrics
Ctrl Album Description
