Four Years Later || "CTRL" by SZA
- philjaywhyte
- Jun 9, 2021
- 4 min read
Today, June 9, 2021, marks four years since SZA's wildly successful debut album, CTRL, was released. CTRL was nominated for five Grammys but, unfortunately, SZA left empty-handed. However, the Princess of Top Dawg Entertainment didn't need a Grammy win for critics or fans to think her work was brilliant, because her project spoke for itself. To this day, it has never left the Billboard 200 Album Chart, which is impressive, but not at all surprising.
CTRL is an extremely important album, especially for women. In this album, we see SZA talk about situations where she had no control, little control, not enough control, or too much control and not knowing what to do with it. The concept of control gave SZA room to write songs from many different perspectives, but the album still feels and sounds cohesive, especially because of her production choices. However, the icing on top of the cake for me are the spoken word pieces we hear throughout the album from her grandmother and mother, talking about their own experiences and how they interpret the meaning of control.
CTRL opens up with Supermodel, where SZA talks about an ex-partner who cheated on her in Vegas, so she cheated on him... with one of his best friends on Valentine's Day. Not only does the story capture you within the first few seconds, but her honest songwriting about desperately wanting to be seen and loved by her ex-lover made you feel sorry for her and understand how cheating back was her way of trying to take control of the situation. After Supermodel, we lead into track two, "Love Galore" with Travis Scott, where she calls out a man for trying to pursue her while he was in a relationship, by saying, "Why you bother me when you know you don't want me? Why you bother me when you know you got a woman?" Love Galore is one of the moments on the album many women can relate to, but even as a man listening to the story, you can easily understand her frustration.
One of my favorite parts of CTRL is SZA's honesty when she writes about her insecurities as a woman, highlighted in two of the best tracks on the album, Drew Barrymore and Garden (Say It Like Dat). Drew Barrymore, in my opinion, is the saddest song on CTRL, with lyrics like, "I get so lonely, I forget what I'm worth. We get so lonely, we pretend that this works." and "Cause it's hard enough you got to treat me like this. Lonely enough to let you treat me like this." However, the most heartbreaking moment comes from the chorus, where she sings, "Am I warm enough for ya outside, baby?... Is it warm enough for ya inside me?" She is so insecure about herself that she can't even enjoy being intimate with her partner, as she worries more about how he feels with her than actually enjoying the moment. For Garden (Say It Like Dat), her insecurities stem from her not believing she's good enough for a man who loves her, as she sings, "Hoping I never find out that you're anyone else cause I love you just how you are. Hope you never find out who I really am cause you'll never love me."
CTRL isn't just an album about insecurities. There are a lot of moments where SZA takes control of the narrative on songs, such as: The Weekend, where she sings about being alright with assuming the side-chick role because she isn't fully committed to the man, and on "Doves In The Wind" with Kendrick Lamar, where she preaches about not giving up "the box" to men who don't deserve it or men who think flashing expensive things in front of her face will convince her to have sex with them.
Two other lyrical highlights for me were on the ninth and thirteenth tracks, Broken Clocks and "Pretty Little Birds" with Isaiah Rashad. For Broken Clocks, it was, "I've had a thing for dirty shoes since I was ten. Love dirty men alike." and for Pretty Little Birds, "Told you I like gentle giants so you softened up. And you've been jackin', beanin', stalkin' just to get to me, love. I wanna be your golden goose. I wanna shave my legs for you. I wanna take all of my hair down and let you lay in it. Spread all of my limbs out and let you lay in it," which is a "Jack and the Beanstalk" reference. It is also, perhaps, the most intimate moment on the album.
Overall, CTRL is an amazing album. I've been listening for four years now and it is still just as enjoyable as my first listen. With the lyrics, production, and spoken word pieces, there is always something new to discover. If you haven't listened to CTRL yet, this is your sign to do so, because I guarantee you'll be playing it for the next four years and beyond.
Favorite songs: Drew Barrymore, Supermodel, Love Galore (feat. Travis Scott), Garden (Say It Like Dat), The Weekend, Pretty Little Birds (feat. Isaiah Rashad), Prom, 20 Something, Go Gina, Broken Clocks, and Doves In The Wind (feat. Kendrick Lamar).
Least favorite song: Anything
Rating: 9/10
My social media:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/thejordanpost
Commentaires