S.O.S.

SZA

I’m sure you can tell by the amount of R&B content I review on this site, my heart lies with the genre. Which means I am vehemently connected to the artists who make up the community, including the unendingly talented, and frankly magical tunes of SZA. SZA represents the idea of a queen in the strongest, most nuanced way, as she highlights the imperfections of herself, while still utilizing those as strengths to remind us of her humanity. I don’t think there is a person in the world who hasn’t heard at least one of the songs off of her first released album from 2017 called Ctrl (favorite song 20 Something). That album explored multiple facets of heartbreak and atypical relationships. The timbre of her voice allows the audience to find relatable and painful memories of her experiences. In a world with very loose definitions and qualifications within the dating scene, SZA gives a personal recount of her place in that sector which opens the door for people to feel less alone and even find a sense of pride in their place in the world.

SZA released her sophomore album S.O.S. (favorite song Special) on December 9th, 2022. After long waits and even rumors of her retirement, the fan base could not be more elated that not only is there new content, but the album spans 23 songs of pure SZA magic. While this album tells a similar story, we are given a glimpse into the other side of the experience. This album explores much more of the healing process after an unhealthy relationship, as well as a lot more of unveiling of the villains in the story. There is a depth within this album that sheds light on the happily ever after for the one who ends up alone. We get to see the protagonist win, even though she didn’t get the guy. SZA has publicly shared her struggle with her personal image and mental health journey through social media outlets. It seems that the aim of her entire career is to provide a new stance on the idea of being alone, and how sometimes that is truly the best option along your journey. 

This album was different from Ctrl in that it wasn’t as much of a through line in terms of the consecutive nature of the album. Ctrl seamlessly linked one track to the next, and the story was told through that space, especially with snippets of her grandmother’s interviews that were inputted into her tracks. While SZA did still use some more snippets of interviews with her grandma in this new album, it wasn’t an intro or ending to every single track. You can see the difference in her intention with that decision alone, but also the incredibly diverse nature of her songs on this album. The individuality of each track only further communicates her overall message. Some tracks like F2F are emblematic of bands like Paramore in sound and intentionality. This is not SZA’s normal style within her music, but damn does it work for her. I never thought I would find myself head-banging to SZA but she gave me absolutely no choice. She also has some more acoustic sounding content like the track I’ve had on replay since the album dropped, Special has me in tears every time I have the chance to hear it. The album is capped off with a very strong 90’s-style R&B track called Forgiveless which was made with none other than one of the Wu-Tang Clan founding members, Ol’ Dirty Bastard. This track being the finale of the album was clearly intentional in order to say to the audience, if nothing else, stay bad. 

SZA provides a detailed glimpse into the deep wounds that are picked up over time in our escapades with relationships. Working with writers and producers like Lizzo, Still Woozy, Babyface and Jay Versace, this album had very little opportunity to fail. It also had the perfect blend of different genres to guarantee that there is a tune for everyone to enjoy on this album. So it made it all the more genius for SZA to announce almost immediately after the album release that she will be going on an arena tour around the country with Omar Apollo as a special guest. His music, though he isn’t featured on this new album, very strongly compliments SZA’s sound, and the two of them will easily fill up arenas in all areas of the country. The tour begins in February starting in Columbus, Ohio, and then promptly moving to Chicago. As an avid fan, I was glued to my computer the day they went on sale, and am absolutely ELATED to say I’ll get to experience SZA in all her glory LIVE in February. She has given me so much inspiration already as an artist, I cannot wait to absorb all of it live and in person.

SZA is a true artist, and her creations provide a lot of opportunity to begin and continue important conversations that are easy to avoid. She talks about the importance of taking care of people and taking care of yourself all throughout her music, and doesn’t stray from that idea. I cannot think of a better message or reason to communicate through music. Though we’ve just gotten a refill of our SZA craving, I know we all can’t wait to see what she brings next. Nobody does it better than her, SZA is the best at staying bad.