With five Grammy nods, SZA emerges as breakout star
After SZA created the drums-drenched, reggae-tinged song “Consideration,’’ she thought she had finally found the sound of her debut album. But there was one problem: Rihanna heard the song and wanted it.
“And I’m just like, ‘It has a video. I shot a video already to it,’’’ SZA recalled in a recent interview.
Rihanna kept SZA as a featured artist on the track, which opens her critically acclaimed “Anti’’ album, released last year. And while SZA said recording with the pop star “was a learning experience, it was just dope’’ — as for her own project? She felt lost. She cried like a baby. She was devastated. She had never given away something she cared so much about.
“I was crying (and thinking), ‘I’ll never make anything better,’’’ said SZA, now 28. “And Kendrick (Lamar) was like, ‘Well, this is what separates great people. Because great people make better things than that.’’’
SZA proved herself to be great — and also proved her earlier prediction wrong.
The songs that make up “Ctrl,’’ her majorlabel debut released in June nominated for five Grammy Awards, have resonated with fans around the world, making SZA both a critical darling and a commercial success.
The album is at the forefront of the alternative R&B movement, with SZA earning praise for her vocal delivery and direct lyrics that both female and male fans vibe to.
“My favourite game to play at her shows is finding the tough guy, the straight dude who doesn’t want to show no emotion, and as soon as his song comes on, he loses his mind,’’ said Terrence (Punch) Henderson, the co-president of independent record label Top Dawg Entertainment, home to SZA and Lamar.
“She’s the voice of this generation right now,’’ he added. “The words she’s saying is honest and raw (and) she’s speaking for these girls and also these guys.’’
On some of her songs, SZA fires off her lyrics more like a rapper than a singer — switching topics quickly as she talks about having sex, failed relationships, persevering in life and if being herself is enough.