Summer Walker Still Over It, Let's Talk About It

Summer Walker has been through a lot. And she let it all out through her music. Summer Walker released “Still Over It” on November 5, and Black women have not been the same. She’s been teasing us since October, having people try and break into cases to get their hands on Summer’s hard drive. She even had a whole Instagram page dedicated to it. So, by the time November 5 came around, I was ready to get in my feelings. “Still Over It” narrates Summer’s breakup with her ex-boyfriend/father of her child, music producer London On Da Track. While “Over It,” Summer Walker talked about the trials and tribulations of a modern love story, in “Still Over It” Summer wants us to heal from heartbreak. She wants us to learn from her mistakes. Summer says, via Apple Music, “You don’t have to guess if something is love. Love is shown through actions. Stop making excuses for people who don’t show up for you. Don’t ignore the red flags. And don’t think you have to stay somewhere ‘cause you can’t find better—you can and you will. Don’t settle for less—you don’t deserve it and neither does your family.” In “Still Over It,” Summer In the first track, she already shows us exactly how honest she is willing to get. In “Bitter,” outro narrated by Cardi B, sets the tone for the rest of the album. On this track, she is telling us how people (including the mothers of London’s children) would harass her online over her relationship with London. The line that made my jaw fly open was when Summer sang, “London, did you screw this b**** for real?” She is calling London out by name. There is no guessing about who or what this album is about. I think we have all had a moment where we were shocked that our partners have dealt with...a certain type of woman before us. In this song, it sounds like she is still with London at this point- that she is defending him against all these women that he has wronged.

One of my favorite things about this track is Cardi B’s narration. Cardi is uplifting Summer while people were talking about her, at the time, alleged pregnancy. It was a big deal because London has multiple children by multiple women. And, London has produced most of Summer’s first album, “Over It.” As lovingly as Cardi B knows how, she is telling Summer to not let anyone steal her happy moment, tells her, “say it in a beautiful way in your music. Say why you, you know, decided to be with your n****. Even though you have problems, put that drama in your music.” This is her doing just that. She discusses regret and the reasons why her relationship ended. In “No Love,” she sings, “If I had you back, I wouldn't've did all that.” She shares that if she did it all again, she wouldn’t get her feelings involved. She would keep the relationship surface level. “Unloyal” is when she tells us enough was enough. She is no longer willing to stay in a relationship that no longer serves her. Both of these songs have the best features. Both SZA and Ari Lennox bring the soul that Summer Walker couldn’t necessarily bring due to

I want to talk more about “4th Baby Momma” and “Ciara’s Prayer.” Everyone and they momma was talking about these two tracks. First, I am convinced that “4th Baby Momma” is just a compilation of voice notes she sent to London after they broke up. She is reading him from head to toe.

The journey of the album to “4th Baby Momma” shows that Summer realizes that she is no different than women she called jealous in “Bitter.” I thought that the second half of the album lagged a bit. But, “4th Baby Momma” makes up for it. Even though she is singing softly, it still is a passionate song. It’s definitely the most honest, in my opinion.

“Ciara’s Prayer” sounds like a benediction. And at the same time, it sounds like a new beginning. I don’t know if it was intentional to have Cardi B open the album and Ciara close it, being that they are both the 4th baby momma. I don’t know what Summer did for Ciara to release that prayer, but it was needed. I like that the prayer is mostly about God’s love and her healing. When Ciara said, “I pray the next man of my life will be my husband. I pray he loves me, leads me, guides me, reassures me, I pray that he holds me, I pray that I have everything I want and need in him,” that solidified the album for me. I knew then that Summer Walker wasn’t making an album, more so telling a story. This is a not a story of heartbreak, but one that is about her journey to healing from it.

The reason why I pointed out these two tracks was because I think it exemplifies what people love about Summer Walker.

People gravitate to Summer Walker because of her intense honesty. She doesn’t sound like what we may be used to when we listen to R&B music. We usually want those exaggerated runs, ballads, sexual innuendos. R&B music isn’t usually as overt as other genres of music. As an Ari Lennox fan, for example, Summer is very different than what I am used to.She has more of a Hip-Hop/R&B/Pop fusion and she doesn't hold back. She is a R&B singer for the regular Black girl. She is the R&B girl for Gen Z. Black women my age, early twenties, are more open with being vulnerable to the masses. We don’t always feel the need to be the most eloquent, but you will hear us. We have a more confrontational, pointed, and less apologetic way of living. And Summer Walker’s music is a window into our mentality.

What I love about Summer Walker is that she doesn’t say much. Her hooks and verses aren’t extra wordy. They aren’t flooded with metaphors and other literary devices. You don’t have to think about how she’s feeling. She creates this authenticity that makes you feel her. I got lost in the vibe she created. I am not a stan for Summer. I didn’t expect to like this album as much as I did. But, when you have been through heartbreak and healing, hearing someone describe your inner thoughts is powerful. Summer makes the regular Black girl feel heard. What Taylor Swift and Olivia Rodrigo do for white teenaged girls, is what Summer Walker did for me.