Written Before Listen
It took me a while to finally listen to this but here we are. Summer Walker is a well-known name in R&B but at the same time, her name is kind of hidden. She had songs with Drake, A Boogie, Justin Bieber, and many more. Here she is with a new album as it also has notable features such as Cardi B, SZA, The Neptunes, and more. With that being said, I’m coming into this album with average expectations so without further ado, let’s get into it.
Drama
Welp….looks like someone violated the “no taxation without representation” rule because this album is a tea party (sorry). Summer Walker has been through a lot of drama, especially with the public relationship with producer London On Da Track. Alongside that, she denied the validity of COVID and also got into drama with London’s other baby mamas. Personally, this type of drama (especially in music) I try to stay away from because it’s just drama, but it’s a heavy topic in this album. That’s like doing a review on My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy without mentioning the Taylor Swift incident. It just has to be said.
Lyrics
A lot of Summer Walker’s lyrics do relate to relationships, Most importantly toxic ones. I would ask the question “Who hurt her?”, but we all knew who hurt her. London is literally on the track behind the boards and behind the lyrics. Honestly go off sis. Summer Walker isn’t even hiding it. London is producing some of these tracks and she is staying vocal throughout this entire album. Mentioning his name, giving suspicious song titles, and much more. It’s ruthless.
Production
Speaking of London, the production is where my gripes come. Most songs on this album are extremely predictable. Lyrics aside, every song acts like one of those forgettable R&B Drake tracks. They are melancholic, atmospheric, somewhat trappy, and mainly moody R&B tracks with a hint of indie flare. Think of Drake with some Miguel and Kali Uchis vibes and that would sum up Summer Walker’s production choice.
Features
Out of the 20 tracks, 8 of them have features, not to mention that the first three tracks have features. The opener gets a spoken word intro from none other than Cardi B telling her to make those rumors into cash and that’s exactly what she does. JT of City Girls comes on the second track “Ex For A Reason” where her bratty attitude and hood persona fits perfectly on this record. Unfortunately, the song is a complete ripoff of the song “My Boo” by Ghost Town DJs. On “No Love”, we get one of the modern-day queens of R&B SZA doing her usual. On “Unloyal”, we get one of the strongest features from Ari Lennox as they create a nostalgic late-night R&B cut with lounge aesthetics. Unfortunately, the features at the tail end cant deliver whatsoever. “Toxic” has Lil Durk deliver another lifeless feature and the Omarion feature, like….where was it? It was barely there. Overall, I think the features aren’t the best choices, but some kill their performance
Predictability
After the first couple of tracks, the whole schtick gets predictable. When talking about the best breakup albums, a lot of them don’t usually stick to one sound, topic, or even side. Surely there are some great breakup albums that singular sounds like “For Emma Forever Ago”, “808s & Heartbreak” and “The Miseducation Of Lauryn Hill” but all of those albums bring strong, memorable songs. This album lacks memorable songs, versatility, and songwriting strength. Overall, this album is what I consider…A predictable vibe.
Verdict
Yeah, this album was solid enough. It caught my eye but other than that, it’s nothing I would revisit. If you’re into this type of R&B, I highly recommend it but it’s nothing that caught my tracks.
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