So I didn’t put huge expectations on this album, because truthfully there are very few albums that are worth a 6+ year wait, and the ones that are, are usually masterpieces (think D’Angelo’s Black Messiah). I was mainly just happy that Normani could finally release an album, and interested to hear what she had been sitting on for years.

But i was still surprised to find that nothing here was really memorable; it’s mainly very safe R&B, no real risks taken, nothing that challenges herself vocally or challenges the audience lyrically, and nothing here that competes with some of the best songs she’s released, like her 2018 single “Waves.” I wonder if conflict with her label has a lot to do with it (Normani’s with RCA, who famously fucked Tinashe over for years); I’d like to think that, similar to Tinashe, Normani has much more interesting but maybe less commercially viable music that she simply can’t release because of RCA. Because – and I say this as someone who’s been rooting for Normani’s success for years – it’s kinda hard to believe this is all she had to say after 6 years.