SZA is extremely open about her creative process. She lets fans in on how she comes up with song ideas, and what inspires her. She’s even honest about which of her songs she loves more than others. “Kill Bill” is a favorite, but it’s not immune to criticism, according to SZA. The singer recently went on Chicken Shop Date, and she admitted that some of the lyrics in the song go a bit far. She even talked about which lyric she would walk back if she could.
SZA told Chicken Shop Date host Amelia Dimoldenberg that she surprised herself when the wrote “Kill Bill.” Particularly the chorus, in which fantasizes about killing her ex-boyfriend. “Oh my God,” she stated. “After I said that, I was like, ‘That was so crazy and harsh.’ I was just randomly slightly enraged.” She also singled out the line “rather be in jail than alone” as something that is categorically untrue. “Cause I sung that, it has to be true?,” she sarcastically asked Dimoldenberg. This is not the first time SZA has talked about “Kill Bill” publicly. She told People Magazine that she actually considered not releasing the song before her producer Rob Bisel convinced her to do so.
“I hated it,” the singer claimed. Well, I didn’t hate it. But I was like, ‘Can I say this? Is it silly?’ Rob was like, ‘You have to say it!’” Bisel told the outlet that the song came together in an incredibly fast period of time, and praised SZA’s musicality. “She sang, ‘I just killed my ex…’ and the whole hook from that point on,” he recalled. “Her lyric and melody was written from top to bottom in no more than an hour, right there on the spot… It just kind of fell out of the sky.”
SZA and Rob Bisel were smart to release it. “Kill Bill” spent eight weeks at number two on the Billboard Hot 100. The remix, featuring Doja Cat, gave the song the push it needed to jump to number one. “Kill Bill” is currently tied for the song the second-longest time at number two before reaching number one. The song was also SZA’s first number one as a solo artist. “Kill Bill” earned three nominations at the Grammy Awards, including Best R&B Performance, Song of the Year, and Record of the Year. In other words, SZA’s “crazy and harsh” lyrics connected worldwide.
SZA’s name is engrossingly as iconic as The Lion King‘s “Mufasa” (and the fricatives have it!). The extraordinary potential of the name might just be something she puzzles out daily from fresh perspectives. Indeed, she has given us a solid breakdown of “S-Z-A”; however, she seems welcoming of its open-ended nature. She resolved, for instance, that the “S” can stand for “Sovereign” or “Savior.” In other words, she has permitted our moods to choose either inconsistently. Any admirer or critic would discover so much from exploring beyond the individual letters. The alphabetic triad makes more sense as a whole, even though it’s connoted otherwise. We’ll get to that, but first, let’s see what SZA herself has said about her stage name.
Origin Story
NEW YORK, NY – OCTOBER 15: Recording artist Sza visits 106 & Park at 106 & Park studio on October 15, 2013 in New York City. (Photo by Bennett Raglin/BET/Getty Images for BET)
The acclaimed singer has cited the Wu-Tang Clan’s RZA as the pillar behind her name. While “RZA” stands for “Ruler, Zig-Zag-Zig, Allah,” SZA stands for “Sovereign Zig-Zag Allah.” These intricate terms are associable with the Supreme Alphabets of the Five Percent Nation, a Black-Islamic Nationalist Movement. Though redundant, mentioning that both artists are largely religion-inclined is crucial. SZA, in particular, was raised, nurtured, and shaped as a Muslim. Incrementally, we see a woman who wires her secular interests into her creative instincts without discarding her faith. We’ve flipped through her personal recital; now it’s time to diagnose why she picked the name!
If you’re unsure, surf the net: SZA is a deep thinker. Without even coming to her lyrics, her titles are so profound that they almost suspend disbelief. Hey, poetry does that too! If we’re to sit down with commonalities between SZA and poetry… whew… what an endless list it would be. In each of her songs, there’s a peculiar literary device. In “Seek & Destroy,” for instance, the overriding device was a rhetorical climax. Her precise pattern is to follow up her figurative lyrical choices with an identically-figurative title.
Strikingly, SZA has a thing for consonants, which drives us home to the point of her stage name. Although her strongest verbatim reference to the Wu-Tang Clan has been RZA, she is intellectually more similar to GZA. For a long time, GZA was analyzed to have the second-largest vocabulary in popular hip hop music. SZA seems to follow suit with perhaps the highest consonant frequency, and the count starts with her image tag.
A Self-Devised Identity
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – MAY 23: In this image released on May 23, SZA performs onstage for the 2021 Billboard Music Awards, broadcast on May 23, 2021 at Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for dcp)
The singer grew up under her father’s morals. This, she counterbalances by creating her own value system. It shows that she can emerge victorious in a situation whereby she made the rules. We’re talking about a woman who has received a well-deserved Rulebreaker Award.
It’s established: SZA stands out. She’s, however, careful never to “stand out” of her respect for Islam. As a result, her stage name could mediate between her faith and the nature of her career. She can’t wear a hijab while singing about “secretly banging your homeboy.” To make up for that, she can at least honor Allah and his sovereignty in the name she shines with. In a nutshell, SZA is a wordsmith and, very significantly, a staunch woman of faith.
