A Bite of SZA 🍪
The genre-transcending singer songwriter crafting clever lyrics and acrobatic melodies
Monday Bites are bite-sized musician spotlights & playlists by Grace Lilly.
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• 3 min read •
I don’t know anyone who doesn’t like her
It’s this magical SZA effect. I’ve yet to meet someone who isn’t a fan.
The people in my life have wildly different interests, personalities, backgrounds, and musical tastes, but the one thing they seem to all agree on is SZA’s talent.
She’s a force, instantly recognizable. Her music hypnotizes, mesmerizes, and enchants. Suddenly you’re submerged in the waterfall of her voice.
It’s no wonder she’s both so critically acclaimed and commercially successful.
There’s a raw, emotional quality to her storytelling — an intimacy and openness that draws you in, sticks with you, and pulls you back for more.
SZA
The basics
🤝 American singer and songwriter
🤝 b. 1989 (St. Louis, Missouri)
🤝 Both of her albums are ranked by Rolling Stone as two of the 500 greatest albums of all time
Why you should know her: Considered one of the greatest singers in history, she’s the 20th most listened to artist in the world on Spotify
If you like
✨ Frank Ocean
✨ Ella Fitzgerald
✨ Lauryn Hill
✨ Billie Holiday
✨ Erykah Badu
✨ Joni Mitchell
Known for
🏆 Her poetic & vulnerable songwriting — awarded by Songwriters Hall of Fame for making a significant impact in the music industry with her original songs
🏆 Her debut album Ctrl — the 2nd longest-charting R&B album by a woman in Billboard history
🏆 4 Grammy Awards, 24 Grammy nominations (more than any artist in 2024)
🏆 Broke the record for largest streaming week for an R&B album in the US with her second album, SOS
🏆 Academy Award and Golden Globe nominee for Best Original Song with Kendrick Lamar, “All the Stars” for Black Panther (2018)
Bite-sized facts
🍪 Began journaling & writing poetry at a very early age; bullied at school and considered weird by peers growing up
🍪 Formed her stage name inspired by rapper RZA of the Wu-Tang Clan; S stands for savior or sovereign, Z for Zig-Zag and A for Allah, from the Supreme Alphabet
🍪 Dropped out of college and worked in a strip club before enrolling at FIT; released music on SoundCloud along the way
🍪 The first female artist signed to Top Dawg Entertainment, the label that launched Kendrick Lamar and ScHoolboy Q
🍪 Broke out in 2017 with first album Ctrl: debuted at No. 3 on Billboard 200, got universal acclaim from critics, ranked as best album of the year by Time
🍪 Longtime friends with Lizzo, said “I never feel like I have to be anybody else around her, ever… she makes me feel safe.”
🍪 Co-wrote songs for Rihanna (“Consideration” from Anti), Beyoncé, Nicki Minaj, Travis Scott, ScHoolboy Q; collaborated with Kendrick Lamar, Phoebe Bridgers, Cardi B, Doja Cat, Lorde, Drake, Post Malone
🍪 Her second album SOS (2022) became the longest-running number-one woman album of the decade & opened with the biggest US streaming week ever for an R&B album
🍪 Enjoys meditating, spending time in nature, and supporting environmental justice programs
Songs & dates
♫ 2012 Self releases her first mixtape See.SZA.Run
♫ 2017 “Love Galore” and “The Weekend” go multi-platinum, Top 40 singles off her first studio album, CTRL, gets 5 Grammy nominations, including Best New Artist
♫ 2020 “Good Days” peaks at No. 9 on the Billboard Hot 100, making it her first top 10 single as a solo artist
♫ 2022 Wins a Grammy for “Kiss Me More,” duet with Doja Cat
♫ 2023 “Kill Bill” goes multi-platinum and becomes her first No. 1 single
♫ 2023 “Snooze” wins Grammy for best R&B song, SOS wins Best Progressive R&B Album, and “Ghost in the Machine” wins for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance with Phoebe Bridgers
♫ 2024 Releases Top Ten single “Saturn” ahead of her next album Lana, expected to be released this year
She said
⭐ “I just make music however I feel and pray that it connects, and if it does, I’m super thankful.”
⭐ “I’ve been known to wear pajamas onstage for the sole reason of wanting to make sure I’m free enough to execute new things vocally onstage and give my best performance possible.”
⭐ “Music, or the type of music that I’m writing, is very personal.”
SZA Playlist
I gathered my fav SZA songs, from me to you with love. Like & save on Spotify and listen all week 💗
Where to start
Performing at the 66th Annual GRAMMY Awards
Watch SZA perform “Snooze” and “Kill Bill” at the GRAMMYs in 2023
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“Kill Bill” music video
A bloody Tarantino homage directed by Christian Breslauere
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Debut performance of “Saturn”
Watch SZA perform “Saturn” for the first time
Down the rabbit hole
If you wanna dive even deeper:
Behind SZA's SOS Album & Tour (2023)
SZA sits down for an extensive interview with Zane Lowe in Brooklyn ahead of her Apple Music Live performance at Barclays Center. Watch on Youtube.
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Explore
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Big fan!
She's extremely talented and original. Look forward to hearing what she does next!