Lizzo And The End of Genre (with Sam Harris of X Ambassadors)

EPISODE #115

On her new album, Cuz I Love You, Lizzo shows off her genre bending musicality. We speak with X Ambassadors lead singer, Sam Harris, who helped co-write three songs on the album, including its eponymous track. We discuss how Lizzo’s songs glide across sixties soul, seventies rock rock, eighties new wave, and nineties hip-hop. But we find that her music is much more than a history lesson in genre. Lizzo’s writes vulnerable and courageous lyrics about self love, body positivity, female empowerment, and black identity. Rather than craft a singular sound for her album, Lizzo utilizes the genre that best fits the message of any given song. Her subversion of genre to the mood of her lyric matches changes in music consumption. According to Chartmetric, more people than ever are listening across genres to context based playlists. Does this mean genre no longer matters? Nate and Charlie try to find out with the help of Lizzo’s genre busting music.

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Listen to our Lizzo playlist that pairs each song on her new album with a song from the past.

SONGS DISCUSSED

Lizzo – Better In Color

Lizzo – Cuz I Love You

Lizzo – Juice

Lizzo – Tempo

Missy Elliott – Get Ur Freak On

Lizzo – Jerome

Radiohead – Creep

Led Zeppelin – Royal Orleans

Prince – When Doves Cry

Lizzo – Exactly How I Feel (ft. Gucci Mane)

Aretha Franklin – Respect

Aretha Franklin – Say A Little Prayer

Aretha Franklin – Chain Of Fools

Aretha Franklin – I Knew You Were Waiting

Eurythmics ft. Aretha Franklin – Sisters Are Doin’ It For Themselves