Hip-hop superstar Lizzo did not disappoint with the widely anticipated, breakthrough album Cuz I Love You. The 11-track album crosses back and forth between genres creating a piece only expected from Lizzo. This album will have you twerking, belting your lungs out, and finally have you tearing up. Lizzo provides her listeners with catchy choruses along with unforgettable lines that will make you laugh. Cuz I Love You is an empowering ballad to women everywhere telling them they can be their own princess in shining armor. Image via Afropunk
Listeners got their first taste of Lizzo’s upcoming album in January with the release of “Juice.” This song blew up and became Lizzo’s first commercial hit. The song promotes and encourages feeling yourself, and loving what you see in the mirror. Throughout Cuz I Love You a similar message persists.
Lizzo starts the album with her favorite song and name of the album, “Cuz I Love You”. This song encompasses a soulful orchestra accompanied with Lizzo’s powerhouse vocals stealing the show. “Cuz I Love You” demonstrates Lizzo’s range, which is quite impressive, to say the least. On other tracks like “Heaven Help Me” and “Better in Color,” Lizzo does not shy away from intimidating high notes and runs as she hits them seemingly with no effort. On “Jerome,” Lizzo belts a ballad about “fuccboi love.” Leave it to Lizzo to write a beautiful song about a fuccboi.
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Cuz I Love You features some impressive features like Missy Elliott on “Tempo” and Gucci Mane on “Exactly How I Feel.” “Tempo” is the ultimate club song that women could get down to. It encourages body acceptance and loving the body you are in. “Tempo” reminds you to “fuck it up to the tempo.” On “Exactly How I Feel,” Gucci Mane provides the necessary “swag” the track needed.
“Soulmate” is the ultimate love song to yourself. Self-love is essential, whether or not you are in a relationship. “Soulmate” is the anti-loneliness anthem, because you are never alone if you love the person in the mirror. The truest love a person who could feel in life is the love you provide to yourself. This is the perfect track to belt out in the car to celebrate yourself. Warning, it will be incredibly humbling when you try and fail to hit Lizzo’s high-notes.
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“Like A Girl” is definitely one of the most empowering tracks on the album. Not only is it incredibly catchy, but she adds some comedic lyrics like: “only exes that I care about are in my fucking chromosomes.” With “Like A Girl”, Lizzo wanted to take the cliche of “like a girl” and get rid of the negative associations that come along with it and turn it into something empowering. The track also includes Lizzo’s favorite lyric on the album which is: “If you feel like a girl/Then you real like a girl.” This was a way for Lizzo to incorporate not only women assigned at birth, but also anyone who identifies as a girl.
Lizzo completes the track with “Lingerie” an intimate track about her sexual fantasies with her man. The lyrics are very personal and highlight her most intimate times. Cuz I Love You is an album that not only uplifts women but provides a message that everyone can learn from which is: you can be your own hero. Self-love is a journey, a journey we all need to endure. Lizzo left us wanting more, and we cannot wait for what is to come in Lizzo’s future discography.