Normani Dopamine Album Review: Debut Record Honors Her Influences Without Cosplay

Kaitlyn McNab, Sara Delgado, Lex McMenamin, Honestine Fraser
·17 min read

Photo courtesy of RCA Records. Art treatment by Liz Coulbourn and Kaitlyn McNab

The word on everyone's lips in regards to Normani's debut album: time. How much she's taking, will it be worth it, if the amount will justify the impact. But on Dopamine, out June 14, Normani is a master of time, not its victim, and she'll take as much as she pleases to make a no-skip record.

Dopamine is filled with nods to her influences — Janet Jackson, Brandy, Aaliyah — but they never overwhelm Normani's distinctive perspective, the one she's worked years to develop and own. The features she's chosen similarly complement her voice (shoutout to James Blake!). She seems to feel no pressure to make an album that's anything less than what she wants; the result is a compact record that packs a serious (and sometimes, delightfully silly) punch, with songs that innovate on her biggest hit, “Motivation,” and create space for her to expand and evolve in the future.

Below, Teen Vogue editors Kaitlyn McNab, Sara Delgado, Lex McMenamin, and Honestine Fraser parked in a group chat and listened through Normani's new album Dopamine. Let's go.

Kaitlyn McNab, Culture News Editor: okay…….. let’s start with what we were expecting from Normani’s debut album — what did we want to hear the most?

Lex McMenamin, News & Politics Editor: dance pop!!!!! that isnt charli-core production lol

Sara Delgado, Contributing Editor: a reintroduction on her own terms

Kaitlyn: a showcase of her range, for me, in a cohesive banger of a record lol

Sara: also selfishly soty “candy paint” lol waited a whole year for that song off a snippet so her putting it out early was a gift

Kaitlyn: that song has drugs in it

Sara: no literally

Sara: the very definition of “immediately yes”

Kaitlyn: lmaooo okay well let’s get into it… i think Honestine will probably be logging on midway since it’s so early in LA. but we’re gonna hit play on Big Boy…….

Kaitlyn: now

1. “Big Boy (feat. Starrah)”

Sara: she’s coming

Jillian Selzer, Social Media Manager: i'm not a part of this but it's gonna be hard for me to stay silent

Kaitlyn: okay so i think this will probably grow on me in time but it such a lyrically silly album opener lmao

Lex: i thought that too lol

Lex: but it bumps

Kaitlyn: “Cause that ass on that bad b*tch is fat as a b*tch”

Sara: i saw someone say it’s giving missy elliot and that made me shortcircuit

Sara: the outkast name drop is so pleasing to me

Lex: ^ no exactly

Kaitlyn: i’m saying all of this but best believe i will probably be screaming “BLING BLING BLOW” with my whole chest by end of summer

Sara: with a little shake, as god intended it

Kaitlyn: i have so much to say about her honoring southern hip hop throughout this entire project…….. might be my FAVORITE takeaway

Kaitlyn: it really does bump, Lex

Kaitlyn: the production on this album is crazy tbh

Kaitlyn: taking your time has its benefits clearly

Sara: the little “whoo” and “woops” are perfect ear tickles

Lex: imagine!!!!!!

Related: Normani Is Releasing Her Album Dopamine On Her Own Timeline, and Fans Need to Trust Her Instincts

2. “Still”

Kaitlyn: okay, STILL!!!!!

Sara: this is R&B, babyyyyyy

Kaitlyn: The Still Tippin’ sample

Kaitlyn: HOUSTON RAISED AND NOLA BORN OKAY

Lex: yes reminded me of meg bringing paul wall out last week lol

Honestine Fraser, Senior Social Media Manager: the still tippin sample was iconic!!! it felt like it absolutely made sense. that's how you use a sample properly (sorry to camila cabello and her gucci mane lemonade sample lol because wtf was that)

Kaitlyn: this is for the girls who can’t keep up with social media but offline are….. still

Kaitlyn: the baddest

Kaitlyn: symbolic since she made us wait 6 years for this

Sara: HAHHAHA

Kaitlyn: she said guess what i wasn’t releasing an album but

Kaitlyn: I am still that b*tch

Kaitlyn: and I love that for her

Sara: isn’t that the proof, though?

