Wikipedia

SZA

For other uses, see SZA (disambiguation).

Solána Imani Rowe (born November 8, 1989), known professionally as SZA (/ˈsɪzə/ ⓘ SIZ-ə), is an American singer-songwriter. SZA first garnered attention with her self-released extended plays (EPs) See.SZA.Run (2012) and S (2013), leading to her becoming the first female artist signed to Top Dawg Entertainment. Her third EP, Z (2014), was her first project released to digital retailers and reached the top ten on the US Independent Albums chart.

SZA
SZA looking towards a crowd while singing into a microphone
SZA in 2024
Born
Solána Imani Rowe

(1989-11-08) November 8, 1989 (age 35)
St. Louis, Missouri, U.S.
Occupations
  • Singer-songwriter
  • actress
Years active2011–present
Works
AwardsFull list
Musical career
OriginMaplewood, New Jersey, U.S.
Genres
InstrumentVocals
Labels
Websiteszactrl.com
szasos.com
Signature

After signing a joint recording deal with RCA Records, SZA released her debut studio album, Ctrl (2017), to critical and commercial success. The album earned four Grammy Award nominations and became the second longest-charting R&B album by a female artist on the US Billboard 200. The following year, her Kendrick Lamar collaboration "All the Stars"—a top-ten single in both the US and UK—earned her Golden Globe and Academy Award nominations for Best Original Song. Her feature on Doja Cat's "Kiss Me More" set a record as the longest-running all-female collaboration in the US top-ten and won SZA her first Grammy award.

In 2022, SZA released her second studio album, SOS (2022). It spent twelve weeks at number one on the Billboard 200, and it set a record for the largest streaming week for an R&B album in the US. SOS was supported by five top-10 singles, including her first US number-one "Kill Bill" (2023). She earned her second chart-topping song that same year, with a guest feature on Drake's "Slime You Out". A deluxe reissue for SOS, titled Lana, was released in 2024 after a long series of delays. Venturing outside of music, she made an acting debut in the female buddy comedy film One of Them Days (2025).

SZA has earned numerous accolades throughout her career, including four Grammy Awards, a Brit Award, an American Music Award, a Guild of Music Supervisors Award, and two Billboard Women in Music awards, including Woman of the Year. She has co-written songs for artists such as Nicki Minaj, Beyoncé, Travis Scott, ScHoolboy Q, and Rihanna. In 2024, she received the Hal David Starlight Award from the Songwriters Hall of Fame.

Early life and education

Solána Imani Rowe[1] was born in St. Louis, Missouri, on November 8, 1989,[2][3] She grew up in Maplewood, New Jersey.[4] Rowe's parents were both from the southern part of the United States;[5] her mother, Audrey, was an executive at AT&T, while her father, Abdul, was an editor at CNN.[5] Rowe has a half-sister, Panya, who is eleven years older than her, and a brother, Daniel, who is a rapper known by the stage name Manhattan.[6] Rowe shared with The New York Times that her mother affectionately nicknamed her "Chickabee", derived from the film Nell (1994).[7] Her mother is Christian and her father is Muslim.[8] Her father would attend her mother's church for special occasions, while her mother would dress up for Jum'ah and accompany her father to the mosque.[6] She attended both Sunday school and Muslim school.[6]

It's like the belief in one God, all the pillars of Islam et cetera, and I think those are ideas that will never leave me, those make sense in my spirit. It's the way that I connect with God; it has always made sense to me. I think I would love to wear my hijab but I feel like I don't wanna wear my hijab and talk crazy on stage and be in videos with Travis Scott. Like I don't wanna be disrespectful because I have too much love and respect for the religion, for my father, and for myself.[9]

In elementary and middle school, Rowe wore a hijab.[10] However, following the September 11 attacks, she feared bullying in middle school due to Islamophobia and decided to stop wearing it.[10][11] She later attended Columbia High School, where she participated in the school's gymnastics and cheerleading teams, as well as its dance team dubbed the Special Dance Company.[12] After graduating in 2008, Rowe enrolled in three different colleges before settling at Delaware State University to study marine biology.[13][8][14] She ultimately dropped out in her final semester to focus on her music career and worked various jobs to support herself.[15] After dropping out, Rowe drank Malibu, smoked weed, and overslept daily.[6] She lied about her age to get a bartending job and occasionally dance at several strip clubs in New Jersey and New York City.[16] Rowe formed her stage name, SZA, from the Supreme Alphabet,[17] taking influence from rappers RZA and GZA of the Wu-Tang Clan.[18] The last two letters in her name stand for Zig-Zag and Allah, while the first letter S can mean either savior or sovereign.[19][20]

