Ctrl by SZA

Ctrl, SZA's debut album, arrived on June 9, 2017, through Top Dawg Entertainment and RCA, four years after the label signed her, and it turned her into a star almost overnight. It's an R&B record that feels like reading someone's diary over their shoulder: frank, confessional and wide open, with her voice sliding from a murmur to a wail inside a single line.

Craig Balmoris, Frank Dukes, Carter Lang, Scum and ThankGod4Cody were among the producers, and they keep the beats loose and warm, leaving her room to breathe. Travis Scott, Kendrick Lamar, James Fauntleroy and Isaiah Rashad drop in. Five singles came off it, "Drew Barrymore", "Love Galore", "The Weekend", "Broken Clocks" and "Garden (Say It like Dat)", and every one has gone at least double platinum. It opened at number 3 on the Billboard 200, earned four Grammy nominations plus a Best New Artist nod for SZA, and later landed at 472 on Rolling Stone's list of the greatest albums.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.