Lizzo
Big Grrrl Small World
(BGSW)

Ripping apart hyper-sexual images of female emcees, newcomer Lizzo is going a different route — commanding attention with her confident style, witty lyricism and banging beats. The Houston-bred, Minneapolis-based rapper shares Big Grrrl Small World, her sophomore record, and makes a bold statement in this age of the music industry: to just be yourself. Releasing the album via her own imprint BGSW, Lizzo is about that confident life. She not only raps, but sings and is a classically-trained flautist as well. The artist brings introspective, bass-heavy, genre-bending trap music to the scene. The album is a mixed bag of topics too, tapping into self love (“En Love” and “My Skin”) and a hustler state of mind (“Ain’t I”). And yes, like many other rappers before her, club bangers are included, in tracks such as “Betcha,” “Jang a Lang,” and the aforementioned “En Love.” I first came across the rapper in 2014 with the inventive “Batches & Cookies” from her debut LP Lizzobangers. But this record is addictive. It’s a confidently smart and fun follow-up.