Kaitlyn: Respect


3. “All Yours”

Kaitlyn: okay All Yours now

Kaitlyn: i really appreciate how sensual she is

Sara: the way the lyrics just roll off her tongue here is so nice

Lex: same... i feel like a lot of celebration of men tacking the genre

Sara: flowing like a riverrrrr

Kaitlyn: another silly collection of lyrics in the chorus but it’s so f*cking catchy omg

Lex: (bryson, brent, etc over last few years)

Kaitlyn: MMAHMMAH

Kaitlyn: lmao

Lex: but it's lovely hearing her own it and yes be able to be silly!

Sara: mmh-ah-mm-mmh-ah-mm-a — shakespeare could never

Kaitlyn: like SZA said, if mumble rap can exist and other artists can come up with their own lexicon……. i’m all here for it

Sara: also, she she really said, “Parlez-vous français even?”

Sara: if it sounds like this, i’m all for it too

Kaitlyn: I know DK Metcalf loves this album. I feel it in my gut

Kaitlyn: I would love to know his favorite track lol

Sara: well he’s probably been listening nonstop

Sara: boyfriend perks

Sara: which one do you think it is?

Kaitlyn: mmmm let me think about that

4. “Lights On”

Kaitlyn: okay Lights On!

Lex: i love this one lol

Sara: i fittingly think it’s “light on” lol

Sara: the KENDRICK REFERENCE

Lex: i immediately was like

Lex: where is the nodding emoji

Sara: i wish we could rewind a little

Lex: that was my "oh. yes. okay"

Kaitlyn: I love that Mani is a fave amongst the rap boys and girls

Sara: “make you come fast like a '98 sports car" *spits water*

Lex: one thing i found really interesting was how sparing she is w/ features

Kaitlyn: i really like that all of her slower songs don’t have features so that her vocals can really shine. that’s the showcase of range i was hoping for!

Kaitlyn: JINX

Lex: LOL

Lex: no exactly tho! full of references and engagement with the broader culture, while keeping her voice central

Lex: coulda gone a whole dif way

Kaitlyn: so important, especially for a debut. i don’t want a compilation album, i want YOU

Lex: also like silly lyrics this that

Sara: i think she knew it had to be personal after the wait; she’s not doing it for the clout and it shows

Lex: the lyrics to brat are like spoken word texting

Kaitlyn: speaking on a track is so hard to do without being annoying, i like that she put it before the bridge lmao

Lex: "you're f*ckin w a star w a mean face card" is an actual good ig caption

Sara: that said i do love the james blake feat *sent with invisible ink*

Kaitlyn: don’t get me started on how many IG captions she gave me from this album

Lex: no we stan i love him lol

5. “Take My Time”

Kaitlyn: TAKE MY TIME!

Lex: i loveeeee take my time

Kaitlyn: This made me feel like that TikTok noise, “GET UP! LET’S DANCE!”

Sara: the synths… yes

Kaitlyn: my favorite part about this is that it’s a sneaky dance track

Sara: it’s summer, after all!

Kaitlyn: you have no idea where it’s gonna go until literally 30 seconds in

Kaitlyn: This is so f*cking good, just point blank period

Kaitlyn: A hit

Sara: “just don’t take forever” — every normani fan for the past 2 years

Lex: the production reminds me if kaytranada remixed https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9IZKcb3LndA

Lex: the little "ding!"