Career

2011–2014: Career beginnings and EPs

Main articles: See.SZA.Run, S, and Z
 
SZA performing in 2013

SZA first met members of Top Dawg Entertainment (TDE) during the CMJ New Music Report in 2011, when her boyfriend's clothing company sponsored a show in which Kendrick Lamar was performing. SZA's early music was shared with TDE president Terrence "Punch" Henderson, who was impressed by the quality of the material.[21] SZA's early music was recorded with friends and neighbors, with many of the beats "stole[n]" from the Internet.[22] SZA self-released her debut extended play (EP) See.SZA.Run on October 29, 2012.[23][24] The extended play was met with positive reviews upon release. The Guardian commended the album, its lyrical content and production, and compared the album to the work of musicians including Drake and the Weeknd.[25]

SZA self-released her second EP, S, on April 10, 2013.[26][27] It was positively received; Consequence of Sound thought that the "dreamy [and] warped [album] manage[d] to exude confidence and fragility".[28] SZA promoted the extended play with the release of a music video for the EP's lead single, "Ice.Moon".[29] SZA and Henderson stayed in contact, and after SZA began garnering attention with the release of her two EPs, TDE stepped in to sign her on July 14, 2013, making her the label's first female artist.[21][30] In October 2013, SZA joined Swedish band Little Dragon for a four-show tour, beginning on October 17 at the El Rey Theater in Los Angeles and concluding on October 24 at the Music Hall of Williamsburg in Brooklyn.[31] That December, she released the song "Teen Spirit", which was later remixed with a guest verse from rapper 50 Cent.[20] The remix was accompanied by a music video directed by APlusFilmz.[32]

In 2014, SZA was featured on multiple tracks from her labelmates' projects, including two songs on Isaiah Rashad's debut EP, Cilvia Demo,[33][34] and a collaboration on Schoolboy Q's debut album, Oxymoron.[35] She followed up with the release of her third studio EP, Z, on April 8,[36] led by the single "Babylon" featuring Lamar,[37] which was accompanied by a music video directed by APlusFilmz.[38] To promote the EP, SZA performed at several showcases during the SXSW Music Festival in Austin, Texas.[39] Z marked SZA's chart debut in the UK, reaching number 32 on the R&B chart for the week ending April 19.[40] In the US., the EP debuted at number 39 on the Billboard 200, selling 6,980 copies in its first week, and peaked at number nine on the Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart.[41] In December, SZA and the Internet supported Jhené Aiko's "Enter The Void" tour.[42]

2015–2018: Ctrl and breakthrough

Main article: Ctrl
 
SZA performing in Toronto on the Ctrl The Tour in August 2017

Whilst working on A, (now repackaged as her debut album[43] and later retitled Ctrl), SZA began writing songs for other women including Beyoncé and Rihanna. Along with Rihanna and Tyran Donaldson, SZA co-wrote "Consideration" for Rihanna's album Anti (2016); besides writing, SZA also appeared on the track and later performed "Consideration" with Rihanna live at the 2016 Brit Awards.[44][45]

After signing a contract with RCA Records in April 2017,[46][47] SZA released Ctrl, her debut studio album, on June 9. Originally scheduled for 2015, the release was marred by several delays rooted in disagreements between SZA and Top Dawg executives. She had been stressing over curating the right tracks and erasing any perceived imperfections from the album that one day, in 2016, she posted on Twitter to say she would quit music and let Punch release Ctrl. Sometime in mid-2017, an unknown person took the hard drive that contained the music.[48]

Ctrl was released to universal acclaim from music critics, scoring an 86 out of 100 rating on Metacritic.[49] It also debuted at number three on the US Billboard 200,[50] with 125,000 album-equivalent units, of which 80,000 were pure album sales. The album was supported by several singles; the first, "Drew Barrymore", was released in January 2017.[51] The second, "Love Galore", peaked in the Top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100 chart and was later certified platinum.[52] Ctrl was ranked as the best album of 2017 by Time.[53]

