''Cuz I Love You'' is the third studio album and major label debut studio album by American singer and rapper

Lizzo Melissa Viviane Jefferson (born April 27, 1988), known professionally as Lizzo, is an American singer, rapper, and flutist. Born in Detroit, Michigan, she moved to Houston, Houston, Texas with her family when she was 10 years old. After col ...

. It was released through Nice Life and

Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over its first 20 years of operation, Atlantic earned a reputation as one of the most i ...

on April 19, 2019. The album features guest appearances from American rappers

Missy Elliott Melissa Arnette Elliott (born July 1, 1971), better known as Missy Elliott or Missy “Misdemeanor” Elliot, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record producer. She embarked on her music career with R&B girl group Sista in the earl ...

and

Gucci Mane Radric Delantic Davis (born February 12, 1980), known professionally as Gucci Mane, is an American rapper and record executive. He helped pioneer the hip hop subgenre of trap music alongside fellow Atlanta-based rappers T.I. and Young Jeezy, ...

. It spawned the singles "

Juice Juice is a drink made from the extraction or Cold-pressed juice, pressing of the natural liquid contained in fruit and vegetables. It can also refer to liquids that are flavored with concentrate or other biological food sources, such as meat ...

" and "

Tempo In musical terminology, tempo (Italian, 'time'; plural ''tempos'', or ''tempi'' from the Italian plural) is the speed or pace of a given piece. In classical music, tempo is typically indicated with an instruction at the start of a piece (often ...

", the latter of which is a collaboration with Elliott. The deluxe edition of the album was released on May 3 and includes the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 number one single " Truth Hurts". The deluxe edition was nominated for

Album of the Year Album of the Year, often abbreviated to AOTY, may refer to: Awards * ARIA Award for Album of the Year, Australia * Brit Award for British Album of the Year, UK * Grammy Award for Album of the Year, US * Juno Award for Album of the Year, CA * Lati ...

at the

62nd Annual Grammy Awards The 62nd Annual Grammy Awards ceremony was held on January 26, 2020, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. It recognized the best recordings, compositions, and artists of the eligibility year, running from October 1, 2018, to August 31, 2019. Al ...

, and won

Best Urban Contemporary Album The Grammy Award for Best Progressive R&B Album is an honor presented at the Grammy Awards to recording artists for quality works on albums in the urban contemporary subgenre within the R&B field. Honors in several categories are presented at t ...

Background

The album is Lizzo's first release since her 2016 ''

Coconut Oil frameless , right , alt = A cracked coconut and a bottle of coconut oil Coconut oil (or coconut butter) is an edible oil derived from the wick, meat, and milk of the coconut palm fruit. Coconut oil is a white solid fat; in warmer climates duri ...

'' EP. Lizzo stated at the album preview party at the Crazy Girls strip club in Hollywood on January 30 that she had been working on the album for three years. She also previewed a collaboration with

titled "Tempo" that appeared on the album. Along with the lead single "Juice", the album includes the "empowering dance track" "Like a Girl" and a song dedicated to an ex titled "Jerome".

Promotion

Lizzo announced the album in January 2019, and on February 13, shared the album's cover art, on which she appears

nude Nudity is the state of being in which a human is without clothing. The loss of body hair was one of the physical characteristics that marked the biological evolution of modern humans from their hominin ancestors. Adaptations related to h ...

. ''

Paper Paper is a thin sheet material produced by mechanically or chemically processing cellulose fibres derived from wood, rags, grasses or other vegetable sources in water, draining the water through fine mesh leaving the fibre evenly distributed ...

'' called the cover a "stunning glow-up, and a transformation for Lizzo", going on to say that "Fat, and especially fat and Black bodies are rarely treated with such care by photographers, let alone on album covers that will sit on

Target Target may refer to: Physical items * Shooting target, used in marksmanship training and various shooting sports ** Bullseye (target), the goal one for which one aims in many of these sports ** Aiming point, in field artillery, fi ...

and

Walmart Walmart Inc. (; formerly Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.) is an American multinational retail corporation that operates a chain of hypermarkets (also called supercenters), discount department stores, and grocery stores from the United States, headquarter ...

shelves." The album was supported by two concert

tours Tours ( , ) is one of the largest cities in the region of Centre-Val de Loire, France. It is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Indre-et-Loire. The Communes of France, commune of Tours had 136,463 ...