Kaitlyn: I want Kaytra to get his hands on this

Sara: KAITLYN

Sara: YOUR MIND

Kaitlyn: or even Calvin Harris tbh

Lex: the production is very mani+kaytra with a splash of the dua vibe

Lex: ohhhh very that

Kaitlyn: I just love the meta-ness of this song lmao

Lex: def funk wav bounce

Sara: i suddenly need the “be your girl” x “take my time” remix

Lex: i do for u, sara, in my new dj era

Kaitlyn: I can’t wait to hear this #outside

Sara: we are all waiting

6. “Insomnia”

Kaitlyn: Insomniacs……….. stand up

Sara: again, SYNTHS

Kaitlyn:🧍🏽‍♀️

Sara: “And if it ain’t because of the whiskey I wonder if you really miss me” 🗣️

Kaitlyn: HAVING BRANDY ON YOUR DEBUT ALBUM IS CRAZY

Lex: literally...

Sara: this is so ’00s coded yet so 2024

Kaitlyn: and not even as a featured artist? like

Kaitlyn: Literally Sara I was thinking about how this could have been released in 2014 and 2024

Kaitlyn: and is GOLD either decade

Lex: it would've been so good for us in 2014 LMAO

Kaitlyn: idk the chorus gives me tumblr

Lex: our poor brains stuck with mess

Sara: yeah the backing vocals too

Lex: oh no it's very ummmmm.... zayn pillow talk which to me is the end of the tumblr era in some ways

Kaitlyn: YES

Kaitlyn: EXACTLY

Kaitlyn: right at the end

Lex: but whereas that was like the weird like back rafter stadium productin

Lex: this is knowingly appropriate for like, 9 pm at the wine bar on a sunday

Sara: OK GUITAR SHREDDING


Lex: as much as 1:30 am remix winddown at clurb friday lol

Lex: and driving in sunshine on a weekday crying LMAO

Kaitlyn: i can’t wait for her to perform this live with a gorgeous dance break during the guitar solo

Sara: i need a SZA and Normani joint stage

Kaitlyn: me, driving with the windows down and crying core lmao

Lex: stop id die lol

Kaitlyn: suburbia heartbreak core

Kaitlyn: the vocal layering is just so good.

Sara: Brandy Norwood and Victoria Mónet… yes

Sara: HERE COMES THE STAR

7. “Candy Paint”

Kaitlyn: TICKTICKTICKTICK

Sara: “Candy Paint” hive rise

Sara: again, she was so smart for making this one a single

Sara: TBHits never misses

Lex: it's really the logical growth point from something like "motivation"

Lex: where she has the same amount of like assertiveness, very captivating

Sara: i can’t read you all, i’m dancing

Lex: but it's much less fluffy

Kaitlyn: “If you let me take him you might never get him back “while saying in the same chorus “when i’m finished you can have him back”

Kaitlyn: this is 10000000% Motivation’s big sister

Kaitlyn: wiser, older, stronger, badder

Lex: exactlyyyyyyy

Kaitlyn: this BRIDGEEEEEEEE

Lex: nailed it

Sara: “hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo"

Sara: even the way it ends

Sara: run it back

Kaitlyn: that’s Dirt Off Your Shoulder, right?

Kaitlyn: at the very end???

Sara: sounds like it? maybe interpolated?

8. “Grip”

Kaitlyn: KUNG FU GRIP LMAO

Sara: “5'4”, thicky, thicky" is going to be my new IG bio

Lex: the production on this despite it being so unserious

Lex: im there, with her

Kaitlyn: LMFAOOOOO SARA

Sara: Shakira and Biggie references back to back? the namedropping on this album is insane, in the best way possible

Sara: She said, “What do you know about culture?”

Kaitlyn: damn i’m 5'5"

Sara: me too actually

Sara: but idc

Kaitlyn: HAHAHAHAHAHA

Lex: love for u all regardless

Kaitlyn: Lex how tall are you

Lex: 5'8...

Kaitlyn: no f*cking way

Kaitlyn: i need to stand next to you next time i see you lmao

Lex: FDKJAHFSKJ i stay hunched

Kaitlyn: this is probably lower on my favorites of the album but—

Lex: a bop tho

9. “1:59 (feat. Gunna)”

Kaitlyn: okay!!!! 1:59!!!!!

