Is Lizzo the next Beyoncé? 34-year-old Melissa Viviane Jefferson has what it takes to claim first place on the Olympus of the singing goddesses: eager and funny, with a message and an increasingly agile voice. Her ‘debut album’ with a major label (actually already her third) Cuz I Love You (2019), where she sometimes exchanged her earlier hip-hop style for melodic vocals, was already appealing. Numbers like ‘Like A Girl‘ and ‘juice‘ were struck by the pulsating disco, especially in combination with Lizzo herself showing a seductive dance style on stage.
The nostalgic disco line continues on the new album specialin the sultry megahit ‘About Damn Time‘ which pays tribute to the polished productions of Chic and Nile Rodgers. on special Lizzo has definitely become a singer. She barely raps anymore. Her vocals have depth, are sometimes girly light, or get curly riffs. Her technique is not a show, the bravado has meaning.
‘Lizzbians’
The tenacity with which Lizzo has fueled her career (she once lived in her car for a while to pay studio expenses) is also evident in her music. Her voice can open doors that would otherwise remain closed. Lizzo has experience of being ignored or “judged” for who she is (“I’ve been used to people judgin’ me”). She now has a following worldwide who call themselves ‘Lizzbians’ and lets the listener share in her own development: ‘I love you, bitch/ I never thought I’d say this’. She samples her examples (Lauren Hill, Coldplay, Beastie Boys) and celebrates their versatility, musically and substantively.
Although it seems as if she2 Be Loved‘ accidentally walking into the recording studio of a pompous eighties band, complete with blaring synthesizers, and sounds ‘If You Love Me‘ quite sweet. But even here the lashings, the lyrics and the bombast in a few syllables hit the mark.