Spotlight: SZA
American singer and songwriter SZA
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The summer of SZA! SZA, pronounced like SIH zuh is an American singer and songwriter. SZA’s second album SOS (2022), is at the top of the Billboard charts this summer. SOS sits with Morgan Wallen’s One Thing at a Time and Taylor Swift’s Midnights in mid-year reports.
Solána Imani Rowe was born on Nov. 8, 1989, in St. Louis, Missouri. She spent much of her childhood living in Maplewood, New Jersey. Her stage name, SZA, makes use of the Supreme Alphabet, a system of text interpretation used by the Five-Percent Nation. The Five-Percent Nation is a Black nationalist movement based in Islam. Black nationalists seek to develop an independent Black social structure.
SZA rose to fame in 2014 after releasing the EP Z. EP stands for extended play and is a type of musical recording that includes several songs but is not considered a full-length album. SZA’s music is described as alternative R&B with jazz and rap influences. Critics have praised her controlled, dreamy vocals.
In 2012, SZA released her first EP, See.SZA.Run. Her second EP, S, released in 2013, received praise from critics. SZA released two singles before her third EP, Z. SZA began collaborating with major recording artists, including Beyoncé, Maroon 5, Nicki Minaj, and Rihanna.
SZA signed a major-label recording contract in 2017. She released her debut album, Ctrl, that same year. In 2021, SZA released “I Hate U” on SoundCloud. The song went viral on the social media platform TikTok. When SZA released her second album, SOS, in 2022, the album hit number one on the “Billboard 200” music chart.
