SZA returns to her incredible platinum debut album with a visual for “Garden”
Ctrl (control) is the debut studio album by American singer-songwriter SZA. It was released on June 9, 2017, on Top Dawg Entertainment/RCA Records. Originally scheduled for release in late 2015, it was delayed by SZA’s experience of “a kind of blinding paralysis brought on by anxiety.” She worked and reworked the album until the record company took away her hard drive in the spring of 2017.
The Album features collaborations from Travis Scott, James Fauntleroy, and SZA’s TDE label mates Kendrick Lamar and Isaiah Rashad. Ctrl also includes production credits ranging from Pharrell Williams to The Antydote. Sonically, Ctrl is in a league of it’s own, with each track melting into the next giving you no reason to skip around the album but I’ve picked out a few stand out tracks down below.
Unlike past works, it sees SZA confronting her issues in a beautifully direct and honest way leaving a lot of the metaphors behind on her last EP. Ctrl delivers a lot of the angst, recklessness, and moody indecision that SZA fans have come to love and look for in her alternative R&B, but this album is overflowing with growth and truth. The efforts resulted in a primarily neo-soul and R&B album, with elements of hip-hop, electronic, indie and soul. Lyrically the album has a confessional theme, which touch upon SZA’s personal experiences and complexities of modern love; including desire, competition, jealousy, sexual politics, social media, and low self-esteem.
Ctrl opens with a voice recording of SZA’s mother telling a story about control. In the first of a few album framing interludes, she explains that she has always feared that a loss of control in her life would be damning, going so far as to call it fatal. The voice recording set the tone for the entire album, which finds SZA running down all the mishaps, ain’t shit tactics, and bad decisions she’s made while grappling for control in her life. All of this is played out up against a musical backdrop of acoustic strings, haunting voice samples, and old school video game effects.
Now, all the hard work has paid off because the RIAA revealed on Thursday that the album has officially gone platinum. Ctrl was nominated at this year’s Grammys for Best Urban Contemporary Album, and the 27-year-old singer received a Best New Artist nom of her own.
SZA is currently touring with her Top Dawg Entertainment label-mates – including Kendrick Lamar, Schoolboy Q, Jay Rock, Ab-Soul, Sir and Lance Skiiiwalker – on the all-star “Championship” trek. The North American jaunt continues May 18th in Austin and concludes June 16th in Pittsburgh.
Now, SZA returns to her incredible debut album Ctrl with a visual for ‘Garden (Say It Like Dat)’. Directed by Karena Evans, who recently shot Drake‘s ‘Nice For What’ and ‘God’s Plan’ videos. The clip, is a magical romp through the Garden of Eden via the female gaze. The dreamy visual was shot in Maui and features appearances from Donald Glover, who is returning the favor and playing the Adam to SZA’s Eve in her video, after she appear briefly as Lady Liberty in his video for “This Is America”.
The clip opens in an oceanside cave before drifting into the trees. There – in a dreamlike scene altered with a blurry filter – she finds Glover, who caresses her face as they recline in the lush vegetation. Later on, SZA walks through the nearby waves and scales hills overlooking the vivid scenery. In the video we watch these two come together in this natural light. As SZA sings an ode to the man who says he loves her like he really means it, we get to see her cuddle up with Glover, who looks like he really gets it. Honestly, is a heavenly video, worth to watch.
“Garden (Say It Like Dat)” appears on SZA’s debut LP, 2017’s Ctrl, which Rolling Stone ranked as the year’s 20th-best album.
The clip opens in an oceanside cave before drifting into the trees. There – in a dreamlike scene altered with a blurry filter – she finds Glover, who caresses her face as they recline in the lush vegetation. Later on, SZA walks through the nearby waves and scales hills overlooking the vivid scenery. In the video we watch these two come together in this natural light. As SZA sings an ode to the man who says he loves her like he really means it, we get to see her cuddle up with Glover, who looks like he really gets it. Honestly, is a heavenly video, worth to watch.