From August 2017 to February 2018, SZA promoted the album on a North American and Oceanic concert tour consisting of more than fifty shows.[54] SZA opened for the European portion of Bryson Tiller's "Set It Off Tour" in support of his album True to Self from October 17, 2017, to November 30, 2017, separate from SZA's tour.[55]

In August 2017, SZA collaborated with American pop rock band Maroon 5 on their single "What Lovers Do" from their sixth studio album Red Pill Blues. The single reached number 9 on the Billboard Hot 100. This marked SZA's first top-ten hit as a featured artist on the Hot 100. The following month SZA released "Quicksand", which appeared on the soundtrack for HBO's Insecure,[56] and, alongside Khalid and Post Malone, was featured on the remix version of Lorde's single "Homemade Dynamite", from her second studio album Melodrama.[57] Also in 2017, SZA worked on a joint album with Mark Ronson and Tame Impala.[58]

SZA received five Grammy nominations in November 2017, including one for Best New Artist. She received the most nominations of any women artist for the 2018 Awards and was the fourth most nominated artist in total.[59] Despite this, she did not end up winning any of the awards she was nominated for.[60]

In January 2018, SZA featured with Kendrick Lamar on the track "All the Stars", which was released as the lead single to the soundtrack album of the film Black Panther.[61][62] The single peaked at number 7 on the Billboard Hot 100, and this made SZA's second top-ten hit on the chart, after Maroon 5, "What Lovers Do" which peaked at number 9 on the chart. SZA collaborated with Cardi B on the track "I Do" for Cardi's album Invasion of Privacy.[63]

2019–2023: Collaborations, SOS

Main article: SOS

In May 2019, SZA featured on DJ Khaled's eleventh studio album, Father of Asahd, on the track "Just Us". A music video was later released for the song.[64] She and Justin Timberlake released "The Other Side", a song part of the Trolls World Tour soundtrack, alongside its music video, in February 2020.[65] In March 2020, SZA signed with WME for representation in all areas.[66][67] SZA performed, together with artists such as Bruce Springsteen, Bon Jovi and Halsey, a benefit concert for the state of New Jersey, in support of the state's work fighting the COVID-19 pandemic. It took place on April 22, 2020, through at-home performances and the revenue will go to the New Jersey Pandemic Relief Fund.[68][69] On May 25, SZA showed interest on Twitter in releasing "a music dump" of previously unreleased material, potentially containing 20 songs.[70]

In August 2020, SZA tweeted and deleted, "At this point y'all gotta ask punch", referring to Terrence "Punch" Henderson, who is president of Top Dawg Entertainment. In another tweet, SZA indicated that "all [Punch] says to her" about releasing new music is "soon".[71] This revealed that her relationship with her label owner Punch (Top Dawg Entertainment) has been hostile since the delays of her second album which was last announced back in an interview in 2019.[72] SZA came back with her first release as a lead artist since 2017 on September 4, 2020, with "Hit Different", featuring Ty Dolla Sign, and production from The Neptunes.[72][73] On December 25, SZA released "Good Days" on streaming platforms as a single after it originally debuted as a snippet in the outro of the "Hit Different" music video.[74] English singer Jacob Collier provided background vocals for the single.[75] The song hit its peak of number 9 on the Billboard Hot 100,[76] making it SZA's first top-ten single as a solo artist, despite SZA herself revealing that it was not initially planned to be a single.[77] Both tracks were expected to appear on her then upcoming second studio album, with only "Good Days" eventually making the final cut.[78]

SZA was featured on the Doja Cat single "Kiss Me More" in April 2021.[citation needed] It became a number-one hit in New Zealand and reached the Top 40 in over a dozen countries, further having earned top-ten placements in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, Ireland and Lithuania.[citation needed] The song also has a music video which premiered the same day as the single and was directed by Warren Fu.[citation needed] Later that year, SZA's cover of "The Anonymous Ones" was released. It is a song written for the soundtrack of the 2021 film adaptation of Dear Evan Hansen. Her version of the song also plays during the closing credits of the film itself.[79] After its success on the R&B charts, it later became an official single when the extended version was released in March the following year, along with a music video. In December, SZA released the song "I Hate U", after it went viral on TikTok; it was originally released exclusively on SoundCloud in August 2021.[80] SZA confirmed after the 64th Annual Grammy Awards that she had finished her second album and is planning on releasing it "soon".[81]

