LIZZO 黑胶唱片和CD

Review: Lizzo's ascent to superstar status was confirmed with 2019 major label debut, Cuz I Love You, a set that gleefully joined the dots between pop-rap, R&B, trap, funk and neo soul, with Missy Elliott and Gucci Mane swinging by to lend a hand. Special, whose 12 songs are a tiny fraction of the 170-odd she reportedly wrote and recorded, continues in this vein, offering another entertaining, kaleidoscopic romp that pairs killer grooves, recognisable sample lifts (the Beastie Boys on the controversial 'Gurrlz' and Coldplay's 'Yellow' on the set-closing oddball fantasy 'Coldplay') and Lizzo's typically strong sung and rapped vocals. There are far more hits than misses, with recent single 'About Time Now' sounding like a long-lost Chic classic and the sound of summer 2022.

Review: Three months after rapper turned singer Lizzo's major label debut first appeared on CD and digital download, Atlantic has decided to offer up a deluxe vinyl edition of the well-received set featuring three bonus tracks. Prior to release, Lizzo admitted she wanted to become "this generation's Aretha Franklin"; while she's not at the late soul legend's standard just yet, there's enough on "Cuz I Love You" to suggest that she's going in the right direction. Her vocals are variously confident, powerful, strutting and tender, with the accompanying backing tracks mixing hip-hop and R&B style beats with raucous guitars, bombastic basslines, Daft Punk style synth stabs (think "Robot Rock" and "Technologic") and occasional nods towards more pastoral, semi-acoustic sounds. Above all, though, the album is funky, forthright and hugely entertaining.