''Skitszo'' is the debut

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

by American singer-rapper

Colette Carr Colette Mary Carr (born January 6, 1991) is an American musician and songwriter based in Los Angeles, California, United States. Carr's debut album, ''Skitszo'', a collection of previously released digital EPs, was released on July 9, 2013. "Ne ...

, which was released as a whole on July 9, 2013 through

Interscope Interscope Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group through its Interscope Geffen A&M imprint. Founded in late 1990 by Jimmy Iovine and Ted Field as a $20 million joint venture with Atlantic Records of Warner Musi ...

. The album consists of four digital EPs, each featuring four songs, released two months apart. The full album includes all the songs from the EPs, plus four new ones.Colette Carr to Release Debut Album in Innovative Fashion – ARTISTdirect News
/ref> Produced by Cherry Cherry Boom Boom,

Frankmusik Vincent James Turner (born 9 October 1985), better known by his stage name Frankmusik ( ) (and between 2011 and 2012, by the name Vincent Did It), is an English synth-pop musician. Early life Vincent was born on 9 October 1985 in the Thornton H ...

and other big names, the album features collaborations with YG,

Far East Movement Far East Movement (abbreviated FM) is an American Hip hop music, hip hop and electronic music group based in Los Angeles. The group formed in 2003 and as of August 2018 consists of Kev Nish (Kevin Nishimura), Prohgress (James Roh), DJ Virman (Vi ...

's Kev Nish,

E-40 Earl Tywone Stevens Sr. (born November 15, 1967), better known by his stage name E-40, is an American rapper. He is a founding member of the rap group The Click, and the founder of Sick Wid It Records. He has released 26 studio albums to date, a ...

and

Porcelain Black Alaina Marie Beaton (born October 1, 1985), known professionally as Porcelain Black, is an American singer-songwriter, rapper, and model. At age 16, she embarked on her music career as a solo act under the name Porcelain and the Tramps with Vir ...

. ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' noted the album's

genre Genre () is any form or type of communication in any mode (written, spoken, digital, artistic, etc.) with socially-agreed-upon conventions developed over time. In popular usage, it normally describes a category of literature, music, or other for ...

as a mixture of sing-speak

rapping Rapping (also rhyming, spitting, emceeing or MCing) is a musical form of vocal delivery that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and street vernacular". It is performed or chanted, usually over a backing beat or musical accompaniment. The ...

and

pop music Pop music is a genre of popular music that originated in its modern form during the mid-1950s in the United States and the United Kingdom. The terms ''popular music'' and ''pop music'' are often used interchangeably, although the former describe ...

refrain A refrain (from Vulgar Latin ''refringere'', "to repeat", and later from Old French ''refraindre'') is the line or lines that are repeated in music or in poetry — the "chorus" of a song. Poetic fixed forms that feature refrains include the vi ...

s. Carr was inspired to craft ''Skitszo'' after being exposed to works by artists such as the

Spice Girls The Spice Girls are a British girl group formed in 1994, consisting of Melanie Brown, also known as Mel B ("Scary Spice"); Melanie Chisholm, or Melanie C ("Sporty Spice"); Emma Bunton ("Baby Spice"); Geri Halliwell ("Ginger Spice"); and Vict ...

Talking Heads Talking Heads were an American rock band formed in 1975 in New York City and active until 1991.Talkin ...

, and

Eminem Marshall Bruce Mathers III (born October 17, 1972), known professionally as Eminem (; often stylized as EMINƎM), is an American rapper and record producer. He is credited with popularizing hip hop in middle America and is critically acclai ...

among others.

Background and release

Carr originally announced that her album would be released in November 2011. Carr released her first promotional single, "Back It Up" in 2009, which gained her the attention of

Nick Cannon Nicholas Scott Cannon (born October 8, 1980) is an American television host, actor, rapper, and comedian. In television, Cannon began as a teenager on ''All That'' before going on to host ''The Nick Cannon Show'', ''Wild 'n Out'', ''America's G ...

