Pop albums are drowning in 'narrative.' What happens when we go in cold?

Pop star Lizzo and the rising artist Imani Imani each released major albums the week of June 1.

New albums by Lizzo and the rising artist Imani Imani are both "event" records — but one arrives with arguably too much backstory, the other with almost none.

(Image credit: Lizzo (left) by Jason Renaud / Imani Imani courtesy of pgLang)