Lizzo is back with a new sound and a new look. Following some unpleasant allegations and lawsuits made against her, the singer took some time away from the spotlight. But Lizzo has reemerged fully energized and in fighting shape, having recently achieved significant weight loss although she has made it clear she still continues to advocate for body positivity. And she has new music with the release of the title track off of her upcoming fifth studio album, "Love in Real Life". This rock-inspired song looks back at a time before social media when people connected face-to-face. The music video for "Love in Real Life" was influenced by 90's style and features Lizzo decked out in black leather and doing some moves with back-up dancers that Michael Jackson would envy. And the video for another song,the dance-pop track, "Still Bad" continues where the other clip ended. Lizzo will be hit the road this month for some shows in New York, LA and Minneapolis.
Here are some new songs that I'm feeling which includes "Taste", the latest from Coco Jones which samples Britney Spears' "Toxic"; Haim returns with the sisters getting funky while bemoaning "Relationships"; the Canadian singer, Tate McRae talks about her need for speed with her single, "Sports Car"; Sam Smith returns with a lovely ballad, "Love is a Stillness", rising British artist, Bishop Briggs has dropped a new single with the positivity anthem, "Woman is King" and Lil Nas X is back, embracing the pink, with a new single, "Hotbox".
Roy Ayers, a pioneer of jazz-funk whose music would be one of the most sampled in hip-hop, passed away on March 4th at the age of eight-four. The LA-born Ayers came from a family of musicians and began learning to play the vibraphone at the age of five. After playing with several bands and recording solo projects, he formed his own acid-jazz group in 1972, Roy Ayers Ubiquity, which he chose because "ubiquity" means "a state of being everywhere at the same time". Ayers worked on the soundtrack for the Pam Grier film, "Coffy" and released the 1976 album, "Everybody Loves The Sunshine" which the title track would go on to find great popularity later by being heavily sampled, with the song used at least two hundred times on various recordings. Some of his other music was also sampled and he returned the favor by performing the vibraphone as a session musician for albums of many neo-soul, jazz and hip-hop artists. During his career, Ayers would record thirty studio albums as a solo artist and with his band.
The last time we heard from Lizzo was on her duet with Cardi B last year with their worldwide hit, "Rumors". Now the Grammy-winning performer has returned with some new music on her own.
"About Damn Time" is an upbeat dance tune dealing with the stress we've experienced over the last couple of years due to the forced isolation and finally being able to get back into the world to have some fun. And in the video, (directed by Christian Breslauer) set in a Stressed and Sexy support group, Lizzo continues to be all about body positivity, making sure to celebrate whatever the size of your curves.
This is the first single off of Lizzo's fourth studio album, "Special" which is due out in July. And there's little surprise about the timing of this song as Lizzo will be the host and musical guest on this week's "Saturday Night Live" which will most likely give us a preview of another song from this upcoming album.
I guess country rap is now officially a genre. Following the incredible success of Lil Nas X's, "Old Town Road", Blanco Brown has brought us "The Git Up", another country-flavored hip-hop tune. Brown, an Atlanta-raised producer who has worked with Chris Brown, Fergie and Pitbull, has been a big fan of hip-hop and country music and decided the time was right to merge the two vastly different genres. "The Git Up" has become a crossover sensation and managed to achieve what Lil Nas X could not; Brown's track reached the top of the Hot Country Songs chart. There is even a dance created for the song so check out music video so you can learn the moves:
Here are a few new tunes I'm in to right now:
And finally, here is an obscure musical pairing I never would have imagined but it absolutely works. While going down the YouTube rabbit hole, I stumbled upon the Welsh sex-symbol, Tom Jones and Broadway star turned r&b vocalist, Stephanie Mills singing together on a sensual cover of Roberta Flack and Donny Hathaway's "The Closer I Get To You". I have no idea when or where this was done beyond it must have been performed sometime in the '80's. Their vocals are on fire and it's really a great version of the song:
Lizzo is an exciting voice in r&b/hip-hop who hasn't received the proper attention I think she deserves. After releasing some well-received EPs and albums, the thirty year old singer has just dropped her third studio album, "Cuz I Love You" and this record seems like it may help her breakout in a significant way.
She was born Melissa Jefferson and raised in Houston, TX. As a teen, she learned how to play the flute (which she still plays on her records) and performed with her school's band before becoming interested in rap. Lizzo studied music performance at the University of Houston and formed several bands with dreams of stardom. Major success didn't happen during this time and she decided to head to Prince's hometown of Minneapolis with the hope of igniting her music career. She got involved with some indie r&b groups before launching out on her own and releasing her debut album, "Lizzobangers" in 2013.
Lizzo's latest is a collection of sassy hip-hop and classic soul and perfectly captures her unique vision and big personality. Lizzo proudly represents the "big grrrls" and is a strong advocate for body positivity and self love which is certainly stated with her album cover as she appears gloriously nude. Enjoy a few songs from "Cuz I Love You" which includes a sizzling live performance of "Juice" at the 30th annual GLAAD Media Awards, a collaboration with Missy Elliott on "Tempo" and the music video for the title track which is a moving ballad.
And be sure to listen for Lizzo as she provides her voice in the upcoming animated musical, "Ugly Dolls" out in theaters on May 3rd.
And as a bonus, here is a favorite song by Lizzo from a few years ago, "Good As Hell":
