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Lizzo
American singer and rapper (born 1988)
Melissa Viviane Jefferson, known professionally as Lizzo, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and actress. Born in Detroit, Michigan, she moved to Houston, Texas, with her family at the age of 10.
After college, she moved to Minneapolis, Minnesota, where she began her recording career in hip-hop. Lizzo released two studio albums, Lizzobangers (2013) and Big Grrrl Small World (2015).
labels: Totally Gross National Product, Atlantic Records, Nice Life Recording Company
genres: hip-hop, soul, contemporary R&B, gospel music
awards: Grammy Award for Best Progressive R&B Album, Grammy Award for Best Pop Solo Performance, Grammy Award for Best Traditional R&B Performance, Soul Train Music Award for Best R&B/Soul Album of the Year, Soul Train Music Award for Best R&B/Soul or Rap Music Video, BET Award for Best R&B Artists
plays: voice, flute
Facts from Wikidata and Discogs, free to use.
hip hoppop rapr&bcontemporary r&bfootworkpop
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Early life and education
Melissa Viviane Jefferson was born on April 27, 1988, in Detroit, Michigan. When she was ten, her family relocated to Houston, Texas. She was classically trained as a flutist for eight years, from the age of 10 until she graduated from Alief Elsik High School in 2006, where she had started rapping. At age 14, she formed a musical group called Cornrow Clique with her friends. At this time, she acquired the nickname "Lizzo", a variant of "Lissa", inspired by Jay-Z's "Izzo (H.O.V.A.)". In college, she studied classical music, concentrating on flute, at the University of Houston. At age 21, after her father's death, she lived out of her car for a year as she tried to break into the music industry. In 2009 and 2010, she performed lead vocals...
While living in Minneapolis, Lizzo performed with groups including the electro soul-pop duo Lizzo & the Larva Ink. During this time she helped form a three-piece all-female rap/R&B group, the Chalice. In 2012, the Chalice released its first album, We Are the Chalice, which was locally successful. In 2013, Lizzo was one of five artists to form the hip-hop group Grrrl Prty, which released two EPs before playing its final show at Rock the Garden and disbanding in 2016. Lizzo's hip-hop-focused debut album, Lizzobangers, produced by Lazerbeak and Ryan Olson, was released on October 15, 2013. Killian Fox of The Guardian gave the album 4 stars out of 5, saying: "At times joyfully nonsensical, Lizzo's stream-of-consciousness rhymes can also be...
In 2019, in addition to her musical projects, Lizzo ventured into acting, with a voice performance in the animated film UglyDolls, and a supporting part in the crime comedy-drama film Hustlers. "Juice", the lead single from her third studio album, was released on January 4, 2019, by Atlantic Records. The next month, she announced the title of the album, Cuz I Love You, which was eventually released on April 19, 2019. After the release of her album, she performed at the Coachella Music Festival for the first time. The release of Cuz I Love You marked a turning point in Lizzo's career, as she began to attract more mainstream attention; the album debuted at number six on the Billboard 200 and eventually peaked at number four on the chart,...
Cuz I Love You is the third studio album by American singer and rapper Lizzo. It was released through Nice Life Recording Company and Atlantic Records on April 19, 2019, serving as her major-label debut.
The album features guest appearances from American rappers Missy Elliott and Gucci Mane. It spawned the single "Juice" and the promotional single "Tempo", the latter of which is a collaboration with Elliott.
Background
The album is Lizzo's first release since her 2016 Coconut Oil 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 Missy Elliott 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".
Critical reception
Cuz I Love You received widespread acclaim from music critics upon its initial release. At Metacritic, 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".
