Hitting The Command Keys of CTRL Deluxe

After five years unbroken on the Billboard Hot 200 chart, SZA decided to celebrate with a surprise drop of CTRL (Deluxe). Hot with seven previously unreleased songs, CTRL (Deluxe) has undoubtedly expanded upon and reaffirmed the luxe R&B the world was introduced to five years ago on CTRL, leaning further into the lush, sexy, and self-questioning mind of SZA.

I almost didn’t register the difference between the first deluxe track, an alternative version of “Love Galore”. The regularly released “Love Galore” sits as the second track on the album and holds a prominent Travis Scott feature, yet in the alternate version, we find an entirely new verse from SZA in the place of Travis’ feature. The cut verse continues sitting in the sexy nature of the track, yet it creates different energy with the difference in lyrical content between Travis and SZA’s verses. Where Travis admits to not caring for his former flame past the physical aspect of their relationship, SZA launches into wondering why she should hook up with someone that will only last three minutes in bed. Both verses find their respective singer hyping themselves up with boastful ego inflation and a lack of care for the other person in the relationship, but without Travis’ verse in the alternative version, the track holds a singular point of view that blurs the terms of the relationship being sung about.

“2AM” finds SZA flipping the script of PARTYNEXTDOOR and Drake’s 2016 track “Come and See Me”. While PARTYNEXTDOOR and Drake discuss just wanting hookups from the girls who want relationships in their lives, SZA takes on the persona of the girl who realized she will only ever be a sidepiece or second thought. The track sits comfortably in the chill R&B of CTRL, continuing storylines from tracks like “The Weekend” as SZA wants more and more of her partner’s time. Even further laying into the response nature of the track, “2AM” utilizes almost the exact same chorus as “Come and See Me”, pleading for the partner to come to her and care enough to want to see her as each part desires something different out of their arrangement.“2AM” ends with a sample from another leaked yet unreleased SZA track titled “inside man”, offering a pause and sonic shift from the core of “2AM” and fully exploring SZA’s outward sex appeal for her partner. The placement at the end of “2AM” seems to conjure up the idea of SZA accepting her role as a side piece here, yet may also be a representation of what SZA shows outwardly with “2AM” acting more as her inner thoughts.

At just over one minute, “Miles” is a short interlude on the album. Don’t mistake its length for being insignificant, however, as “Miles” packs a punch of self-doubt and emotion to connect back to SZA’s feelings expressed through “Normal Girl”. Addled with wishes of changing herself, her outlook, and the world around her, “Miles” finds fear in both the unknown and in complacency in the present through an incredibly clear lens. “Percolator” changes up the energy as SZA begins comparing herself to the titular item which helps cool down smoke when utilized in a bong. With this relation, SZA seems to create a smooth and sexy aura about herself while also referencing the idea that she cools down parts of herself in her relationships to create a chilled-out exterior. Both “Miles” and “Percolator” clock in at less than a minute and a half each, yet their inclusion on CTRL (Deluxe) continues the powerful storylines of the album and SZA’s headspace.

“Tread Carefully” finds SZA waking up in someone’s bed after trying to leave behind the life of casual hookups. Bouncing between the frustration of deciding to hookup again and pure infatuation with her partner, “Tread Carefully” shows just how conflicted SZA is on her journey to escaping the casual hookup that she hates to love. “Awkward” takes the previous track’s desire to leave casual sex in an interesting route as SZA sings about hooking up with a friend she feels a close understanding and connection with, thus making their friendship awkward. Throughout the verses, SZA finds comfort in how this person knows her at an intimate level emotionally, thus making sleeping together a more comfortable experience for her, even if her friend now will not speak to her post-hookup. This doesn’t deter SZA, however, as she sings “Now, let's keep it awkward/ I think we’re ready for it” and asks her friend to let the awkward parts be so they can continue to hook up. 

The final track of CTRL (Deluxe) finds SZA lost as she laments about having no friends and losing connections to everything except for her own high in “Jodie”. The title is a reference to Jodie Foster’s role in The Taxi Driver, where she played a sex worker that is barely getting by in life. Blurring the lines between what is a reference to Jodie’s character and what is her own life, SZA begs the question of “why me?”, wondering what she did wrong to be dealt this hand in life. Ending CTRL (Deluxe) with such a deep questioning of why her life is so complicated and the indulgences she takes to cope is an all-encompassing wrap up of the themes of the album as she eventually ends in a blissed out state, too high to keep worrying about the last 21 tracks.

With diverse topic matters that all connect back to the original 14 tracks, the seven additional songs all hold their own complimentary yet individual issues and sonic curations, solidifying exactly why CTRL has kept a seat at the Billboard Hot 200 table for five straight years. Soaked in her high bliss and deep thoughts, CTRL (Deluxe) is a treat that no one expected for 2022, and leaves me wondering just what comes next on the inevitable second album that is expected later this year. Upcoming album or not, however, SZA has firmly placed a fierce exclamation point onto her legacy as a star both on the charts and in the hearts of her dedicated fans.