LP
Atlantic (2019) EU
Lizzo hit the studio in late 2018 to record her highly anticipated third full-length, Cuz I Love You. For the first time, she enlisted the production talents of X Ambassadors' Sam Harris. Recording in a "haunted ass studio," the producer encouraged her to break out of her comfort zone. "He reached inside of me and brought out a vulnerability I didn't realize I had," she says. "He called out my lyrics by name and pulled them out of my life experiences." Galvanized by those sessions, she also reteamed with an old friend Oak Felder [Rihanna, Alessia Cara, Kehlani] as well as longtime collaborator Ricky Reed [Meghan Trainor, Halsey]. She introduced this chapter with "Juice." Eighties-style synths slink hand-in-hand with a steady beat before climaxing on funky guitar and boisterous horns as Lizzo drops eyebrow-raising lines. Whether it's the emotionally charged "Jerome" or dynamically delicate "Crybaby," she clings to an overarching message on Cuz I Love You intimated by the title.