B-Side Review: Ctrl by SZA

This article is the first example to show that I can talk about whatever I want on here as long as it’s music related. Obviously, this album dropped three years ago and obviously, SZA is a huge success, but this body of work deserves a conversation anyway. Her sophomore album Ctrl is a critically acclaimed hit, earning her a RIAA double platinum certification.

I’m writing a quick abstract because this one is kinda long.

Abstract

I took a look at five SZA songs off of her double platinum hit Ctrl. The commonality between these five songs were that they haven’t received a platinum plaque, making me comfortable for labeling them the “B-side”. Throughout the analysis of said songs, specific allusions were made to her 2017 Breakfast Club interview, where she put her outstanding personality on exhibit. I felt the need to write this B-side because if you only heard her hits, you wouldn’t understand the full range of her music, missing a lot of important topics. Some of the major issues include Insecurities, Approval, ‘Men aint 💩’, and Beauty Standards. Her wholistic personality and her wide range of talent shines in her music and has the ability to reach a large audience.

Having a platinum album is an accomplishment, having a double platinum album is twice that accomplishment, doing that on just her second studio record has to be like FOUR times that accomplishment, AND on top of all that being a black woman in the music industry doing those numbers, makes it like A HUNNID times that accomplishment. She earned this by making a quality and well thought out project that transcends music and speaks to people on a personal level… success leaves clues.

The original foundation of success was built off the achievements of her high charting radio singles. However, the point of this article is to pay homage to her songs that aren’t as successful, the B-side. The criteria for the B-side in the case of this album was every song that currently does not have a platinum certification. (It’s really crazy to think about being that big, that early in your career, that if you drop a song and it’s not platinum, it’s on the B-side). Specifically, we’ll be reviewing: “Doves in the Wind featuring Kendrick Lamar”, “Drew Barrymore”, “Normal Girl”, and “20 Something”. I’m also gonna talk about “Supermodel” even though it’s platinum… sue me.

Also, a lot of y’all may be very familiar with the content that is about to be spoken in this article, and THAT’S OKAY. You may learn something new or revisit something you haven’t in a while. If you’re still not interested, I get it, you’re more than welcome to go read a different article.

Also also, before I start, I should say that the rest of this article has some major spoilers, so if you want to listen to it on a fresh pallet first, don’t read the rest yet.

ALSO ALSO ALSO, the rest of this article will also be a lot more serious and a lot more wordy than the others, mainly because SZA dives into a lot of really important matters, so there isn’t a lot of room for jokes.

The format of this article will be reviewing the songs previously mentioned in conjunction with her Breakfast Club interview in 2017. So anytime I say, “In the interview”, or something like that, that’s what I’m referring to. Before I start, just for preface, I’ll dive into the interview a little bit.

The Breakfast Club is probably my favorite platform, in which artists are interviewed. Mainly because Charlamagne Tha God is hilarious and isn’t afraid to say seemingly anything (which often gets him in trouble). This was the first and only interview I’ve seen her do and it’s all I needed to see. It confirmed for me that I am a SZA fan. Notice how I didn’t say, ‘I’m a fan of SZA’s music’, no, I am a SZA fan. She was so down to Earth and was able to effortlessly explain the inspirations and messages in the album. While expressing that she was nervous, she was still super well-spoken and able to convey her thoughts fluidly, it’s also worth mentioning that she has a great vocabulary. She was very open and honest the entire time, which I really appreciated; it helps me understand the project more, ultimately making me enjoy it more. One of the main things that stood out for me in the interview was that it was funny, and not just because of Charlamagne (although he certainly helped). She has a really good sense of humor and it makes for an entertaining watch. I could honestly go on all day about the personality she displayed, but I’m trying to make these relatively short (but not really succeeding).

Going in track-list order the first song we’ll get into is,

“Supermodel”

Man, what an opener. She instantly sets the tone and theme for the entire project. One of things that I love about her, which attributes to her “down-to-Earthness”, is how she bounces back and forth between ultra-confident and super vulnerable. She goes from “I’ve been secretly banging your homeboy” (on Valentine’s Day too… oop), to “Why I can’t stay alone just by myself? Wish I was comfortable just with myself… But I need you”. The first of the two quotes comes in the verse, and then second comes in the chorus. That’s the trend for this song, and that’s the trend for people. Sometimes you feel like bad b*!#&, and sometimes you don’t, it just be like that ¯\_(ツ)_/¯.

This brings up a repeated topic in the album, approval. In the interview she explains that often times people can be very confident, but if they lack the acknowledgement from the one they care about most, the confidence will be voided. This is why there are multiple songs where it seems SZA is longing for attention from her lover.

In the interview, when discussing her evolution as a musician she touches on ways she’s learned to engineer songs that magnify her voice as well as her message. This is exemplified in this song, being almost entirely ballad style with just one guitar in background. I love ballads in general for this exact reason, it acts as an opportunity for her to say everything she has to WITH HER CHEST, and she doesn’t shy away.

“Doves in the Wind (featuring Kendrick Lamar)”.

I’ll take this song as an opportunity to talk about another major component of her work, the songwriting ability. This is touched on briefly in the interview, where she shares that artists even ask her to write songs for them. However, she claims she first had to figure out her own style before assisting others. I think she found it, to say the least. I mean, she’s signed to Kendrick Lamar’s label, she’s gotta be able to write.

I was wondering why I was even able to touch on this song, genuinely surprised that it wasn’t MULTI-platinum thus not meeting my criteria. If not just for the fact that Kendrick Lamar is featured, but it’s also kind of an iconic song. Then I realized the word “p*$$!” is used 48 times. Hard to play that song on the radio.

