Ciara is no stranger to getting super turnt up.
The Queen of Crunk-‘N-B has been turn(t)ing it up since the dawn of time: Three years ago, she was turning it up with Usher on Basic Instinct‘s “Turn It Up.” She’s been getting turnt up with her ladies and in the backseat of cars on Instagram for months. She even inspired post-Disney pop princess Miley Cyrus to get turnt up on her new single, “We Can’t Stop.”
Simply put: If there’s an opportunity to get turnt up, Ciara will find a way to do so.
Last night, Princess CiCi turnt up at LA’s Power 106 (presumably wearing her “Gimmie Dat” F-L-Y fanny pack and something oversized and avant garde off the Givenchy runway) to premiere “Super Turnt Up (feat. Ciara),” one of the most anticipated records from Ciara (also known as The Album Formerly Known as One Woman Army.) Why? Because everyone likes to get turnt up, for one thing. But also because it features Ciara herself. What? What does that even mean? Listen, and all will be revealed.
The electro-R&B bump ‘n’ grind is like a harder, better, faster, stronger 2013 version of “Promise” or “Ride,” filled with searing synthesizers, wailing sirens, electro stings, twinkling sparkles and a thick slab of hip-winding bass. It knocks hard, as Keri Hilson would say about Keri Hilson, and the perfect background music for a solid, uh, “Ride”: “Once you get a dose of it, have you locked down,” CiCi cautions — obviously alluding to her Ciara banger, “Overdose.”
Even if he’s not directly featured, CiCi’s BF Future is all over this record, as CiCi sing-swoons her lovey-dovey commitment to her man (he does read, after all!): “There goes my baby/He be puttin’ it down/I love my baby, we go ’round and ’round,” she dizzily croons. Between this and “Body Party,” we’ve basically got a front row seat to all the action going down in CiCi’s bedroom.
And then, the big reveal comes midway through: The featured rapper is none other than…Miss CiCi herself!
“Like Miss double S-Y/I’m super duper fly/Tell me, have you ever seen a chick do it quite like me?” CiCi brags, dropping her voice down to a cocky growl. “I keep it so fresh/Ziplock, I’m gonna go eeeen.” It’s the first time CiCi’s thrown down a verse in her career — and it’s not a bad effort at all! She’s giving you some Nicki Minaj-lite ratchetness with her enunciation, while keeping it classy at the same time. (Ratchíc, if you will.)
The song’s bridge is an especially amazing moment, as CiCi slows it down and briefly interpolates the chorus of “Promise” (!): “I’ll give this love to you,” she moans. Truly a subtle moment of genius.
“Super Turnt Up” is a win all around: It’s got the reliable thump of CiCIis best midtempo moments to keep the headboard knockin’, and a perfect blend of Top 40-friendly melodic pop crooning and that crunk CiCi ‘tude. It’s pure fire, and further proof that Ciara may well be Ciara’s sleekest, sharpest — and certainly most super turnt up — set yet.