SZA has been one of the most relevant names in the music scene since releasing ‘SOS‘ back in December. Best known for off-the-wall vocal range and tantalizing R&B grooves, she certainly didn’t live the traditional background that many other artists followed to success. If anything, her upbringing is proof that their isn’t one roadmap to success.
Here are 10 facts about SZA’s past that may surprise you.
Any self-proclaimed hip-hop head will know about Top Dog Entertainment. Featuring the likes of Kendrick Lamar and Isaiah Rashad, the collective was arguably the household name for hip-hop talent at it’s peak. However, the record companies’ first female signing was actually SZA. A friend attending an event with SZA convinced the TDE President to take a listen to her music. After hearing a few of her snippets back in 2011, they signed her at 23 years old.
She was once Fired for Eating Weed-Laced Brownies
I forgot Deisel too they fired me over a weed brownie conspiracy … conspiracy https://t.co/ZEfbyzz9wo
After graduating from college, SZA took a variety of low-paying jobs in order to pay rent. At 23 years old, the New-Jersey based artist was “completely broke” when she signed her record deal with TDE. During one brief stint at clothing company Diesel, she was fired for eating weed-laced brownies that gave her a bad reaction.
SZA was active in sports throughout her scholastic years. As a sophomore in high school, she was the fifth ranked gymnast in the US. However, she would soon thereafter give up the sport after realizing that she wouldn’t make the Olympics. Stating “If I can’t win, I won’t play,” the decision has definitely worked out in the long-run for her.
She had no Plans to Pursue Music until after College
SZA had absolutely no plans to pursue music until after college. Focused as a gymnast in high school and later pursuing a degree in marine biology at Delaware State University, the idea only cemented when she decided to drop out of college. Her reasoning was simple, she hated it. “I drank Malibu and smoked week everyday. And slept.” She would work a variety of blue-collar jobs while creating music on the side, before she received her first paycheck in music at age 23.
SZA was kicked out of her family home after quitting college. Her mom wouldn’t have it, viewing SZA’s decision as an abandonment of her dreams for her. SZA would spent the next few months sleeping at friends’ house. “That time of my life sent me into a crazy depression, but it also lit a fire under me to make something of myself.” Her mother later regretted her harshness on her daughter, stating that “I’m so glad she didn’t listen to me.” However, SZA may not have ended pushing herself musically if her mother had let her stay.
Before me THEE lauryn Hill went to my high school .. along w Rotimi , Angela Yee , aj from 106 n park , Eric Hudson who madeTHEE flashing lights and hella others ! I’m jus one of many s/o CHS I love my town #mapsohttps://t.co/xKMhSI0KGJ
Two of the most talented R&B vocalists of all-time went to the same high school. 15 years prior to SZA, Lauryn Hill also attended Colombia High School in New Jersey. SZA performed and give a speech at her old high school back in 2018 after being inducted in the school’s hall of fame. She certainly didn’t have an easy experience in high school, as she’s since opened up about the bullying and Islamophobia that she was forced to endure as a teenager.
She Was Raised as an Orthodox Muslim
Lol I remember ppl said I wasn’t raised muslim .. if u noticed I jus be letting shit rock lol . Think piece it up
SZA has been open about the emotional abuse she faced post-9/11 as a Muslim. Admitting that she stopped wearing a hijab after being bullied and stereotyped for her beliefs, she was bullied throughout her childhood for her beliefs. She stated “It pains me to see all of this Islamophobia growing when I know the damage that causes. Where it comes from a place of ignorance and fear.” However, she’s learned to embrace her beliefs with time. The talented singer still fasts for Ramadan every year.
Back in 2014, SZA wrote “Consideration” with the intention of the track appearing on ‘CTRL.’ However, she decided to give the song to Rihanna in order to impress Pharrell Williams. The track would end up appearing on Rihanna’s eighth studio album, ‘Anti.’ It wasn’t the only that she would write for another big-name female artist. In addition, she wrote “Feeling Myself,” which appears on Nicki Minaj’s ‘The Pinkprint.’
She has a Unique Songwriting Process
I freestyle 90% of everything.. tryna learn how to write stuff down cause some of my faves do . Freestyle is a mix of past n present mostly past . Written is usually all present .. lil bit of past https://t.co/WdiEp9FU2Q
The majority of artists will write their lyrics down while hearing a beat. However, SZA has a unique process. Similar to Jay-Z, she freestyles off of beats off of the top of her head. Back in 2020, she tweeted “I freestyle 90% of everything. Tryna learn how to write stuff down because most of my favs do.” Guided by her imaginative impulses, she’s undeniably a master at articulating the woes of modern romance. Her most recent record, ‘SOS,’ was likely her best project from a songwriting perspective to date.
The SOS Album Cover was Inspired by Princess Diana
SZA is seated at the edge of a diving board on the ‘SOS’ album cover, peering out into the vastness of the ocean. The image directly mirrors a photo of Princess Diana taken back in 1997 on a lake in Portofino, Italy. When describing the cover, she said “I just liked how isolated she (Princess Diana) felt, and that was what I wanted to convey the most.” The narrative around the album certainly fits this sentiment, as much of ‘SOS’ discusses her falling in and out of love with a lover, as well as her struggles in processing that experience.
they fired me over a weed brownie conspiracy 
… conspiracy 
I love my town 
