Grammy-winning singer Ciara has released her eighth full-length album, CiCi, via her label Beauty Marks Entertainment.
The album features all the songs from her CiCi EP, including the No. 1 hit “How We Roll” with Chris Brown, plus the recently shared “Ecstasy” and the Latto-assisted “This Right Here.”
“CiCi is a love letter, a celebration of the journey, and most importantly, a thank you to my fans,” says Ciara. “This project represents the strength I’ve grown into and the power I’ve learned to wear with pride. My fans have been my fuel, giving me the courage to keep dreaming. This is my way of giving that love back.”
Opening with “Made It,” Ciara reflects on how fulfilling her professional and personal journeys have been since the days she first manifested them.
“Every night I prayed for my light to shine / And now I can’t see a thing / My light too bright / Every day I’ve dreamt about this moment,” she sings. And it wasn’t all pure luck. She recounts the work she had to do to get to fully bloom: “Seen many places / Replaced some faces / Made many changes / That’s why I’m taking – off.”
Rapper Tyga appears on the high-energy floor-filler “Dance With Me,” which sounds like a B-side to “How We Roll” in the best way possible. Both tracks capture love in motion. “Come dance with me, love / Catch it when I throw it right back / Don’t be slow to react,” Ciara sings. Tyga responds with, “Baby, pop it and make it jump, yeah / Nights like this was made for fun.”
“Dance With Me” is accompanied by an official music video, which can be watched below.
Then there’s “Drop Your Love,” a groove-ready track with a viral line dance just waiting to happen. Again, it evokes love as a kinetic, propelling force, one that can compel dance. It’s the liberating feeling of moving freely, without a care who’s watching — much like falling in love unapologetically. “I don’t really care about the critics / When your love drop, it hit different / When we kissing, it’s the everything for me you be giving / You mine,” she sings.
CiCi follows Ciara’s 2019 album, Beauty Marks, which was her first project released independently under her label. “I learned is that being independent is truly empowering. I always knew it would be, but there is no better feeling than being in control of your vision and doing things your way,” Ciara told Rated R&B of her biggest takeaway as a label owner.
Beauty Marks included Ciara’s multi-platinum hit “Level Up,” as well as collaborations with Kelly Rowland, Macklemore and Tekno.
In a previous interview with Rated R&B, Ciara exclusively hinted that her new album would be a continuation of 2024’s CiCi EP. “I wanted to curate and set the tone of my next music chapter with this EP,” she said. “This project is the start of really exciting things to come.”
Aside from her own music, Ciara recently joined rapper J.I.D. on “Sk8,” from his album God Does Like Ugly, alongside EarthGang.
Stream Ciara’s new album CiCi below.
