Album Review: SZA - Ctrl

The debut album from the only female artist on Top Dawg Entertainment is decent considering all the hype - but it's ultimately superficial.

Kendrick Lamar makes an obligatory appearance, and delivers a verse about female parts that's more awkward than his one on Travis Scott's Goosebumps (if you can believe that). But the lyrical awkwardness extends to SZA herself, unfortunately. Without a doubt, Ctrl might've worked with different production. As it stands, it suffers from the same problem as label mate Isaiah Rashad's debut: interesting and even ambitious production (especially striking are the Frank Ocean-esque electric guitars) but without any corresponding depth or complexity in the lyrics.