Lizzo’s new album Cuz I Love You has reminded us why she’s 100% that bitch.
While this is technically Lizzo’s third studio album, Cuz I Love You feels in many ways like a debut. Starting her career as a rapper, Lizzo has been slowly sneaking her way into the mainstream; even if you don’t think you know her, you may have heard her songs on Broad City or seen her as a guest judge on RuPaul’s Drag Race. Now, she’s twerking while playing the flute on The Ellen Show and showing her bare ass in The Rolling Stone and in the words of Kim Kardashian, it’s what she deserves.
If you’re late to the party, Cuz I Love You presents all of the reasons to love Lizzo in a neat little package. Like much of her previous work, positivity-fueled pop is at the centre of this album, with ‘Soulmate’ and the lead-single ‘Juice’ providing perfect songs to blast at the gym or before a night-out. She doesn’t confine herself to one genre, though. The album’s title track and ‘Crybaby’ explore a heavier new, heavier sound while still incorporating the personality and flair that fans have come to expect.
Undoubtedly, Lizzo’s voice makes this album. With the charts frequently being dominated by bland, one-note artists, Lizzo tells a story with these songs, even if that story is about her ass. Tracks such as ‘Cuz I Love You’ have belting, rapping and crying and instead of being too much it commands your attention. Even the instrumentally weaker songs, namely ‘Exactly How I Feel’ and ‘Heaven Help Me’, are made enjoyable by the emotional range that she brings.
Cuz I Love You presents all of the reasons to love Lizzo in a neat little package.
Although this album stands alone as a great work of music, it seems wrong not to acknowledge Lizzo’s role in diversifying pop. Let’s face it, it’s rare to see plus-sized black women in the mainstream, but Lizzo represents every one of those groups proudly. You get the sense that Lizzo is on a mission to make people feel good with this album and, for me, it works.
(4/5)
