DISCLAIMER: I am in no one way a music critic. I love music and love to give my opinion, so enjoy my review/interpretation of Summer Walker’s Sophmore album, Still Over It.
The HIGHLY anticipated album Still Over It, by Summer Walker, debuted on streaming services Friday, November 5th, and it was an excellent way for me to start my weekend. I have been looking forward to this album for two years, and I can say that I was pleasantly surprised at what Summer delivered on this project. It was very refreshing and precisely what R&B needs right now in the drought it is experiencing. The promotion for the album alone gave it more acclaim than I thought it would get, but if one thing Summer Walker has proven, she is talented, and the world will show this girl some love. Walker tells a story through this album of her destructive relationship with music producer London On Da Track, even giving suspected dates of when certain events took place in her life. We go through an emotional rollercoaster like I guess Walker intended so we could learn from her mistakes like she has said she hopes this album will do.
Starting the album off with the song Bitter (narration by Cardi B), we get a glimpse into what London was putting Summer through on social media and how her pregnancy was announced before she could even tell the world herself. This can put anyone in a vulnerable place and to add a deceptive partner on top of that is more than a lot that a person can handle, so being bitter is expected. This justifiable bitterness takes us into the second part of the album.
The second part of this album gives us You Don’t Know Me, a ballad of what the couple has been through, good and bad, and the fact that Summer feels as though her partner does not know her as much as she knows them. These unrequited and unreciprocated feelings can leave anyone feeling hopeless. We expect on a certain level that our partners know us. Sometimes we can be so blinded by the intensity of our own emotions that we don’t see the relationship for what it truly is.
Circus and Unloyal are my two absolute favorite songs on this album. I love these songs because Circus gives me early 2000s R&B type vibes and it is just a fun song to experience. You may also resonate with the tension Walker is talking about when she says, ” You want me, more than you should know, I want you it’s outta my control.” I know we have all been there with a crush or potential partner and it can be fun to feel that tension. Unloyal is unique because not only does it feature, Ari Lennox but it’s a smoothed-out melodic song where Walker is taking back her power and says she’s not putting up with the bs anymore.
The project closes out with Ciara’s Prayer, where singer Ciara gives a prayer about everything she has been through herself and how she is ready to accept better for herself and her child. The verbiage in the prayer alludes that this is from years ago, but we, the public, are finally getting to hear it. It is an excellent example of self-reflection and how we should ask for the things we deserve, because as we can see, Ciara got everything she prayed for and more. I feel as though this was a beautiful outro. It gives Summer and her fans the space they need to heal from whatever trauma they may have and ask for the things they are so deserving of, because like Ciara said, “I know my pain is not in vain.”
Top 5 songs
Here are my Top 5 Songs from Still Over It
- Unloyal ft. Ari Lennox
- Circus
- Bitter (narration by Cardi B)
- You Don’t Know Me
- No Love ft. SZA