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Lizzo at 11th Breakthrough Prize Ceremony
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Key Takeaways:
- Lizzo’s latest project channels her freestyle energy into a full-length mixtape.
- The project features first-time collaborations with Doja Cat and a reunion with SZA.
- Lizzo confirms the mixtape is a contrast to her forthcoming album, ‘Love in Real Life.’
In May, Lizzo dropped a freestyle over PLUTO’s “WHIM WHAMIEE,” and fans either loved the change of pace or didn’t know what hit them. Regardless of public opinion, the Houston-raised rapper bottled up that same energy and poured it straight into her surprise mixtape, MY FACE HURTS FROM SMILING, which arrived on Friday (June 27) at midnight.
“It’s a whole different type of b**ch that’s comin’,” she warns right from the jump on the opener, “CRASHOUT.” Throughout the track, Lizzo fully embraces the moment — a noticeable detour from the deeper themes usually found on her studio albums — as she raps about tequila shots, city girls winning and more. From there, the project segues into her aforementioned viral freestyle, now repackaged as “YITTY ON YO TITTYS (FREESTYLE).”
Around the fifth track, “STILL CANT FUH,” Lizzo introduces her first guest on the tape: Doja Cat. It’s surprisingly their first official song together, and neither artist disappoints. The Special creator cleverly references internet sensation Cookinwitkya in her verse, and at one point, the record even samples TikToker SheraSeven.
Later, on “IRL,” the singer musically reconnects with SZA for the first time since 2023’s “Special (Remix).” There are other highlights too, like Lizzo showing love to her H-Town roots with a Sauce Walka reference on “DITTO.” Listen to MY FACE HURTS FROM SMILING below.
“The process for this mixtape has been honestly one of the most rewarding, fulfilling, exciting and healing I’ve had in a long time as an artist and as a person,” Lizzo told Rolling Stone about the project. “It’s only been two weeks, but it’s been the happiest two weeks I’ve had in such a long time.”
While her rapping and freestyling might not be for everyone, MY FACE HURTS FROM SMILING isn’t meant to replace her fifth studio album. She confirmed to the publication that Love in Real Life will be the “complete opposite” of the mixtape, leaning into some of the darker moments she’s been through. So far, she’s teased the LP with two singles — its title track and “Still Bad” — with another, titled “B**ch,” expected to drop this fall.
