Lizzo recently dropped a few singles hinting at a larger studio album and also has been cast as the lead in the Sister Rosetta Tharpe biopic.
Released with scant warning, the 13-track project marks a new chapter for the multi-platinum entertainer. Lizzo may have built her empire on pop hits and anthems, but this mixtape proves she can still hop in a cipher. Lizzo is still fighting against allegations of sexual harassment and creating a hostile work environment. But it seems she’s not gonna let the shadow of that lawsuit hold her back anymore.
On the new album that’s she’s been working on for the last couple years, she said:
“The album that I’m putting out is two years of really constructed… my pop, rock, rap genre of music. It’s a little moodier, it’s a little darker. It talks about the dark times. I was like, ‘This is the complete opposite of what me in my backyard shaking ass in a Yitty thong is. But I had so much fun doing that, and I did that shit so fast.; I was like, ‘Book me in the studio for a week.’”
She also talks about flying in her best friend Lexo to record ad-libs, where the nickname/persona Lizzy came from, and how working on this mixtape over a period of only two weeks feels like it cured her depression. Throughout the conversation, Lizzo discusses the “dark times” she’s been going through. This new mixtape allowed her to be more off the cuff, instead of trying to determine the “right” thing to say that won’t offend anybody. Compared the recent singles she’s been putting out, My Face Hurts From Smiling is sounding fun and liberated.
