SZA’s ‘Ctrl’ Collaborator Dropped His Own Cathartic Album

SZA‘s Ctrl was the result of a collaboration between her and Cody Fayne — Thankgod4cody — and now the artist has a record of his own.

SZA was quick to offer her congratulations to her collaborator on his debut solo project Cody of Nazareth. “Super proud of you dookie ☺️ !!” SZA posted to Instagram. Thankgod4cody produced “Love Galore,” “The Weekend,” and “Broken Clocks” on SZA’s latest album, Ctrl.

Cody of Nazareth dropped in late March and has already picked up some traction. The album was even featured on a billboard in Times Square.

The young creative Cody Jordan Fayne hails from Memphis. He moved to L.A. after college and his big break came when he worked on Isaiah Rashad’s The Sun’s Tirade. Rashad then introduced Fayne to SZA, which led Fayne to write beats for several songs on Ctrl during a trip to a lake house in the Midwest.

Fayne’s 11-song album is composed mostly of one-to-two minute songs that create little vignettes into the young producer’s psyche. Several of the tracks on his album are reminiscent of his production work on SZA’s “Broken Clocks” and “The Weekend.” Many tracks rely on shimmery beats like on “Wait,” which has bright keyboard chords overlaid with a prominent trill.

Fayne flirts with genres later on the album with “Limitless” and “WYA.” “Limitless” begins with an electric guitar riff and crooning melodies reminiscent of an alternative rock song, but quickly transitions to hip hop with a trill beat and auto-tuned vocals. The album closures, “WYA,” has a similar hook but Fayne trades in an electric guitar for an acoustic one.

Cody of Nazareth draws on religious influences. Not only does the cover art lay out a twist on a biblical scene, but the album features a song “Rosary” and mixes gospel-inspired vocals on “Waist Deep.”

Check out the cover art and track list.

Cody of Nazareth is streaming on all platforms. Listen to the album on Spotify.