They say the truth comes out when you’re drunk. Well, it shouldn’t be a shocker that Sevyn Streeter’s sophomore album, Drunken Wordz Sober Thoughtz, is her most authentic and upfront body of work to date.
Being in the music industry since she was a teenager, including as a member of two girl groups, Streeter has always had to compromise her creative expression — until now.
“I’ve always had someone telling me what I should look like,” Streeter tells Rated R&B. “Or say, ‘Oh, you shouldn’t put choreo in every video. Oh, you shouldn’t wear your hair short. Oh, put out this song because it will do better at radio.’”
She continues, “You lose your own voice, your own thoughts, and your own opinions because you have so many people telling you what it should be.”
In order to find her voice, Streeter had to give herself “permission to say whatever and create music in a way that felt organic.”
Streeter adds, “I had to be honest with myself, and ask, ‘Who are you? How do you feel?” she shares. “I’m like, ‘You know what? I’m emotional as fuck.’ I feel like a different version of me every day — and I welcome that. Over the last two years, I’ve grown to not condemn myself for the fact that I feel a lot.”
Drunken Wordz Sober Thoughtz gives listeners a 42-minute look into some of Streeter’s experiences since releasing her debut album, Girl Disrupted, in 2017. “It was just so much life that had happened,” says Streeter of the four years between her albums.
From losing her uncle to cancer to dealing with a breakup, Streeter channeled her emotions into her music in real-time. “It just so happened that I was in a music space with all of that. I never stopped writing. I never stopped recording. I just allowed things to take shape.”
In October 2018, shortly after releasing her one-off track “Yearnin,” Streeter began teasing the project with the hashtag #DrunkenWordzSoberThoughtz. Even though there were intentions to release it sooner, Streeter chose to remain open-minded to allow the music to crystalize on its own.
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“I had to do that, otherwise y’all were going to get a false version of me and that ain’t good for nobody,” explains Streeter. “It’s not about a great song. It’s about my relationship to the song. I could have easily put together 13 or 25 songs. But if they did not speak to exactly who I am today, then I’m wasting y’all time and my time, y’all money and my money.”
Instead of rushing the process, Streeter used the hashtag as a way to share some of her truths and to start conversations with her fans. She even kept her loyalists in the loop of some material she was creating.
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“That’s why you’ve seen that hashtag for so long,” she says. “I have literally been inside of this project. The hashtag only came once I realized I was able to identify what it was becoming for me.”
Drunken Wordz Sober Thoughtz includes the previously shared tracks “Guilty” featuring Chris Brown and A$AP Ferg, and “Nasty Girl” featuring Bia. It features additional appearances from Lucky Daye, Jeremih and Lavish.
As for production, Streeter enlisted D’Mile (Silk Sonic, H.E.R.), Bizness Boi (Chris Brown, Kenny Lattimore), Smash David (Tinashe, Trey Songz), Kevin Cossom (Kelly Rowland, Usher), Jimmie Gutch (Justin Bieber, Demi Lovato) and more.
On the 15-song set, Streeter takes listeners on an emotionally raw journey as she navigates through love. Songs like “Fall Back” and “Feel A Way” explore the early stages of finding love. “Nasty Girl” and “Wet Dreamz” embrace Streeter’s sensual side in the bedroom, whereas “Liquid Courage” is a slow-burning kiss-off to a partner who fails to see the value in their lover.
Dive into Sevyn Streeter’s new album, Drunken Wordz Sober Thoughtz, below.
