Crystal Murray

Two EPs later (I Was Wrong in 2020 and Twisted Bases in 2022), the 22-year-old artist has completed her transformation — from “Princess” soul (like the track that put her on the map, amassing hundreds of thousands of views) to a literal pop star. There’s no need to define her or confine her to a genre anymore. Between a fashion and influence collective launched on the cusp of adulthood (Gucci Gang) and her label Spin Desire, Crystal has always carved her own path as a forward-thinking, stylish artist, displaying remarkable maturity for her age.

Contrary to the trends imposed on her generation — fast, TikTok-ready, hype music — Crystal interrogates her public persona and persists: her vision is unique. Always the same, yet always different.

The Genesis of Sad Lovers and Giants

With Sad Lovers and Giants, Crystal offers a new collection of songs all sung in English, born under the London sky, where she has recently moved. Here, she asserts herself, increasingly breaking free from the labels that have been attached to her since the beginning of her career. She is neither a “princess” nor an industry plant, but a fully autonomous artist entering a new phase: being the artist she wants to be, far from industry expectations and from the assumptions projected onto her multiple identities — being a young Black woman.

Shaped by the idea of heritage, this pop object is infused with the spirit of firsts, Skins parties, and Rihanna. The album is also a manifesto for Crystal Murray. As a Gen Z artist refusing to conform, questioning her era, she dissects an emotional, sensual fall. Sad Lovers and Giants is an adult tale — an album about love, obsession, and the space it occupies post-breakup, reflecting on the relationships Crystal has had, including the most essential one: with herself. This profound exploration spares nothing — neither complex feelings nor ambiguous emotions. The music serves the emotions, navigating different currents and decades, which she reclaims musically. Punk rock, Massive Attack, Black Sabbath… while Crystal has stepped back from rap and is slowly returning to R&B thanks to SZA, she forbids herself no style, revealing once again, in defiance of her generation, that she questions in mirror form. You can’t expect an artist like her to stay in one place; she goes wherever she wants, and it’s a matter of listening closely to where she takes us.