sos

SZA Loves ‘Making Black Music’ But Could Do Without The R&B Classification

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SZA went off across the 23 tracks on S.O.S., her sophomore LP five years in the making that finally arrived on Friday, December 9. The St. Louis-bred artist’s lyricism cuts deep, but her sonic palate is vast. From the pop-punk “F2F,” to the Phoebe Bridgers-assisted “Ghost In The Machine” and tear-jerking ballad “Nobody Gets Me,” the project can’t be pigeonholed. And that’s exactly how SZA wants it.

“I’m so tired of being pegged as [an] R&B artist,” SZA told writer Jewel Wicker for a newly published Consequence cover story. “I feel like that’s super disrespectful, because people are just like, ‘Oh, ’cause you’re Black, this is what you have to be’ — like, put in a box. And I hate that. With songs on this album, it’s supposed to help round out the picture and the story.”

She added, “It’s very lazy to just throw me in the box of R&B. I love making Black music, period. Something that is just full of energy. Black music doesn’t have to just be R&B. We started rock ‘n’ roll. Why can’t we just be expansive and not reductive?”

Lizzo, SZA’s longtime friend, recently expressed a similar sentiment.

“Genre’s racist inherently,” she told Entertainment Weekly, in part. “I think if people did any research they would see that there was race music and then there was pop music. And race music was their way of segregating Black artists from being mainstream, because they didn’t want their kids listening to music created by Black and brown people because they said it was demonic and yada, yada, yada. So then there were these genres created almost like code words: R&B, and then of course eventually hip-hop and rap was born from that. I think when you think about pop, you think about MTV in the ’80s talking about ‘We can’t play rap music’ or ‘We can’t put this person on our platform because we’re thinking about what people in the middle of America think’ — and we all know what that’s code for.”

With Consequence, SZA also discussed her heightened anxiety attached to the demands of her album and the music industry in general, her wish to “disappear … for as long as I can,” and more.

Lizzo is a Warner Music Artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

SZA Sends Out An “SOS” On Our Weekly “R&B Season” Playlist

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Last Sunday’s R&B Season playlist update was all about Emotional Oranges and their “Let Me Go” single. This weekend, we’re letting SZA send out an SOS on our weekly roundup of new tracks.

The first three slots were reserved for the Top Dawg Entertainment artist. Firstly, we have “Open Arms” featuring Travis Scott, which follows the pair’s ultra-popular “Love Galore” link-up on her debut album.

Next, we have a solo title, “Low,” followed by “Used” with another Cactus Jack superstar, Don Toliver. On the former, SZA sings, “If you see me out in public, you don’t know me, keep it silent / In the bedroom, I be screamin’, but outside, I keep it quiet.”

From the deluxe cut of Lucky Daye’s Candydrip project, we have “Apply Pressure.” As per usual, the R&B superstar’s voice sounds as magical as ever.

Emotional Oranges gets love from us once again with with “Slide All Night” song. It appears on their The Juice: Vol. III project alongside previously released titles like “Bounce” and “Make Me Wanna.”

Ari Lennox is keeping the Christmas cheer in full swing with her cover of “My Favorite Things.” After that, SZA’s “Ghost in the Machine” with Phoebe Bridgers will satisfy your ears.

Following his own successful This Is What I Mean album, Stormzy is assisting Bree Runway on “PICK YOUR POISON.”

Our final selection from SOS is “Blind,” which boasts production from Rob Bisel, Carter Lang, Yuli, and Will Miller. “It’s so embarrassing / All of the love I seek living inside of me / I can’t see, I’m blind,” her voice rings out across the chorus.

Other noteworthy arrivals to captivate the world of R&B this weekend include “Fell Asleep” by Che Ecru and “How Many” from Ryan Destiny.

Check it all out exclusively on Spotify below. Additionally, if you need more new releases to stream, find our Fire Emoji playlist update here.

SZA Compares Drake To Regina George As “SOS” First-Week Sales Projections Surface

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In the midst of SZA’s sophomore album, SOS, finally making its long-awaited debut, the TDE vocalist has been doing her share of press to promote her work. Among other recent interviews, she sat down with Audacity to chat about not only her music but also her love life.

As you may recall, the Ctrl hitmaker was previously name-dropped by Drake during his guest appearance on 21 Savage’s “Mr. Right Now.” The Canadian raps, “Said she wanna f*ck to some SZA, wait / ’Cuz I used to date SZA back in ’08,” on the Savage Mode II track.

During her chat with the outlet, SZA confirmed the long-standing rumours about her and Drizzy. Interestingly, she also compared the father of one to a Mean Girls character. “I feel like Drake has a Regina George quality to him,” she said.

“It’s just kind of like, ‘Have you or anyone you know been personally victimized?’ He’s like a cool kid, you know. When you’re the popular kid in school, it’s entertaining. It’s entertaining, but you sometimes are taking losses in the midst of that entertainment.”

Speaking on the lyrics about her, she specifically noted, “The honesty, I respect that. But I definitely laughed real hard… I cackled.”

Even with their past history, SZA maintains that she and Drake have “always been cool.” She told Audacity, “It’s never been weird. It’s never come completely out of the blue.”

Thankfully, the Scorpion artist had the good sense to warn her before dropping the song. She also says that any mention her ex makes of her has been positive, and no negativity comes from him.

“I’m grateful for that and I think highly of him, and I think it’s really weird that as all these years went past, I am an artist now and I wasn’t then and he’s King Drake,” she said.

Elsewhere in the news, the first-week sales projections for SOS have arrived. As HDD reports, the new album is due to sell 275 – 300K copies in its first week out.