On June 9, 2022, SZA released a deluxe version of her debut studio album Ctrl to commemorate its five-year anniversary. It featured seven previously unreleased songs, such as "2AM", "Jodie", "Percolator", and an alternative version of "Love Galore" without Travis Scott. On October 28, 2022, a new single titled "Shirt" was released alongside a music video starring actor LaKeith Stanfield.[82] The song was originally teased by SZA in late-2020 and after it gained popularity on TikTok because of a viral challenge, a snippet appeared as an outro at the end of the official music video of "Good Days".[83] SZA teased another snippet of a song at the end of the "Shirt" music video, which she revealed to be called "Blind".[84][85]

On her 33rd birthday on November 8, 2022, SZA released a teaser titled "PSA" on her Instagram. The video ends with a morse code for "S.O.S.", sparking speculations about an upcoming project.[86][87] On November 16, 2022, Billboard officially confirmed that her second studio album is titled SOS and was set for a December release date.[88] After performing "Shirt" and "Blind" on NBC's Saturday Night Live, SZA announced that the album would be released on December 9, 2022.[89] The album spent its first seven weeks atop the Billboard 200 Albums Chart in the United States, becoming the longest-running number-one woman album of the decade and the first R&B album to spend its first seven weeks atop the chart since Whitney Houston's Whitney (1987).[90] To promote the album, SZA embarked on an arena tour in 2023 and 2024—the SOS Tour.[91][92] The tour consists of 63 shows across North America, Europe, and Oceania.[93] Omar Apollo, d4vd, Raye, and Sir served as the opening acts for each of the four legs.[94][95]

2024–present: Lana and acting debut

Main article: Lana

On November 22, 2024, former labelmate Kendrick Lamar released his sixth studio album GNX. SZA was prominently featured on its third track, "Luther", providing vocals on two verses as well as its chorus. She also appeared on the album's closing track, "Gloria", performing the chorus and outro.[96] On November 25, 2024, SZA announced she would release a new album before the end of the year on Kai Cenat's Mafiathon 2 Twitch stream that also featured Lizzo. She also did an interview with British Vogue where she said that she had 'projects in development'.[97] She made her acting debut in the Issa Rae-produced film One of Them Days (2025), alongside Keke Palmer. Elmo declared SZA an "honorary muppet" during an episode filmed for the 55th season of Sesame Street, to be released in 2025.[98][99]

Influences

Music

 
 
 
SZA has cited musical artists such as Ella Fitzgerald, Lauryn Hill and Ashanti as influences.

Growing up, SZA was exposed by her family to artists from different genres, which were formative influences for her music.[100] Her mother enjoyed R&B and church music,[101] her father was a fan of jazz and funk musicians like Miles Davis, Billie Holiday, and John Coltrane,[102][103] and her sister listened to melodic rap and hip hop artists like Tupac Shakur.[104][100] SZA listens to Ella Fitzgerald for vocal influence[105] and has said that Lauryn Hill is one of her personal influences.[106] SZA has expressed admiration for singer Ashanti, citing her as a major inspiration and someone she has loved since childhood.[107]

SZA also cites Meelah, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, LFO, Macy Gray, Common, Björk, Jamiroquai, and "a lot of Wu, Nas, Mos Def, Hov" as inspirations.[14] Speaking on her influences, SZA said: "[My] personal influences came from dancing with American Ballet Theatre and doing pieces to Björk [music]. That's the only time I had really any outside influence to music. So, the people that I fell in love with on a musical level were always much older. Jamiroquai is just, like, the shit for me."[108] In an interview for Live Nation Entertainment, SZA described the meeting she had with Beyoncé for the writing of the song "Feeling Myself", affirming "Beyoncé might be the most perfect, beautiful being I've ever met in my whole life. She's the most inspirational woman on earth, next to my mother". SZA also spoke about Rihanna, admiring her strong and confident attitude, of someone who does only the music she wants to do, and that if there's anybody that she could imagine singing her words, it would be Rihanna.[109]

