Summer Walker – Over it vs. Still Over it
Over it album cover (left), Still Over it album cover (right)
November 18, 2022
R&B artist Summer Walker has been on top of the charts over the past years. She has mainstream hits like Girls Need Love and Playing Games.
Her two latest albums, Over It and Still Over It have been widely successful. Over It was released on October 4, 2019. While Still Over It was released on November 5, 2021.
These two albums have revolutionized the new age of R&B. I feel like it is necessary to compare these albums because they both are similar in terms of heartbreak, melodies, their album titles, etc.
My analysis of these albums will ultimately determine which album is truly better. The album that I feel is more superior will be based on song features, # of songs, music/production quality, and more. I also will be rating the top five songs from a scale of 1-10 (not any order) in my perspective from each album.
Over It is Summer Walker’s debut album. With this album, she brought a whole new sound to R&B, and it revolutionized the music industry. Over It has 18 songs, and it is 49 minutes long. These songs were very hard for me to choose because Over it is such an essential album. I literally love every song on this album and every song gives me a peace of mind. The album was produced by London on Da Track, which is Summer Walker’s baby daddy. The album also truly examines the need for affection but the awkwardness of desiring it. To start, I will rate the top 5 songs from Over It.
The melody and tone of this song makes it a R&B classic. It features Usher and it also samples ‘You Make Me Wanna’ by Usher. I think the sample and feature really adds a lot of character to the song. It also was very creative using Usher’s sample because it revolutionized the new age of R&B by using a 90s R&B sample. The song focuses on “coming through” and sliding through to someone’s house romantically. The chorus of the song is “You make me wanna come through, Quarter after two”. This song really touches on the positives of a relationship and being in love. I also love the quality of the song, and it was produced very well.
I Rate this song a 10/10.
#2: Me
Me is a very underrated song on the album. It is not that mainstream, and it is one of the least known songs on the album. Although it is short (2 minutes long), it still is a very breathtaking song. This song encompasses on giving a relationship one last chance and being on the last straw in a relationship. One of my favorite verses from the song is, “Definitely be my last love” because it truly showcases how, because of Summer’s past history in relationships, this is her last and final straw at love. I really love this song and the meaning behind it, I truly have it on repeat for days, and it is on heavy rotation.
This song is also a 10/10.
#3: Potential
This song talks about having potential in someone and giving them a chance. The ripple that summer does when singing ‘potential’ really touches my soul. I don’t really have a favorite verse from the song, but I just love the chorus as it just repeats “You got potential”. I can relate to this song immensely, and I love it a lot.
Ok at this point literally every song I am rating is a 10/10 in my eyes.
#4: Playing Games (Feat. Bryson Tiller)
Playing games is such a hit. The song features R&B artist Bryson Tiller. This R&B collaboration was very much needed, and this duo is unstoppable. They both complement each other in the song in such a great way. Bryson Tiller is basically the love interest in the song, and he expresses his love to Summer with his lyrics. The song alludes to ‘playing’ in relationships and not taking relationships seriously. The verse that really resonates with me in this song is “I’m just tryna match your words with your actions” because oftentimes in relationships people say they love their partner, but they don’t show that with their actions. This song is very relatable to me, and it undoubtedly puts me in my feelings.
A 10/10 ofc.
#5: Tonight
Tonight is the 8th track from the album, and it is yet another essential R&B hit. The song entails how Summer has not seen someone in a long time and how she wants to make up for all the time they haven’t spent together by enjoying each other’s company. The song presents such a calming mood, and it gives me abundant ecstasy. My favorite verse from the song is “I just wanna make up for lost time” because I can relate to it as there are many relationships in my life that I want to rekindle. Tonight is a song that I would listen to on a late night drive. I love this song so much, and it is yet another essential song on the album.
Again a 10/10.
An honorable mention for Over it is the song Girls Need Love Remix (with Drake). This song is very iconic and it was a remix on one of Summer Walker’s most popular songs Girls Need Love. It also charted very high, and the Drake feature sort of put a more masculine twist on the song with having a male perspective.
Next up, Still Over It.
Still Over It has 20 songs, and it is 1 hour and 20 minutes long. This album touches on the journey of Walker’s messy and complicated breakup with London on Da Track. A lot of the album encompasses heartbreak and Walker moving on from her relationship. It also touches on Walker being a ‘baby mama’ and her journey through this. The track ‘4th Baby Mama’ on the album has an emphasis on her experience being London on Da Tracks 4th baby mama. The features on the album are also breathtaking as well. On the album, Walker collaborates with other R&B female artists in the industry like SZA and Ari Lennox; and by the way these collabs were so iconic. Still Over It brings a new sound to Walker’s discography, and it is a righteous sequel from her debut album Over It.