Kaitlyn: with my king Wunna

Sara: starrah being a feat and behind-the-scenes collaborator says so much about how she approached this album

Sara: this song has been on repeat

Kaitlyn: did y’all see when she prank called him for Elle and asked to get matching 1:59 tattoos and she didn’t think he said yes and he said hell yeah

Kaitlyn: lmaooooo

Lex: kinda reminds me of eleven, that song she did w khalid a mil yrs ago

Sara: LOL I DID NOT

Sara: not a mil years ago please

Lex: but also... it reminds me a lot of like 2009/2010 era mixtape samples

Kaitlyn:

Sara: well where are the tats

Kaitlyn: This single is such a testament to her growth

Kaitlyn: She just sounds so…. comfortable and confident

Sara: the voice layering on this album will be studied

Kaitlyn: I’m so proud of her because phew

Kaitlyn: Lord knows she done been through it all

Sara: i’m sorry to all the Spotify users out there — but this spatial audio outro with Apple Music and good headphones

Sara: unbeatable

10. “Distance”

Kaitlyn: okay DISTANCE

Lex: are we all on distance 😞

Lex: 😞😞😞

Kaitlyn: i kind of want Don Toliver on this album somewhere

Sara: i’m just vibing at this point

Kaitlyn: not on this track, just elsewhere

Sara: too busy being a dad

Sara: i need to see this one live actually

Kaitlyn: okay…. here it comes

11. “Tantrums (feat. James Blake)”

Kaitlyn: currently leading my top 3 of the entire project

Sara: again, love me a feat. James Blake

Lex: ^ same

Sara: WOW BOLD

Kaitlyn: twitter said James Blake doesn’t collaborate with non Black people LMFAOOOOOOOOO

Sara: it’s candy paint for me, then this

Sara: LOL okay factually incorrect but I get the sentiment

Kaitlyn: this song is so sad and so mad at the same time, i really love how emotionally charged it is

Kaitlyn: GIVE JAMES BLAKE HIS THINGS!

Sara: SCREAMING

Lex: hdjfhdskjfhadkj

Kaitlyn: “evidence, evidence, evidence!!!!”

Kaitlyn: my God, his voice is just—

Lex: im definitely more mentally ill than usual today but this one made me wanna cry lol

Sara: their voices work so well together… they shouldn’t but they do

Lex: no they're so good. one thing i love about him is his ability to work as a complement

Kaitlyn: i’m on my cycle and i absolutely teared up lmao

Lex: thank u for ur solidarity

Kaitlyn: “You’re nobody, you’re just somebody I used to f*ck from time to time”

Kaitlyn: bawling.

12. “Little Secrets”

Kaitlyn: okay little secrets!

Sara: the switch up is actually crazy

Kaitlyn: love the immediate repeat of “automatic”

Lex: doing my lil boop-boop in my seat wiping the tears from my eyes

Sara: but the weave in with the “automatic” reference

Kaitlyn: a way to connect the songs for a seamless transition

Kaitlyn: but she said alright enough of that, we up lmao

Sara: “you know what’s also automatic? SHAKING ***!”

Kaitlyn: not the biggest fan of this one but i will commend her for the brazen audacity of telling a man “let me upstage ya b*tch”

Kaitlyn: crazy lmao

Kaitlyn: i also like the instrumentation

Kaitlyn: ugh it’ll probably grow on me too lol

Sara: i think this is also a grower

Sara: yes

Lex: propulsive!

Lex: is the adj

Kaitlyn: don’t call it a grower lmao

Lex: the instrumentation makes me think of

Sara: sorry

Sara: bye

Kaitlyn: LMFAOOOOOOOOO

Lex: yea u get the melting emoji as consequence lol

Sara: it’s so anthemic

Sara: the repetition of “let me up”

Kaitlyn: again, the GUITAR

Lex: yes love as not a solo but an element unto itself

Sara: we love a guitar solo

Lex: sounds so good (am envying your apple music rn)

13. “Wild Side (feat. Cardi B)”

Sara: i have to be honest, i had forgotten about this song

Kaitlyn: I love her making Wild Side the last song on the album

Kaitlyn: i remember where i was when this music video dropped

Sara: and when it came on again I was like reminded of how wrong I was for that

Kaitlyn: i was visiting my best friend in North Carolina and we made all of her husband’s friends stop what they were doing so we could play this on the TV

Kaitlyn: nothing else mattered lmao

Kaitlyn: 2021 feels like centuries ago

Sara: it does!