: Cuz I Love You Tour (2019) and

Cuz I Love You Too Tour The Cuz I Love You Too Tour was the second headlining concert tour by American singer and rapper Lizzo in support of her third studio album, ''Cuz I Love You''. The tour began on July 18, 2019, in Troutdale, Oregon, and concluded on January 15, ...

(2019-2020).

Singles

"Juice" was released as the lead single from the record on January 4, 2019. The single became Lizzo's first commercial hit, entering component R&B charts in the United States, while also reaching the top twenty in Scotland. The single was promoted with Lizzo's debut television performance on ''

The Ellen DeGeneres Show ''The Ellen DeGeneres Show'' (often shortened to ''Ellen'' or ''The Ellen Show'') is an American daytime television variety comedy talk show that was created and hosted by its namesake Ellen DeGeneres. Debuting on September 8, 2003, it was prod ...

'', and a later performance on ''

The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon ''The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by Jimmy Fallon that airs on NBC. The show premiered on February 17, 2014, and is produced by Broadway Video and Universal Television. It is the seventh incar ...

''. "Tempo", featuring American rap artist Missy Elliott was released as a single on July 26, 2019. The song also was given a music video that premiered on YouTube the same date. "Cuz I Love You", originally released as a promotional single on February 14, 2019, the song also was given a music video that premiered on YouTube the same date. Later, the song as released as a single to Top 40 radio on January 28, 2020.

Promotional singles

The album's title track was released as the first promotional single on February 14, 2019, alongside the song's music video. "Tempo" featuring Elliott was released as the album's second promotional single on March 20, 2019. "Tempo" went on to chart at number 21 on the US

Digital Song Sales The Digital Songs or Digital Song Sales chart (previously named Hot Digital Songs) ranks the best-selling digital songs in the United States, as compiled by Nielsen SoundScan and published by ''Billboard'' magazine. Although it originally start ...

chart, Lizzo's first entry on a ''Billboard'' Hot 100 component chart.

Critical reception

''Cuz I Love You'' received widespread acclaim from

music critics Music journalism (or music criticism) is media criticism and reporting about music topics, including popular music, classical music, and traditional music. Journalists began writing about music in the eighteenth century, providing commentary on w ...

upon its initial release. At

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...

, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album has an average score of 84, based on 24 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim". Reviewing the album for

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

, Heather Phares praised ''Cuz I Love You'' as "a triumphant showcase for every part of Lizzo's talent, physicality and sexuality." Jumi Akinfenwa of '' Clash'' stated that by "Offering up a mix of pop, hip-hop, R&B and a sprinkling of

trap A trap is a mechanical device used to capture or restrain an animal for purposes such as hunting, pest control, or ecological research. Trap or TRAP may also refer to: Art and entertainment Films and television * ''Trap'' (2015 film), Fil ...

and

neo soul Neo soul (sometimes called progressive soul) is a genre of popular music. As a term, it was coined by music industry entrepreneur Kedar Massenburg during the late 1990s to market and describe a style of music that emerged from soul and contempo ...

for good measure, Lizzo covers all bases and serves the perfect introduction to her world for mainstream audiences." ''

DIY "Do it yourself" ("DIY") is the method of building, modifying, or repairing things by oneself without the direct aid of professionals or certified experts. Academic research has described DIY as behaviors where "individuals use raw and semi ...

'' magazine's Rachel Finn gave a positive evaluation of the album, writing that "Lizzo's vibrant personality and humour shining through a set of tracks that switches through elements of

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African Americans in the m ...

, pop and R&B with ease." In an article for ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...

'', reviewer Natty Kasambala described the album as being "as flawlessly genre-spanning as Lizzo herself: pop at its core, but with constant references to her

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

roots and historical love of

twerking Twerking (; possibly from 'to work') is a type of dance that came out of the bounce music scene of New Orleans in the late 1980s. Individually performed chiefly but not exclusively by women, performers dance to popular music in a sexually provo ...

