SZA

SZA, pronounced “Sizza” (/ˈsɪz·ə/), was born as Solána Imani Rowe on November 8, 1989, in St. Louis, Missouri. Her family soon moved to Maplewood, New Jersey, where she was raised.

She is considered the honorary first lady of the prominent record label, Top Dawg Entertainment. SZA describes her music genre as “glitter trap,” though it is mostly associated with R&B.

In 2012, SZA independently released her debut EP, See.SZA.Run. The following year, she released another EP, S, which was the first part of the self-titled acronymous trilogy “SZA.”

After a chance meeting with Terrence “Punch” Henderson, co-founder of TDE, while selling merch at a Kendrick Lamar concert, she signed with Top Dawg Entertainment. In 2014, she released her third EP, Z, her first under TDE and the second part of the “S-Z-A” trilogy.

SZA is well-known to fans of Isaiah Rashad due to collaborations on tracks like “Ronnie Drake” and “West Savannah.” She has also collaborated with fellow label artists such as ScHoolboy Q, Jay Rock, Kendrick Lamar, and Ab-Soul.

On June 9, 2017, she released her debut solo album, Ctrl, which features artists like Kendrick Lamar, Travis Scott, James Fauntleroy, and Isaiah Rashad. The album garnered five Grammy nominations in 2018, including Best New Artist, Best Urban Contemporary Album, and Best R&B Performance for “The Weekend.”

In 2018, SZA collaborated with Kendrick Lamar on Black Panther: The Album with the track “All The Stars,” which peaked at #7 on Billboard. The song received several Grammy nominations and was also up for Original Song at the 2019 Oscars.

In 2021, SZA worked with Doja Cat on “Kiss Me More,” the first single off Doja Cat’s album Planet Her. The song peaked at #3 on Billboard, received nominations for Record of the Year and Song of the Year, and won Best Pop Duo/Performance at the 2022 Grammy Awards.

On December 9, 2022, SZA released her highly anticipated second album, SOS. Before the full release, three singles were dropped: “Good Days” in December 2020, “I Hate U” which went viral on TikTok before its official release, and “Shirt” in October 2022, which she performed live on SNL. The album also featured singles like the chart-topping “Kill Bill” and “Snooze,” which had an acoustic remix with Justin Bieber closing out the album era.