Since SZA dropped her second studio album, SOS, in December 2022, her career has only continued to skyrocket.
The record-shattering album yielded multiple hit singles, including "I Hate U," "Snooze," and her first Billboard Hot 100 chart-topper, "Kill Bill"; in turn, SZA became her one of 2023's most-streamed artists and earned Billboard's Woman of the Year Award. And her remarkable 2023 is further reflected at the 2024 GRAMMYs: with nine nominations, SZA is this year's most-nominated artist, earning her first nods in the Album Of The Year, Record Of The Year and Song Of The Year categories for her own work.
But SZA's massive success is anything but unprecedented. She's been building a loyal fan base since 2012, first with a couple of self-released EPs, followed by a few brag-worthy writing credits, including Nicki Minaj and Beyoncé's "Feeling Myself" in 2014.
Two years later, she proved just how lethal her pen game isà la "Consideration," the trippy opening track on Rihanna's career-defining album, 2016's Anti. Though the song — which featured vocals from SZA — was originally intended for her debut album, 2017's CTRL, the collab didn't take away from the success of her own project. If anything, "Consideration" set up a star in the making.
SZA, born Solána Imani Rowe, has since emerged as a leading voice of her generation. Her brazenly honest, anxiety-ridden and self-deprecating storytelling explores every pent-up emotion that comes with unfulfilling relationships and battles over self-worth.
"I get so lonely, I forget what I'm worth/ We get so lonely, we pretend that this works/ I'm so ashamed of myself, think I need therapy," she declares in "Drew Barrymore," the lead single from CTRL. She revisits the narrative on SOS' smash single, "Kill Bill," but with an ironic (and murderous) twist: "I'm so mature, I got me a therapist to tell me there's other men/ I don't want none, I just want you/ If I can't have you, no one should."
Baring her soul through music is exactly what has made SZA so beloved. Her self-described "grimy" tales of love and heartbreak translate into a safe haven for listeners to face the messiest versions of themselves. She approaches the tough topics with a level of self-awareness and levity that brings light to the dark.
But to label her style as "sad girl music" misses the point. She wears her flaws like a cape; in doing so, she's not only dismantling the "strong Black woman" trope that undermines the humanity of Black women — she's also allowing any listener to simply feel.
"My favorite 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," Top Dawg Entertainment co-president Terrence "Punch" Henderson — who signed SZA two years after meeting her at then-labelmate Kendrick Lamar's show in New York City — told AP News in late 2017.
"The words she's saying is honest and raw," Henderson continued. "She's speaking for these girls and also these guys."
SZA's willingness to wear her heart on her sleeve and do so unapologetically has been apparent since the beginning of her career. Many of her songs from her self-released days and CTRL bring the same level of honesty and vulnerability as her latest masterpiece, SOS. Her 2012 debut project, See.SZA.Run, kicks off with "Bed," a vengeful tune that sounds a lot like a precursor to "Kill Bill." Whereas, CTRL's "Garden (Say It Like Dat)" thrusts her physical insecurities into the spotlight: "'You know I'm sensitive 'bout havin' no booty/ Havin' no body, only you buddy/ Can you hold me when nobody's around us?," she sings in the second verse.
She further expands on her vulnerability with SOS — 23 vignettes detailing "bizarre acts of self-embarrassment," as she described it to Rolling Stone. But as she's expressed both in her music and the public eye, awkwardness is her M.O.
"I get bored as f— writing about anything that isn't, like, super embarrassing," SZA told Variety in late 2023. "And I feel like those things that I don't want to say or acknowledge about myself are [songwriting] material — if it interests me to the point where it's worth the risk.
"There's mad aspects to my life," she continued. "But people don't really know that, because all I sing about are the hidden aspects that I think are more interesting. Honestly, I could write about jet-skiing with my friends, but I don't want to make a song about that, and I don't want to hear a song about it either."
SZA opens SOS with its title track, which simultaneously serves as a reintroduction and a rebirth. She rolls feelings of abandonment and unrest all into one assertive, short-and-sweet track. Her cries for help are intensified by the Morse code distress signal as she declares, "I just want what's mine" with a newfound boldness.