. She then released her mixtape, Sex Sells Stay Tooned with the help of his label, NCredible, along with his production on tracks. It was highly successful to Carr's standards, gaining 29,000 downloads in four days. The album was released under

Cherrytree Records Martin Kierszenbaum, also known by his pseudonym Cherry Cherry Boom Boom, is an American music personality. As a songwriter and producer he worked with Lady Gaga, Sting, Madonna, Mylène Farmer, Keane, Tokio Hotel, Far East Movement, Robyn, Fe ...

, and NCredible Entertainment. On September 27, 2012 Carr announced that her album would be released in four digital EPs, each released two months apart. Then, on July 9, 2013, the full physical album will be released, featuring all the songs from the EPs, plus four new ones. The complete album was made available for pre-order on November 7, 2012.

Composition and inspiration

''Skitszo'' is a tribute to Carr's uncle, who had

schizophrenia Schizophrenia is a mental disorder characterized by continuous or relapsing episodes of psychosis. Major symptoms include hallucinations (typically hearing voices), delusions, and disorganized thinking. Other symptoms include social withdra ...

. "It's also a tribute to my uncle who suffered from schizophrenia, but more than that it’s a tribute to the man who showed me what true and pure creativity was before he passed away two years ago," said Carr. She described the style of the album as, "musically schizophrenic". Her uncle also inspired the video for Carr's previous single, "Back It Up". ''

'' called ''Skitszo'' unapologetic

that often bounces between sly

and affecting

s. In and interview with ''Billboard'', Carr highlighted various musical monoliths as inspirational to her album's sound and style. Specifically, the rapper listed

Suzanne Vega Suzanne Nadine Vega ( Peck; born July 11, 1959) is an American singer-songwriter best known for her folk-inspired music. Vega's music career spans almost 40 years. She came to prominence in the mid-1980s, releasing four singles that entered the ...

Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin were an English rock band formed in London in 1968. The group comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham. With a heavy, guitar-driven sound, they are ci ...

Talking Heads Talking Heads were an American rock band formed in 1975 in New York City and active until 1991.Talkin ...

, and the

. On the latter, she said:

"Girl power for life. Every day of your life, the Spice Girls exist within us. That was such a huge part of growing up. I feel like they really put a stamp on girls in my generation. I dressed up like them for Halloween and did little shows with my sister and stuff. I've been every single one of them. My life goal is to be a perfect combination of all five Spice Girls."

Singles

" (We Do It) Primo" was released on May 10, 2011 as ''Skitszos lead single. Written by Carr herself and produced by

, it samples Keane's song, "

Somewhere Only We Know "Somewhere Only We Know" is a song composed and performed by English alternative rock band Keane, officially released as the first single from their debut album, ''Hopes and Fears'' (2004). The single peaked at number three on the UK Singles C ...

". "(We Do It) Primo" is a

pop song Pop music is a genre of popular music that originated in its modern form during the mid-1950s in the United States and the United Kingdom. The terms ''popular music'' and ''pop music'' are often used interchangeably, although the former describe ...

with heavy

synths A synthesizer (also spelled synthesiser) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis and f ...

. Lyrically, the record speaks of the just having fun, with "Primo" meaning, "Of top quality or importance". The

bridge A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...

describes “doing it primo” by using various similes including: "sweeter than vanilla" and "playing all of this like it was

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus, Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by country, around t ...

". Despite being released internationally, "(We Do It) Primo" failed to chart. Carr makes lyrical references to label mates and fellow musicians

, "feeling frank, spelling out the fear inside", a reference to his name and 2010 single "The Fear Inside", and

, "better move it, rocketeer", a reference to their 2009 single "

Rocketeer The Rocketeer is a fictional superhero appearing in American comic books originally published by Pacific Comics. Created by writer/artist Dave Stevens, the character first appeared in 1982 and is an homage to the Saturday matinee serial heroes f ...

