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Lizzo - Truth Hurts

I don't normally take the time to post breakup-inspired female empowerment anthems on this site, but I came across the above this weekend from Minnesota-by-way-of-Houston-and-Detroit rapper slash singer Lizzo and it struck me as a star-making performance from someone that was completely off my radar. Given the millions of youtube views and even more millions of spotify plays that this song has garnered in the two years since its release, maybe you've already heard of her. In fact, given that in the time it took me to write those first two sentences today she's been profiled by CNN, Vulture, Pitchfork, and The Guardian, it's entirely possible that you already consider her to be played out. (Speaking of being played out, I appreciate how bad of a look it is that I'm "discovering" a rapper after cnn.)

Lizzo's music is new to me, though, and her ability to turn fairly simple lines into memorable catchphrases (see: "I put the sing in single") while switching seamlessly between rapping and singing is a pretty consistent recipe for success (see: "Drake"). This week seems to be the culmination of several years of effort on her part; while her previous work has had some relative success, over the past few days not only has she been profiled by multiple national news outlets as part of the rollout of her new album Cuz I Love You, her music was given the spotlight in a new netflix movie, and she made an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel.

I haven't done a full deep dive on her catalog of music, but from what I can tell she's made an effort more recently to head into pop territory. Her current sound is somewhere between Missy Elliot and Bruno Mars. If she ever goes back to the more direct rapping style of Truth Hurts I'll check for it, but I suspect the fame and success her latest moves are going to help her achieve will make that unlikely.

For a little more from Lizzo, here's an interview she did with the Bodega Boys Desus & Mero last year:

4/21/2019 3:05:01 pm posted by Fresh