Further down the track list, she admits to getting a Brazilian butt lift in "Conceited"; "Smoking on My Ex Pack" shows off her rap skills while disintegrating her past lovers. The ethereal "I Hate U" sees her harboring resentment toward an old flame, while "Blind" highlights just how self-aware she's become — realizing her relationships fail due to her lack of self-love.
Her most recent hit, "Snooze," brings a glimmer of hope to an album that mostly stews in regret. Yet SZA still can't resist being a little bit possessive. "I told that lie, I'd kill that b— / I do what all of them around you scared to do, I'm not / Long as you juggin' out here for me, I got it," she sings in the opening verse.
SOS also further expands on SZA's genre fluidity — another aspect of her wide-spanning appeal, and something she's proudly proclaimed since famously categorizing her single "Teen Spirit" as "Not R&B" in 2013. Since then, the singer's propensity for both relatability and genre-blurring musicality has flipped R&B on its head, bringing new life to the genre while inspiring the likes of Summer Walker and Ari Lennox.
In one of her most unexpected moves for SOS, she recruited alt/indie star Phoebe Bridgers for "Ghost in the Machine," which earned a 2024 GRAMMY nom for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance (the same Category she won with Doja Cat for their collab "Kiss Me More" in 2022). In "F2F," her inner pop-punk princess comes out to play as she sings, "I f— him 'cause I miss you" over an angsty, grunge-fueled sound reminiscent of Fefe Dobson, Avril Lavigne, and Paramore; she explores a similar sound in "Nobody Gets Me" and the Radiohead-inspired "Special."
Album closer "Forgiveless" perfectly encapsulates the juxtaposition of SZA's wide-ranging influences, as she simultaneously samples Björk's "Hidden Place" and Ol' Dirty Bastard's "The Stomp."
With SZA, her shifting sound doesn't feel pretentious; rather, it's another way of showing different facets of herself. While accepting the BET Award for Best New Artist in 2018, she advised the audience to "follow your passion, ignore everyone" — and she has done just that from the start whether lyrically or sonically.
Read More: 5 Takeaways From SZA's New Album 'SOS'
She further played by her own rules with the 2022 release of SOS, as she released it five years after its predecessor. Even so, she managed to stay at the forefront of popular music during her extended hiatus. In between albums, she joined forces with Kendrick Lamar, Maroon 5, Post Malone, Cardi B, and Doja Cat; six months before SOS's arrival, SZA also commemorated the five-year anniversary of CTRL with a deluxe edition with seven new tracks.
Upon its arrival, SOS proved to be her biggest feat yet. Debuting at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 — SZA's first on the all-genre chart — the album also boasted the largest streaming week for an R&B album in 2022. What's more, SOS topped albums charts around the world, as well as Billboard's Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart.
The album's subsequent tour further proved her impact, as SZA embarked on her first headlining arena trek, which included two sold-out shows at New York City's famed Madison Square Garden. The hot-ticketed show also brought out several superstars, including Adele, Justin Bieber, Olivia Rodrigo, Tate McRae, Justin Timberlake, Jennifer Lopez and Pedro Pascal.
Yet, even after SOS proved to be a wildly successful comeback, SZA may shake things up again by stepping away from music for good. She hinted at the possibility in a recent Apple Music Radio interview with Zane Lowe.
"I have already gone platinum — I didn't think I would ever go platinum — I sold a bunch of records. I got to meet Stevie Wonder, I got to meet Beyoncé and work with her, I got to meet Frank Ocean," she said. "My mom came and my dad came to all these cool countries to see me perform. I've had sold out shows, I got to headline a festival. Like, what else do I want? I'm nominated for GRAMMYs. I've won a GRAMMY. I'm done, for me, personally. Anything past this is so much more than I wanted, thought of, dreamed of."
Whether or not SOS will mark her last LP, SZA has already changed R&B as we know it. She has fearlessly navigated the music industry on her own terms, refusing to be pigeonholed or hide who she is — leaving an indelible mark on pop culture as a whole.
SZA's Massive Year Continues, 'Barbie' Dominates & Big Firsts From The 2024 GRAMMYs Nominations