The song contributes to a common theme alluded to in the album, Men. SZA opens the song with the head-scratching claim, “Real n!&%#$ do not deserve p*$$!” she spends a large part of the verse giving the explanation that they simply desire/deserve more. Kendrick follows her with a classic ‘Kendrick’ like verse (meaning he ain’t miss), listing all the endless ways men sellout for sex. SZA shuts it down by continuing the theme of minimizing unworthy men while also applauding the real ones. Some boss stuff in there for sure.

“Drew Barrymore”

This song introduces two important aspects when discussing this album. First being one of the most prominent themes of the album, that SZA fearlessly talks about, insecurity. Again, her songwriting prowess is phenomenal. For her to be able to be unashamed of being vulnerable and to put her emotions on the line like this is truly admirable; especially for someone who also has a side to her that’s extremely confident. It makes you realize that she’s a real person that has feelings too, which is something I that certainly take for granted in superstar artists.

The song compares herself to her past lover’s new girlfriend, in which she lacks confidence in her own appeal to him. Part of this is because she doesn’t feel like she fits the model for traditional standards of beauty for women: “I’m sorry I’m not more ladylike, I’m sorry I don’t shave my legs at night” and describes her counterpart by saying, “And her mom jeans and new Vans, And she’s perfect and I hate it.” I applaud her for including songs like these, not only does it convey her own true emotions, but she also uses her platform to give a lot of listeners something that they can truly relate to.

In the interview she talks about the inspiration for the song, Drew Barrymore, an actress prominent in the 80’s and 90’s. SZA admired Barrymore for finding success in an industry that held such a mold for women: polished, perfect, white, blonde, you get the idea. She related to Barrymore because she has quirks and “flaws” but was still beautiful and successful. I put quotation marks around ‘flaws’ because they’re not really flaws, they were just outliers from the traditional framework.

Continuing with the interview she talks about her experience growing up in an area with a lot of white people. She seemed grateful for being able to be immersed in a diverse setting, but it was hard for her at the same time. Often times she found herself in a severe minority, doing activities such as gymnastics and girl scouts, only amplifying her differences. She claims that white people in particular didn’t contribute to her insecurities, but societal standards and a lack of self-love did. Following this by saying, “I never really took time to build my confidence.” Furthermore, she details her experience with gymnastics and having a different body type than the other girls. Body image was another underlying tone of this album, and ventured more in interview. The struggles of gaining weight, as well as losing weight (but consequently losing part of her figure), were examined. She ties this into her desire to have her lover’s approval no matter what state her body was in, solely because he loves her.

“Drew Barrymore” had to have placed out of her comfort zone not only lyrically, but in the music as well. This is the second topic I wanted to talk about. This song clearly has some Alternative/”Band-ish” influences and it really shows her versatility and progression as an artist.

“Normal Girl”

I chose to do this song following the last because it’s a continuation of the same topic and has more alternative vibes. The songs are pretty similar honestly, but I absolutely needed them both. She starts by describing herself, how she’s wild and fun, but doesn’t fall into the archetype of woman you’d, “take over to your mama” or “The kind of girl, I know your fellas, they’d be proud of.” However, she acknowledges that despite this, he still wants her.

The one major difference for this song is its flashes of positivity, closing out with a bridge that’s much more optimistic. In terms of the chronological timeline of the track list, it makes sense. This song nears the end off a seemingly an hour-long therapy session. Ending the track with this signifies that there was hope in the midst of her struggles, and whatever she was battling at the time, she knew it would get better. Hopefully an inspiration to all.

You ever be proud of someone that you don’t even know? Got me a lil emotional myself (stop playin wit me tho).

A quiiiick side note that’s EXTREMELY relevant today. She samples Drake’s flow from “Controlla” by saying, “You like it, when I be, aggressive.” Normally I wouldn’t have mentioned it, but with Drake recently announcing that they dated, I thought I’d say something. Also, just to clear up any confusion, SZA clarified that she was not underaged when this happened… stop playin wit my boy. It’s nice to see they’re on good terms though.

“20 Something”

She was flexing the voice on this for sure. She just had to make sure that we knew… she do dis. I love that she ended the album just how she started, with a guitar ballad. She says in the interview that this song was a writing exercise, and I believe it. I love when things like that end up in the project, it just makes it seem a little less staged. Please do not twist my words, no part of me thinks this album feels staged, I’m just speaking about albums in general.

The song is about all of the ups and downs of her 20’s. In the interview she describes her 20’s as a learning experience and also talks about the current state of the world right now, being such a crazy time.

Conflicting emotions continues to be a trend for her saying, “Stuck in the 20 somethings” and “Hoping my 20 somethings wont end.” There were a lot emotions on display in this album and this was a great way to wrap it all up. There’s not really much else to say about this song because there aren’t that many lyrics but it’s really beautiful and a good ending to a great album.

But Yeah…

To sum it all up SZA, Ctrl, and her Breakfast Club interview are all amazing. I really enjoyed writing this because I really enjoyed getting to know her. I can tell that she’s smart, authentic, honest, and funny, and it all shows in her music. The songs I reviewed in this article are my favorite songs of hers and they show a different side to her that you wouldn’t hear on the radio. I’m sure the topics such as insecurities, beauty standards, and desire for her significant other really meant the world for some of her fans. This is why paying attention to an artist’s total body of work, and not just the hits, should never be overlooked. I’m sure she’s doing sold out stadium tours all around the world, but personally I would much rather hear her in a small coffee shop playing her B-side set list.

If you read the other articles, you know what you are if you’ve read this far. But since I’m not really expecting anyone to read all the way through because they’re kinda long, I’ll just tell you, you’re a real one :). Feedback is always welcomed below.

P.S.

She said that she ran track in high school… As if I didn’t like her enough already.