In comparison, her first album, Ctrl, did approximately 60K upon its arrival. If the numbers are accurate, SZA’s project will be among the top 10 biggest debuts of 2022.

If you haven’t already, stream SOS here. Additionally, check back in with HNHH later for more music news updates.

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SZA Thinks Drake ‘Has A Regina George Quality About Him,’ But Don’t Worry, They’re Still Cool

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On the heels of the release of her sophomore album, S.O.S., SZA sat down with Audacy’s Check-In podcast. The interview took place after last Saturday’s episode of Saturday Night Live, where she was the musical guest.

During the aforementioned Saturday Night Live episode, there was a sketch in which ex-flings of rapper Drake formed a union called “The United Tingz Of Aubrey.”

SZA herself was not in the sketch, however, the irony was not lost on fans. In a song called “Mr. Right Now” from 21 Savage & Metro Boomin’s 2020 mixtape Savage Mode II, Drake alludes to a past relationship, as he raps, “Yeah, said she wanna f*ck to some SZA, wait / ‘Cause I used to date SZA back in ’08.”

During her podcast episode, SZA noted that she wasn’t aware of the sketch until the episode’s airing.

“In a strange way, I was like, ‘Did they know?’” she said. “But they didn’t ask me to be in it. Nobody said anything. … I feel like Drake has a Regina George quality to him where it’s just kind of like, ‘Have you or anyone you know been personally victimized?’ He’s like a cool kid, you know. When you’re the popular kid in school, it’s entertaining. It’s entertaining, but you sometimes are taking losses in the midst of that entertainment. The honesty, I respect that. But I definitely laughed real hard…I cackled.”

Despite the comparison to the Mean Girls bully, SZA insists that it’s all love between her and Drizzy.

“We’re cool. And we’ve always been cool,” she said. “It’s never been weird. It didn’t come completely out of the blue when he let me know. I didn’t know it was a song with 21 [Savage] or anything like that. But anytime he’s ever mentioned me, it’s always been positive. He’s never said anything negative about me. I’m grateful for that. I think highly of him…He’s King Drake.”

SZA Fans Are Getting Out The Black Eyeliner And Hair Dye For Her New Pop-Punk Anthem ‘F2F’

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SZA’s long-awaited album SOS is finally out, following lots of delays and a little bit of drama. Fans can’t believe it’s finally here, and they’re reacting to everything at once on Twitter through hot takes, threads, and, mostly, memes. They’re loving the Phoebe Bridgers collaboration on “Ghost In The Machine“; they’re heartbroken by the powerful “Nobody Gets Me.”

There is one specific moment on the record that surprised many listeners — and that’s the unexpected pop-punk track “F2F.” Falling near the middle of the LP, the song starts off sounding nostalgic of early-2000s pop, which one user pointed out, writing, “sza recreating that feeling at the end of every early 2000s films when school is over and its time for summer break on f2f.”

It picks up toward the chorus and catapults into a pop-punk direction with brave, infectious guitars and self-deprecating lyrics: “I hate me enough for the two of us / Hate that I can’t let go of you enough,” she sings. This has led to viral tweets involving pictures of scene kids with piercings, colorful hair, eyeliner, and band t-shirts from the Myspace era. Of course, this isn’t all that surprising, considering the past couple of years have consisted of lots of mainstream artists switching to pop punk, like Willow and MGK.

Listen to “F2F” above.

SZA Flips A Radiohead Classic On Her ‘SOS’ Cut, ‘Special’

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It may be a while before we hear SZA’s remix to Lizzo’s “Special,” but her new album, SOS, features a song of her own called “Special.”

On “Special,” SZA looks back not-so-fondly on lost love. She recalls the many things she changed about herself in order to please this person.

The song opens with a sweet, simple strum of a guitar, as she recalls comparing herself to a “girl from the Gucci store” who “never wore any makeup and owns couture.”

As the song reaches the song’s chorus, SZA sings, “I wish I was special / I gave all my special / away to a loser / Now I’m just a loser.”

Though there’s no direct or clear sample, the song sounds similar to Radiohead‘s “Creep,” notably the song’s pre-chorus, on which, Thom Yorke sings, “I wish I was special / You’re so f*ckin’ special.”

Both songs are somewhat self-deprecating in nature, but SZA is aware that the song’s subject wasn’t worth her time. Lyrics like “regret that I changed me / I hate that you made me / just like you” show SZA’s reaching a coming-of-age in her early 30s, moving on from the insecurities she lamented in her debut album, CTRL.

Check out “Special” above.

SOS is out now via RCA Records and Top Dawg Entertainment. Stream it here.

SZA Questions If A Breakup Was The Right Choice On ‘Nobody Gets Me’

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SZA‘s new album has everyone in their feels. On her debut album, CTRL, SZA faces the insecurities and uncertainties that come with growing up. SOS sees a more mature version of the R&B songstress who has made the conscious choice to let go of things that weren’t serving her. On one of the album’s standout tracks, SZA has second thoughts about parting ways from someone.

On “Nobody Gets Me,” SZA details memories of a past relationship, including tumultuous vacations, wild sexcapades, and an almost marriage. Though it seems like she was the one who made the choice to end the relationship, the song features her wondering if she made the right choice.

“It’s too late I don’t want to lose / What’s left of you / How am I suppose to tell you / I don’t wanna see you with anyone but me / Nobody gets me like you / How I’m supposed to let you go / Only like myself when I’m with you / Nobody gets me, you do,” she sings on the song’s chorus.

It’s a message that is poignantly specific, but painfully relatable.

Check out “Nobody Gets Me” above.

SOS is out now via Top Dawg Entertainment and RCA Records. Stream it here.