[SHORT PREFACE: I wanted to upload this article back in January 2020 when I first wrote about it. However, I didn’t have all the information and facts that I wanted to officially publish it with its original title “Summer Walker ‘Over It’ Album Review/ Social Anxiety”. Outside of Summer’s own words about her going through Social Anxiety, there wasn’t much concrete information about how she deals with it, actual interviews about it, etc. There was just speculation, judgement, and lots of opinions on social media. To me, that wasn’t enough to write about her Social Anxiety. Ultimately, I decided to just cut it down to an album review.
Also, I need to hold myself accountable when it comes to writing more about black women in music. Me being a black woman, this is unacceptable. I’ll let this article kick off more a consistent pace of me writing about black women along with me writing more in general.]
I truly wish that I listened to ‘Over It’ a lot sooner than what I did. Summer’s album is spectacular. From beginning to end, the album is well balanced. Even down to the features, it doesn’t feel overwhelming or underwhelming. One thing that stuck out to me in regards to song placement is where she placed her acoustic songs. It worked very well in her favor. Another aspect of her album that stood out to me is how well produced her album is. As many know by now, I’m a production head. I’m obsessed with how well a song or an album is produced. Each song has a unique sound to it, and was primarily produced by London On The Track with the exception of a few songs. ‘Like It’ and ‘Just Might’ are two songs that I’m finding myself playing over and over again. On ‘Like It’, the piano sounds so beautiful behind the 808’s that’s playing in the background. Not to mention 6lack slides in and sings his verse so effortlessly. ‘Just Might’ just might be my favorite song from Summer’s album. From the lyrics, to the instrumentation in this song, and literally everything in between. The organ in the last :35 gets me every time. It reminds me of church to be quite honest. With that being said, having that memory being paired with the opening line “I Just Might Be A Hoe” along with the rest of her lyrics to this song adds a unique juxtaposition which might be why this track stands out like it does. Lastly, the fact that PARTYNEXTDOOR is on here is mind-blowing in itself. We don’t hear much from this man, so to hear his familiar, yet deeply missed voice added the frosting to the cake on this one. In general, Summer didn’t hold back from her vulnerability when it comes to relationships, how she sees herself in relationships, self-reflection, dating, etc. Lyrically, she let loose throughout this project but one song where I thought she was the most transparent is ‘Fun Girl’. That’s the song that I can most relate to, to be honest. She lets us know the sad truth of dealing with the double-standards of dating. A woman who chooses to pursue certain men for specific reasons the same way that men typically do when it comes to women is deemed undesirable. In the same token, it is looked upon as attractive and dominant when men do this. She ends the song with ‘Life’s unfair’ in which it is.
I wasn’t the biggest fan of ‘Come Thru’ featuring Usher. It sounded too much like the original track. The lyrics also lacked originality and a unique factor, but I can tell that the song leaned more towards of a radio hit/another single from the album. One thing that I did enjoy from ‘Come Thru’ is how well Usher sounded. He still sounds just as great as on this song as he did on his own back in 1997.
I’m placing ‘Over It’ in the top 10 albums of 2019. Production, lyrics, sound quality, and features were all exceptional.
BrownerSugar 