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Lizzo revealed to Rolling Stone that she believes “music saved my life,” and she faced “really dark moments” while working on her forthcoming fifth studio album Love in Real Life
However, the singer considered the release of her new rap mixtape My Face Hurts From Smiling to be cathartic in a way
“I’m feeling amazing now. Like, s—. I wasn’t feeling bad before, but I do feel like a brand-new b—-, you know? I feel like I’ve evolved,” she said
Lizzo knows just how important music is to not only her career, but also her mental health.
In a new conversation with Rolling Stone, the artist, 37, fresh off of the release of her new rap mixtape My Face Hurts From Smiling, highlighted the saving grace that creating music has been in some of the darkest times of her life.
“My relationship with music was still very intense.” she reflected of her time navigating depression. “I still am like, ‘Music saved my life,’ because there were really dark moments when I was working on Love in Real Life, my album, where I was like, ‘Okay, I don’t think I can make it through the day, but I have to go to the studio.'”
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Lizzo
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The singer recalled that “a lot of the songs that I wrote didn’t make the album,” simply because she “would be like, ‘That felt good to say, but you can’t put that out.’ “
However, Lizzo claimed she did not feel those apprehensions while working on My Face Hurts From Smiling, a project where she became unafraid to unapologetically be herself. “I’m going to just say it. I don’t give a f—. All right. ‘I’ve been fat and I’ve been skinny/B—– still ain’t f—— with me.’ I don’t think that could ever be on a Lizzo song. I would’ve been so scared to put that in something like ‘About Damn Time’ or ‘Juice.'”
Taking to Instagram on Tuesday, June 24, Lizzo teased the new mixtape, which arrived on Friday, June 27, and features Doja Cat and SZA across its 13 tracks.
She claimed to Rolling Stone that the basis of her creative fear prior to working on My Face Hurts From Smiling came from “the possibility of offending somebody,” a deciding factor in her life since she released “Truth Hurts.”
“I said, ‘I will never ever, ever, ever, ever be a side chick’ in the original. And then I was like, ‘Mm, but what if I offend side chicks?’ And so I was like, ‘I will never ever, ever, ever, ever be your side chick.’ I always overthink these things because I know who’s consuming my music and I’m very [concerned about] how they’re going to feel, how it’s going to affect them,” Lizzo explained. “But it’s like — to keep it very, very funky with you — everybody’s offended by everything today, so it’s impossible to not offend somebody. So it’s like, just say what you want to say. Just say whatever you want to say.”
Ultimately, Lizzo is relishing in the place she has reached mentally at the current stage in her life. She shared that she now feels as though she is “unf—withable,” despite previously facing “a lot of trauma from my relationship with the public and being backlashed and being canceled for various all sorts of things.”
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“I think when you come out on the other side of that and you get a little older, you’re like, ‘There’s nothing you can say about me anymore. There’s nothing anybody can say,’ ” she highlighted, further noting later in the interview, “I’m feeling amazing now. Like, s—. I wasn’t feeling bad before, but I do feel like a brand-new b—-, you know? I feel like I’ve evolved. I learned a lot about myself and I learned good things about myself and I’m really happy about it.”
She added, “I need to be creating all the time. That’s my new thing. I used to compartmentalize creating and now I’m like, “No, girl. You need a studio in the house. You need to be writing songs. You need to be getting your creative vision off and you need to trust your vision too.” And I’m really, really happy.”
Love in Real Life is set to release in 2025. My Face Hurts From Smiling is available on all major streaming platforms now.
If you or someone you know needs mental health help, text “STRENGTH” to the Crisis Text Line at 741-741 to be connected to a certified crisis counselor.
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