." Claire Biddles at ''

The Line of Best Fit ''The Line of Best Fit'' is an independent online magazine based in London, concentrating on new music. It publishes independent music reviews, features, interview, and media. Founded by Richard Thane in February 2007 and currently edited by P ...

'' shared similar sentiments, calling the album "Charming, addictive and seemingly effortless, ''Cuz I Love You'' is Lizzo's declaration of superstardom." ''

Slant Magazine ''Slant Magazine'' is an American online publication that features reviews of movies, music, TV, DVDs, theater, and video games, as well as interviews with actors, directors, and musicians. The site covers various film festivals like the New York ...

''s Zachary Hoskins concluded that "Lizzo's talent has always been evident, but this album's material, her strongest to date, allows her put it on full display. By the languorous, seductive neo-soul of closing track "Lingerie", her enthusiasm is as contagious as it is well-earned." Some reviewers were more reserved in their assessments of the album. In a review for ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'',

Alexis Petridis Alexis Petridis ( el, Αλέξης Πετρίδης; born 13 September 1971) is a British journalist, head rock and pop critic for the UK newspaper ''The Guardian'', as well as a regular contributor to the magazine '' GQ''. In addition to his mus ...

felt that "Lizzo has something to say, and a smart way of saying it ... but the potency of what's here would seem more potent still if it had been allowed a little room to breathe ... Instead, ''Cuz I Love You'' keeps its foot pressed down hard on the accelerator for half an hour in an attempt to ram-raid the charts." Rawiya Kameir was also critical in the review for ''

Pitchfork A pitchfork (also a hay fork) is an agricultural tool with a long handle and two to five tines used to lift and pitch or throw loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. The term is also applied colloquially, but inaccurately, to th ...

'', claiming that "Despite her obvious skill and charisma, some of the album's 11 songs are burdened with overwrought production, awkward turns of phrase, and ham-handed rapping."

Accolades

Awards and nominations

Commercial performance

''Cuz I Love You'' debuted at number six on the ''Billboard'' 200 with 41,000

album-equivalent unit The album-equivalent unit, or album equivalent, is a measurement unit in music industry to define the consumption of music that equals the purchase of one album copy. This consumption includes streaming and song downloads in addition to traditi ...

s, of which 24,000 were pure album sales. It was Lizzo's first album to chart on the ''Billboard'' 200. It then repeaked at number six on the charting week ending on June 27, 2019. It has stayed in the top 10 for 15 weeks after its release. The album peaked number 4 in its 19th week on the chart dated September 7, 2019.

Track listing

Songwriting credits adapted from BMI. Notes * signifies a co-

producer Producer or producers may refer to: Occupations *Producer (agriculture), a farm operator *A stakeholder of economic production *Film producer, supervises the making of films **Executive producer, contributes to a film's budget and usually does not ...

. * signifies an additional producer. * "Water Me" contains elements from "I Am Free, No Dope for Me" written by Morris Wittenberg and from "My Home" written by Nneka Lucia Egbuna and Farhad Samadzada.

Personnel

Credits adapted from album's liner notes. * Downtown Trevor Brown – co-producer (track 9) * Harry Burr – mixing assistant (track 5) * Clarence Coffee Jr. – additional vocals (track 14) * Michael Cordone – trumpet (track 3) * Scott Desmarais – mixing assistant (tracks 1-4, 6-11, 13) *

– rap and additional vocals (track 7) * Shaina Evoniuk – violin (track 11) * Dan Farber – co-producer (track 7) *

Oak Felder Warren "Oak" Felder (born November 9, 1980)Dale KawashimaSongwriter Universe, September 7, 2017. is a Turkish-born American songwriter and record producer based in Atlanta and Los Angeles. He is known for his work as part of the production duo Po ...

– producer (tracks 2, 4, 9) * Robin Florent – mixing assistant (tracks 1-4, 6-11, 13) * Chris Galland – mix engineer (track 13) *

Chris Gehringer Chris Gehringer (born May 27, 1962) is an American mastering engineer, known for having mastered recordings such as Gwen Stefani's '' Love. Angel. Music. Baby.'' (2004), Rihanna's '' Loud'' (2010), Lady Gaga's '' Born This Way'' (2011) and Drake' ...