Kaitlyn: and still, if this came out today, it would do just as well

Sara: but i’m glad she’s not letting us forget


Kaitlyn: AGREED

Lex: i forget this song isn't the kaytranada remix im gonna be so real

Lex: it started playing and i came fully to terms that i had mentally replaced the orig w/ the remix lol

Kaitlyn: I want Cardi to release a compilation album of her greatest features

Lex: it does feel like a super appropriate cap to the album

Lex: NOW that's what i call cardi features

Kaitlyn: PULL UP IN THE ERRMMAHH

Kaitlyn: lmaooooo

Sara: *body rolls*

Kaitlyn: exactly Lex

Kaitlyn: I would buy that vinyl in a heartbeat idgaf

Kaitlyn: wow. what a debut

Lex: aw lol after hours started playing on my spotify algo

Lex: im booping in my seat once again

Sara: can’t believe that’s done

Kaitlyn: i so appreciate her making the album short and sweet too

Sara: i love how short it is

Sara: JINX

Lex: hadnt started typing that but

Lex: thirding that

Lex: end the era of endless albums for sake of streaming!!!!

Sara: i feel people expected a magnum opus and it doesnt have to be like that, it’s engaging throughout with no misses

Lex: if u wanna make a long album make it bc u have a lot to say not bc u know it'll help your plays!

Sara: “leave them wanting more” and all that, she knows

Kaitlyn: because i absolutely want more AND i am going to be running this into the ground

Sara: it’s smart

Kaitlyn: ugh I really love how she honored so many of her influences without cosplaying any of them

Sara: the perfect reintroduction!

Kaitlyn: like Take My Time reminded me of Janet Jackson’s All For You

Sara: the pressure is off now so she can fully experiment and grow even more, literally cannot wait

Kaitlyn: she interpolates Brandy and Wild Side has that interpolation from Aaliyah

Kaitlyn: apparently there’s a hidden sample of Drip Too Hard in Little Secrets too

Kaitlyn: it just makes me so happy that it is sonically clear she put her all into this

Sara: timeless, ’00s flair with normani core

Kaitlyn: i fear this album will be timeless!

Honestine: it reminded me of 2005 r&b in the best way!! i feel like 2005 was such a good time for r&b and it brought me back to that era

Sara: she said it herself, she’s an R&B star

Kaitlyn: jinx fr lmao

Kaitlyn: i know folks are going to be eager to see what’s next for her but i hope she milks this as much as she can

Kaitlyn: there are so many hits! i hope she tours and i hope there are many music videos

Lex: it's just like. the internet and tiktok culture want something that is easily commodified, prompt, on a timeline/cycle that is arbitrary and punishing; a lot of the most interesting projects are being made on their own time, in refusal of that prioritization. so for someone as big as normani to avail herself of the ample resources that ALL these pop girlies have

Sara: she’s proven things are worth the wait if you don’t rush them

Honestine: i think the whole album is super cohesive and such a great way to reintroduce herself into her new era...it was so worth the wait!

Lex: and not make it totally redundant

Lex: because frankly, a lot of the pop girlies are just rehashing shit rn, in a way that feels deeply capitalistic -- there's a way to do 00's and have it mean nothing besides immediate $$

Lex: or making albums w endless songs (or endless rerecordings of your own songs) for the profitability

Kaitlyn: 100% agreed Lex, i think it speaks so much to that erosion of trust with artists that’s happening as a result of social media’s instant gratification epidemic

Kaitlyn: like, the woman is cosigned by the biggest names in music. they know she got it, she know she got it — just let her take her f*cking time lol

Originally Appeared on Teen Vogue

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