SZA's songs are built over "layers of sliced, delayed, and reversed vocals" and contains "twists and mutates",[110][111] and her vocal style has been described as taking on the "lilt" of a jazz singer.[112] SZA is known as TDE's first woman signee and first singer, which also drew attention during the early stages of her career.[113] According to Marissa G. Muller of Rolling Stone magazine, SZA's vocals alternate between a "vapory husk and a sky-high falsetto".[114] Jordan Sargent of Pitchfork magazine labeled SZA's vocals as being "chillwave" and "ethereal".[115] SZA began writing songs due to being "passionate" about writing, and enjoyed poetry; when writing lyrics, SZA "freestyles" them in order to express whatever comes to her "mind", noting that it does not always make sense to herself.[116] Thematically, SZA's work contains "unravelling lyrics", that touch upon themes of sexuality, nostalgia, and abandonment.[110]

Critics have frequently described SZA as an R&B singer-songwriter,[117][118] a narrative for which she has expressed disdain[119] consistently since the beginning of her career.[120][121] The label felt disrespectful and lazy to her.[122] For her second studio album, SOS, she wanted to prove her versatility beyond R&B, disillusioned with how Black artists have been historically segregated from White artists through pigeonholing Black artists strictly within R&B music.[123][124] Other critics have written she combines R&B with rap[125][126] or pop music in her works,[127] and their attempts to pin her down to genres outside R&B has had SZA confused. She grew up listening to an eclectic combination of pop, rock, jazz, folk, and rap artists[124][128] and, as such, prefers to be labeled as someone who makes music and nothing more. She said: "when you try to label it, you remove the option for it to be limitless. It diminishes the music."[128] "Genre agnosticism" was how Michael Madden of Consequence described SZA's musical style.[129]

Fashion

During an interview, SZA said she is less inspired by strictly music, and more inspired by creating art in general; she has looked up to people who were not "typical artists" including her "favorite gymnast, ice-skater, saxophonist, painter, or movie director", continuing to say she was particularly inspired by film director Spike Lee.[108] During an interview with W, SZA spoke on her style influences, saying a large amount of her style inspiration comes from movies, including Wes Anderson films, praising his use of "pantone color palette" and that she "would love to dress like a character from Moonrise Kingdom. Or perhaps Bill Murray in The Life Aquatic."[130] Along with her music, SZA's image has been compared to neo-soul artists Lauryn Hill and Erykah Badu.[113] SZA's hair became a point of interest during the early stages of her career and she discussed it in interviews with Vogue and Harper's Bazaar.[106] During her performances, SZA tends to wear "free-flowing" clothes that are easy to move around in and wears pajamas or baggy clothing onstage.[131]

Personal life

SZA has been open about her struggles with mental health and anxiety, calling the music industry "one of the most stressful, psychosis-inducing industries".[132] She experienced suicidal depression after three ex-boyfriends died in quick succession, and says she worked toward self-acceptance by praying and creating music.[8]

SZA dated Canadian rapper and singer Drake in 2009,[133] and was in a relationship with a fashion designer for eleven years, being engaged for five.[134]

Discography

Main articles: SZA discography and List of songs recorded by SZA

Studio albums

Filmography

Tours

Headlining

Co-headlining

Supporting

Awards and nominations

Main article: List of awards and nominations received by SZA

In her career, SZA has received four Grammy Awards, a Golden Globe nomination, and an Academy Award nomination. She has earned one American Music Award, six Billboard Music Award, four MTV Video Music Awards, six BET Awards, including Best New Artist in 2018 and Album of the Year in 2023. She received the "Rulebreaker Award" and "Women of the Year" at the Billboard Women in Music event in 2018 and 2022 respectively. SZA has also won the Soul Train Music Award for Best New Artist in 2017.

In September 2022, SZA was applauded as one of the rising stars on the TIME 100 Next List.[135] At the 2022 Grammy Awards, SZA won Best Pop Duo/Group Performance with Doja Cat for their hit collaboration "Kiss Me More".[136] In 2023, Rolling Stone ranked SZA at number 180 on its list of the 200 Greatest Singers of All Time.[137]

See also

References

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