Choosing the top five songs from Still Over It was truly a challenge for me, but yet I still managed to determine what the leading songs of the album were.
#1: Reciprocate
“But you gon’ have to reciprocateeeee” stays in my mind 24/7. The chorus of the song has to be my favorite part because it relates to who I am so much. With Walker expressing how her man needs to reciprocate, I relate immensely because I need people to have the same energy with me as well. Reciprocate is the 5th track on the album. I love the beat on this song, and it truly resonates with me. Reciprocate means to respond to a gesture or action by making a corresponding one. Walker demonstrates this in the song as she expresses how she does not expect her lover to do more but stay and open up with her.
Reciprocate is undisputedly a 10/10.
#2: Unloyal (Feat. Ari Lennox)
Unloyal is such a groundbreaking and iconic song. The collaboration with Ari Lennox needed to happen, and the song would not be the same without her. Ari Lennox and Summer Walker are such an iconic duo, and they are some of the best R&B artists in the industry right now, this was their first collaboration together as well. The song encompasses not settling for a toxic relationship and being labeled as ‘unloyal’. One of my favorite verses from the song is when Ari Lennox says “With your Bow Wow durag, Outside with your doggy bag, I am so done with that, Tell me how a grown man is so childish, Always in Kevin Samuels’ comments¨. It really portrays not putting up with toxic behavior and being done with a toxic relationship.
Unloyal is a 10/10 of course.
#3: Insane
Insane is the 8th track on the album. The song refers to London screwing with Walker’s feelings reptiveltely, and it has her going insane over him. The bass of the song is so obsessive, and I love how it sounds. I connect with this song on a whole other level. Many of the relationship problems that I have had really made me go insane, so the way Walker expresses herself throughout the song is vastly relatable. My favorite verse from the song is the post-chorus when Walker says, “Why you wanna play so bad?, Why you wanna play so bad”. I love this verse because people are always playing games, it’s very questionable and frustrating.
Insane is yet another hit and banger on the album. It is absolutely a 10/10.
#4: Ex For A Reason (Feat. JT from City Girls)
Ex For A Reason is an upbeat pop-rap song on the album. This song truly gets me in a hype mood and I always get excited every time I listen to it. The song really exemplifies the title. Throughout the song it amplifies that a girl is his ex for a reason. It is speculated that Walker is referring to London’s ex, and claiming that she is his ex for a reason. I love this song and sort of shows the positive sides of getting over a relationship. One of my favorite verses from the song is the chorus “That b**ch your ex (Your ex) for a reason though (Reason Though)”. The chorus really just ties the whole song together.
Ex For A Reason is one of the only upbeat songs on the album, considering it is an R&B album, so it deserves a 10/10.
#5: Bitter (Narration by Cardi B)
Bitter is the first track on the album, ironically being the last song that I am rating. It features a narration by Cardi B at the end of the song. The narration really brings the song together. When Cardi B sent her voice message to Summer Walker it was during the time when Walker’s break up with London On Da Track was all over the media. Cardi truly gave words of affirmation to Walker, and it really helped Walker come to terms with her relationship. This song is such a great song when you’re really mad and going through it in a relationship. One of my favorite verses from the song is “So, Why you puttin’ on, For the Shade Room and Insta”. It truly emulates how often during celebrity breakups, people in the relationship often run to social media and news outlets. Bitter will forever be an iconic staple for R&B.
Bitter is hands down a 10/10.
The top five songs I chose on the albums truly were iconic and although biased, many of the songs deserve their flowers. Considering that I rated all the songs a 10/10, as I decide which album is superior I need to have bigger factors determining this. Over It was Walker’s debut album and it will forever be iconic. Conversely, Still Over It provided a new outlook for Walker and it gave her a new sound. It is also important to note that Still Over It has more songs than Over It, but Over It has better quality songs and longer songs. Many of the songs on Still Over It were interludes. Taking all of this into account, Over It is ultimately better than Still Over It. It is such a classic and it has more charting hits. Over It is one of the main factors that put Walker on a mainstream platform and it established her as one of the top female R&B artists. Both albums are both still very iconic, but Over it is superior based on my perspective.