– mastering (tracks 1-4, 6-13) *

– rap (track 8) * Lemar Guillary – trombone (track 3) *

Victor Indrizzo Victor Indrizzo (born September 23, 1967) is an American session musician, primarily known for playing the drums, as well as a songwriter and producer. Indrizzo was born in Freeport, Long Island, New York. He has toured, recorded and worked wi ...

– drums and percussion (track 3) * Rouble Kapoor – assistant engineer (track 3) * Zaire Koalo – co-producer (track 9) *

Joe LaPorta Joseph J. LaPorta (born ) is an American mastering engineer at Sterling Sound in New Jersey.http://www.allmusic.com/artist/joe-laporta-mn000199340/credits/date-asc/ Career Born and raised in New York, LaPorta graduated from New York Univer ...

– mastering (track 5) * Trevor Lawrence Jr. – drums (track 11) *

– vocals (all tracks), producer (7), synthesizer (14), executive producer * Bill Malina – engineer (tracks 3, 11) *

Manny Marroquin Manny Marroquin (born September 21, 1971) is an American mixing engineer.Daley, Dan (May 2005).Manny Marroquin. ''Sound on Sound''. Retrieved February 10, 2007 He has received ten Grammy awards for his professional audio work. Life and career M ...

– mixing (tracks 1-4, 6-11, 13) * Asha Maura – backing vocals (track 3) *

Andrew Maury Andrew Maury is an American record producer, mixing engineer, and songwriter based in Brooklyn, New York. Career Maury has worked with artists such as Lewis Del Mar, Lizzo, Ra Ra Riot, Shawn Mendes, JP Saxe, Post Malone, RAC, Jeremy Zucker, Madi ...

– mixing (track 5) * Jesse McGinty – saxophone (track 3) * Nate Mercereau – producer (tracks 6, 11, 12), co-producer (7), additional production (3), engineer (6, 11), guitar and bass (3, 6, 11), keyboards (6, 11), instruments (7, 12), programming and drums (11) * Sean Phelan – engineer (tracks 1, 5) * Matthew Cerritos – assistant engineer (tracks 1, 5, 10) *

Ricky Reed Eric Burton Frederic (born July 23, 1982), known professionally as Ricky Reed, is an American artist, music producer, singer, songwriter, and founder of Nice Life Recording Company. From 2005 to 2014, Reed was also known as Wallpaper. Early w ...

– producer (tracks 3, 6, 7, 11-14), mixing (12), programming (3, 7, 11-14), keyboards and guitar (3), bass (3, 14), drums and synthesizer (14), instruments (7, 12) * Mike Sabath – producer (track 8) * Ethan Shumaker – engineer (tracks 3, 6, 7, 11-14), additional vocals (7) * Keith "Daquan" Sorrells – assistant engineer (track 9) * Shelby Swain – backing vocals (track 3), additional vocals (7) * Sweater Beats – co-producer (track 7) * Tele – co-producer and programming (track 13) *

Theron Thomas R. City (short for Rock City; and formerly Planet VI) is a Virgin Islands musical duo formed in 2003, from Saint Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands, Saint Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands. The duo is composed of brothers Theron "Uptown AP" Thomas and Timot ...

– backing vocals (track 3), additional vocals (7) * Quinn Wilson – backing vocals (track 3) * Tobias Wincorn – co-producer and programming (track 7), additional production (14) *

X Ambassadors X Ambassadors (also stylized XA) are an American pop rock band from Ithaca, New York. Its members currently include lead vocalist Sam Harris, keyboardist Casey Harris, and drummer Adam Levin. Russ Flynn is a touring member that plays guitar and ...

– producers (tracks 1, 5, 10)

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Decade-end charts

Certifications

Release history

Notes

References

{{Authority control 2019 albums Lizzo albums Atlantic Records albums Albums produced by Ricky Reed Albums produced by Oak Felder Grammy Award for Best Urban Contemporary Album Funk albums by American artists Soul albums by American artists Rock albums by American artists