". "Like I Got a Gun" is the second single for ''Skitszo''. Carr released the single on

iTunes iTunes () is a software program that acts as a media player, media library, mobile device management utility, and the client app for the iTunes Store. Developed by Apple Inc., it is used to purchase, play, download, and organize digital mul ...

on June 26, 2012. "Like I Got a Gun" was met with positive reviews from critics. ''Starpulse'' called it "a summer-ready party track". and an "ass slapping beat". A remix of the track featuring rapper YG was included on the first installment of the album. "F16" is the third single for ''Skitszo''. It was released on November 13, 2012 having been previously leaked. The music video for the single was released December 20, 2012. "Why Are You Leaving?" is the fourth single. It was released on January 8, 2013 and the music video was released the same week, although the video was down on YouTube for sometime mid-2013, but was re-uploaded on October 17, 2013. The song features American rapper Kev Nish from the group Far East Movement. " Never Gonna Happen" is the fifth single for ''Skitszo'' and to date, has become Carr's most successful single. It was released March 5, 2013 as a part of her EP "Skitszo (Part. 3)" on iTunes and the video was released April 5, 2013, ''Clueless'' was the music video's main theme. The song also charted #11 on ''

''s Dance Club Songs.

Track listing

* "I Don't Wanna Go" samples

Britney Spears Britney Jean Spears (born December 2, 1981) is an American singer. Often referred to as the " Princess of Pop", she is credited with influencing the revival of teen pop during the late 1990s and early 2000s. After appearing in stage productio ...

's " Oops!... I Did It Again" * "(We Do It) Primo" samples Keane's "

Personnel

As listed on AllMusic.com *

— Composer, Primary Artist *

— Composer *

Martin Kierszenbaum Martin Kierszenbaum, also known by his pseudonym Cherry Cherry Boom Boom, is an American music personality. As a songwriter and producer he worked with Lady Gaga, Sting, Madonna, Mylène Farmer, Keane, Tokio Hotel, Far East Movement, Robyn, Fei ...

— Composer * YG — Primary Artist *

The Cataracs The Cataracs were an American hip hop record production project and duo formed in Berkeley, California, United States, consisting of David Benjamin Singer-Vine (born March 9, 1988) and Niles Hollowell-Dhar (born October 6, 1988). The duo starte ...

— Composer *

Jason Gilbert Jason Gilbert, known by his nickname JG , is a Caymanian record producer, songwriter, mixing engineer and DJ. JG has produced for artists including Eminem, Bad Meets Evil, Akon, Christina Aguilera and Taio Cruz. In 2011, Gilbert won a Grammy ...

— Composer * Anthony Jeffries — Composer * Hannah Kierszenbaum — Composer * Kev Nish — Composer, Primary Artist * Nate Walka — Composer, Background Vocals * AJ Junior — Composer * Ameerah — Composer * Beatgeek — Composer *

Bilal "The Chef" Hajji Bilal Hajji, sometimes also known as The Chef (at times Bilal "The Chef" or Bilal "The Chef" Hajji) is a Moroccan-Swedish songwriter and record producer. Based in Sweden, of Moroccan origin, he has worked with many worldwide artists and celebrit ...

— Composer * Niles Hollowell-Dhar — Composer *

— Composer, Primary Artist * Prophet — Composer *

RedOne Nadir Khayat ( ar, نادر الخياط; born 9 April 1972), better known by his stage name RedOne, is a Moroccan singer, songwriter, record producer and record executive. As a record producer and songwriter, he has worked with many high-profi ...

— Composer

Release history

References

{{Authority control 2013 debut albums Cherrytree Records albums Albums produced by RedOne Albums produced by the Cataracs Albums produced by Martin Kierszenbaum Interscope Records albums Interscope Geffen A&M Records albums Albums produced by MNEK