In the aftermath of hot girl summer, Summer Walker is here to remind us that being messy is still very fashionable for the fall.
Summer Walker is the R&B icon we have been waiting for. With her face tattoos, constant reminders of how disingenuous she feels the idea of fame is and with the transparency in her music, Walker is someone who does not fit the mold of your modern star. She has crafted an image of herself that seems to be whole-heartedly grounded in being genuine, and that truly came out on her debut record “Over It.”
From the beautifully crafted album cover to the simple, yet direct, name of the album, Walker has concocted countless clever ways to tell us that she is “over it.”
Most of the album plays like voicemails we fear we will leave for our exes after a few drinks, and at no point does the album escape this nuanced honesty and frequently speaks to the insecurities that most millennials harness in regards to failed relationships or feelings of inadequacy.
Walker’s content continues this feeling that she is not a manufactured act in a sea of label-backed artists with stale and constantly recycled content; rather she is a talent whose ability to wear her heart on her sleeves leads to the well-crafted project she has curated.
One of the best aspects of the project arrives in it’s supporting acts. Walker has brought forward the best feature lineup to deliver a project that will stand the test of time. With the perfect set of stars like A Boogie With The Hoodie, 6lack, Bryson Tiller, Usher, Drake, PARTYNEXTDOOR and Jhene Aiko adding their artistry to her already flourishing content, it just leads “Over It” closer to being one of the best albums of the year.
She works so well with artists that span generations, like how she collaborates so effortlessly with modern R&B’s grandfather, Usher, just as well as she works with the once-in-a-generation talent PARTYNEXTDOOR.
The eclectic nature of the features on this album is just one of the moving parts that makes this project such a successful venture. Another aspect of Walker’s album that really separates her from the pack is the production. Walker has something that most up-and-coming R&B artists don’t; a producer that knows how to make a hit in her pocket. Walker is currently dating LondonOnTheTrack, who has countless hits across genres, and who executively produced the whole album.
By having a producer who worked on the entire album and has already established himself in the game, it made the project have a level of cohesiveness that is rare in today’s world.
The diverse array of songs on the album is one of the key aspects of what makes it unique. With songs like “Fun Girl,” the stripped-down sound of Walker and her guitar makes the project feel more intimate, like she is making music just for you.
Maybe I’m just too sold on her, but that song specifically showed me how different she is from everyone else; her ability to talk about her own insecurities and shortcomings in such interesting lyrical terms instantly made me a fan.
My favorite song on the project is “Drunk Dialing…LODT.” Her music is so beautifully messy and direct that it gives me flashbacks of SZA’s debut album “CTRL.” The song has a breakdown that truly shows the diversity in Summer Walker’s music, how it can go from chaotic to intimate in the span of a beat switch.
Summer Walker truly delivered one of the best and most interesting projects of the year and further proved the point that R&B is the most exciting genre as of late.
If this truly is the only project she releases, as she has stated multiple times, it would be a testament to her talent and ability to communicate the feeling of wanting to call someone at 3:34 a.m. when you know you shouldn’t.
