Summer Walker has recently dropped her debut album “Over It,” and fans are already yearning for more. The new album from the 23-year-old Atlanta artist has been gliding to the top of Billboard charts for the past two weeks. With a taste of slow groove R&B, Summer really sets the mood with features from Bryson Tiller, Jhene Aiko, Usher, PartyNextDoor and other R&B favorites.
Summer Walker won the hearts of her fans with her breakout her song “Girls Need Love Too.” The song’s first lyric, “Honestly,” introduces the accompanying two minutes and eleven seconds of the track impeccably and immediately grabs the attention of the listeners.
Summer Walker sings with a sensual delay that finishes with the start of the beat and song. Her voice is alluring, but traces of brokenness show up underneath the surface. Emotions resurfaced when Drake collaborated on the song’s remix for this album.
Summer Walker has emerged as an extraordinarily skilled female vocalist who isn’t hesitant to utilize her music as a stage to showcase her vulnerability and sultry musical themes, capturing a range of emotions from lust, love and loss.
Two of her hit singles from the album, “Stretch You Out” featuring A Boogie wit da Hoodie, and “Playing Games” begin to display the frustration unfold in the album. “Playing Games” is one of my favorite tracks on the album, where Walker samples “Say My Name” by the dynamic R&B group Destiny Child all while giving insight into the relationship she depicts for her listeners.
“Did I ever ask you to take me to go, shopping in Paris, or go, sailing overseas and just drape me in Gucci? No,“ she sings. “So won’t you say my name, say my name, If you claim you want me, it ain’t no thang,” she continues, mimicking the Destiny’s Child chorus.
Summer Walker released her debut studio album “Over It” on Oct. 4, 2019. Photo courtesy of Interscope Records
The fifth track on the album, “Come Thru,” samples Usher’s “You Make Me Wanna,” channeling the late 90s, early 2000s vibes. The singer flips the narrative of the story about a man who is infatuated with two ladies.
On her song “I’ll Kill You,” featuring Jhene Aiko, Summer and Jhene outline this type of strong, on-and-off again, over the top love with an enthusiastic yet calm serenade, letting every girl know the extreme measures they will go for their man.
This summer season was all about being a “hot girl,” led by rapper Megan Thee Stallion. Summer Walker followed this “hot girl” trend with some R&B moderate jams, that give you something to listen and relate to when you’re in your feelings.
Most of the songs on the album are produced by her boyfriend, London on da Track, who is also from Atlanta and uses his southern influence on many of the lovestruck ballads throughout the 18-track album. Walker shows the versatility in her influences throughout the album.
In her song, “Drunk Dialing…LODT” that she dedicates to her producer boyfriend, most listeners can relate to the “liquor courage” that the singer alludes to in this song, especially in the chorus when she sings: “Too much Patrón’ll have you callin’ his phone or have you wantin’ some more, have you wantin’ some more.“
“Over It” feels like the last attempt to a toxic relationship that you know is bad but is hard to give up. More than anything, Summer’s gathering of melodies shows off her adaptability and capacity to switch between pop-influenced R&B and slow jams.
Summer Walker loves music, but she surprisingly seems to hate interviews and the behind the scenes of the music industry. In this social media era, we have become accustomed to seeing loud, outgoing personalities like Cardi B or Lizzo; but we’re caught off guard when a voice like Summer Walker’s debuts with an unapologetically shy and unsociable personality.
Summer Walker is now getting ready to buckle down in preparation for her tour, “The First and Last Tour,” which gives the fans the now or never opportunity to go experience this great album live and in person.
