- [Narrator] Summer Walker is a dynamic songstress
and songwriter whose artistry is intriguing,
to put it lightly.
Summer's vulnerability, varied interests
and personal experiences show up in all of her works.
The Atlanta-born vocalist's music
highlights a vast range of topics, including geometry,
the Moors, meditation and scientific exploration,
all while speaking to and for the millennial women
navigating life, love and heartbreak.
Let's look at how this musical powerhouse rose
to mainstream acclaim with her unabashed self-expression.
(soft relaxing music)
In 2018, she dropped "Last Day of Summer"
which gained so much notoriety,
Apple Music named Summer Walker
its newest Up Next Artist in 2019.
Resonating with women worldwide,
her album explored womanhood, self-doubt and love.
The following year, in 2019,
Summer released an EP entitled "Clear"
which was composed of four acoustic tracks
that give listeners her take on the heartache, elation,
comfort and uncertainty that accompanies relationships.
Later the same year, she released a remix to her hit song,
"Girls Need Love", featuring Drake,
as well as her debut studio album, "Over It",
which catapulted Summer into the stratosphere
with a number two debut on the Billboard 200.
Her meteoric rise to fame garnered a Soul Train award
for Best New Artist that same year
and a Soul Train award for Album of the Year in 2020.
Her success led to collaborations with 21 Savage,
features with Khalid,
and an appearance on a remix for Justin Bieber.
However, it was her next project, "Life on Earth"
that lit the streamers ablaze.
Three tracks on the EP were certified platinum or higher.
Suffice to say, Summer was taking names.
In 2021, Walker dropped her second studio album,
"Still Over It".
The project received fan and critical acclaim,
breaking the record set
for the biggest R and B album release
since Beyonce's "Lemonade".
It debuted at number one on the Billboard 200,
broke the record for most album streams in a single day
by a female artist on Apple Music,
and broke her previous record
for largest streaming debut week
for a female R and B artist.
While she also tied with Taylor Swift
as the only two female artists
that have held 18 songs concurrently
on the Billboard Hot 100.
By her own accounts, Summer Walker was,
and still is to a degree, an introvert.
Drawing inspiration from Erykah Badu, Amy Winehouse
and Jimi Hendrix, Walker taught herself
how to play the guitar
by watching YouTube video tutorials in her downtime.
However, the skillset was only half
of the performative equation.
Summer spent time working in Atlanta's gentlemen's clubs,
gaining confidence, owning her power
and growing out of her comfort zone.
In a 2020 Instagram post, Summer shared,
Beyond blessed. My whole life changed in a year and a half.
Like, literally, a year ago,
I was scrubbing toilets and stripping.
I'm now damn near financially free
with a paid off house and car
without a care in the world.
And it's all cause of y'all.
So thank you.
She posted on Instagram in January, 2020,
Summer serves as a powerful example
of self-acceptance and self-love.
Not one to shy away from sharing her personal experiences,
Summer has been extremely vocal
about challenges with social anxiety.
In 2019, Summer and her team canceled the remainder
of her First and Last Tour tour dates
due to her challenges.
In 2022, Summer took to IG,
noting racial disparities in the way Black women
are allowed to experience mental health struggles.
See the problem is, I'm Black.
I just have to be honest, Walker explained.
White girls have social anxiety
and all different types of mental health struggles
that they are dealing with and it's perfectly fine.
Despite Summer's big personality,
she acknowledges struggling with showing all sides
of herself to the public and being subject to scrutiny.
In the same year, Summer collaborated with an app
to launch a 10 part series alongside other notable artists
with the goal of normalizing conversations
around mental health journeys.
The tattooed and pierced beauty's candor
are extremely teachable moments and a testament for all
in the value of advocating for one's mental health wellness.
Summer laughs, hurts,
loves, reflects,
and at her most primal state,
a beautiful soul trying to figure it all out.
It just so happens, she has the voice of an angel
and knows how to strum the heartstrings of her listeners,
signaling to them
and that she knows what they are going through.
Her music resonates and influences women and men
throughout the diaspora.
And that is why Summer Walker's contemporary flavor
of R and B has so much cultural impact.
(soothing music)