Lizzo was in fifth grade when it came time to choose instruments for band. The choice was made for her when the music teacher paired her with the flute.
Lizzo was in fifth grade when it came time to choose instruments for band. The choice was made for her when the music teacher paired her with the flute.
It turned out to be a good match: The singer and rapper fell in love with the instrument and went on to pursue a degree in music performance and music theory with the hopes of becoming a professional flutist. “I saw a life of concert black and Boston Pops and traveling the world,” Lizzo says. “When that didn’t pan out for me, I was very depressed.”
But Lizzo, who grew up in Detroit then Houston and found her footing in theMinneapolis music scene, was also a natural at freestyle rapping. She began working with local R&B and soul artists, eventually meeting and collaborating with Prince.
A self-described “showgirl at its finest,” Lizzo began touring even before she had albums. She says the high energy “hallelujah moments” of her shows reflect a childhood listening primarily to gospel music.
But Lizzo’s musical persona isn’t all flash. Her third studio album, Cuz I Love You— her major label debut under Atlantic Records —reveals a deep vulnerability, especially as she sings about self-love and body positivity. It’s a message born from Lizzo’s own long journey toward body acceptance.
“About 10 years ago, I made the decision that I just wanted to be happy with my body and I just wanted to be happy with who I am,” the artist says. “That was the beginning of my journey with learning how to love my body…. You have to find that love for yourself deep down inside, underneath all of that questioning and ickiness.”
On her role in producing Cuz I Love You
I am classically trained in music theory and music performance, so I have an innate ear and actually a highly skilled ear when it comes to frequency and harmony and dissonance and melody. So for me, it’s this thing that I can feel in my body. I’m almost like a tuning fork where if I hear the beat and I vibrate at the level that I’m supposed to, I know that that’s what I want to get on. And from being trained, I think it’s easier for me to speak a language to producers, and I can speak engineer to the engineers. I think we all just have so much fun nerding out…. I’m credited as a producer on a couple of the songs because I was there, and my DNA is in there as well.
On the idea that it’s odd to have a flute in rap music
You hear a lot of flute in rap! Have y’all heard of J Dilla? Have y’all heard of Metro Boomin? Like, these producers use flute all the time.
