ZZ Ward

Singer-songwriter, ZZ Ward (born Zsuzsanna Eva Ward) released her debut album, Til The Casket Drops over a year ago in October but she is only recently starting to gain more attention. "Put The Gun Down", her first single, broke into the Top 10 on the AAA radio chart in February and stayed there for 10 weeks, and it also broke into the Top 40 on the Billboard Alternative chart. Despite the album's dark title, it is really a profession of undying love that combines a hip-hop verse with a soaring pop chorus. It is produced by Neff-U (Michael Jackson, Ne-Yo, Mary J. Blige). "365 Days" is the latest single out now, released to radio in May. In conjunction with this single release, ZZ Ward launched her "365 Days Of ZZ Ward" app which, according to Mashable, "uses Facebook's Open Graph to browse users' Facebook activity and plot their ZZ Ward-tagged status updates, photos and videos."

Ward's honey-smoked vocals and soulful lyrics ensnare you from the opening moments of the stomping title track and hold you in their hypnotic sway clear through the final notes of the cool, R&B-flavored "365 Days." The album features thirteen tracks ranging from heartfelt ballads ("Last Love Song") to groovy up-tempo numbers ("Move Like U Stole It"), and includes guest appearances by rising hip-hop star Kendrick Lamar and rapper Freddie Gibbs. Bluesy ditties like "Lil Darlin" sound like something you might hear in a dive bar, and the funky hip-hop track "Charlie Ain't Home," acts as an imaginative reply to Etta James's "Waiting on Charlie." The maverick sensibilities which appear throughout this show-stopping record have also earned Ward's music a nickname-Dirty Shine-which she happily embraces.

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