Ctrl by SZA

There is a tendency for music reviewers to call any piece of work that they personally enjoy "timeless" or "classic." The truth is, we don't know what modern songs and albums will become classics because we don't know how they will age over time. Sometimes albums are released, and everyone is infatuated for a few months, only for the album to fade into nostalgia and fall off of the radar. Other times, albums are released, and people don't start enjoying them until years later. So, how can we distinguish if a modern work is truly timeless? To me, it all boils down to three things: distinctiveness, replay value, and specificity.

Ctrl by SZA is an album that checks all of these boxes.

CTRL album cover

When it comes to distinctiveness, the album must have a strong brand and inner thesis. When someone brings up Ctrl, you can immediately picture the earthy green cover art, the smooth vocals, and the mellow beats that ring throughout the entire album. When there is an album that is distinctive, it's often very memorable and the first of its kind. This doesn't mean that the artist didn't draw inspiration from others, but it just means that there is nothing that you can exactly compare it to. There is no album exactly like Ctrl, and that is why it fits in this category.

CTRL by SZA becomes the 5th album by a Black female artist to reach 5 billion streams

Replay value is one of the most important factors in knowing if an album is going to age well. In today's world, it is easy for songs to be overplayed due to short-form content like TikTok that replays the same 30-second-long snippet of any trending song in the background of every video. It is easy to get tired of songs when you keep hearing them over and over again. When it comes to classic songs, however, no matter how many times you overplay it, you do not develop a disdain for the song. When it comes to Ctrl, although some parts of the album are more

overplayed than others, you never hear anyone telling you to turn the album off because they can't stand the song anymore. The replay value is high, and every time I listen to the

album, I find something new to appreciate about it.

Lyrics to "Drew Barrymore" by SZA

Specificity is the most important part of songwriting. If the words are too generic and pander too much to a specific audience, the true artistry is lost. When specific feelings and scenarios are authentically included in songs, it has the opposite effect of what some may think. Authentic specificity is what makes a piece of work universal. In Ctrl, SZA writes about specific experiences, like in "Drew Barrymore" when she sings, "Let's start the Narcos off at episode one," and in "Broken Clocks" when she sings, "I ain't had a smoke break in about two years don't break/ Been about three years since I dated you/ Why you still talking 'bout me like we're together?". Her experiences are specific to her, and that is what makes the writing so human and relatable. Even if you haven't gone through the same experiences, because they are described in such a precise way, it almost feels like you were there with her.

Ctrl has mastered the three things that I believe make an album a classic, which is why I think it will go down as one of the most important albums of our time. As much as I hope that I am right, only time will tell what its true status and significance will be in the future. Check back with me in 20 years, and hopefully, I can say that I told you so.