Why SZA's Sophomore Release Will Break Boundaries
Following the release of her debut album, SZA’s praise remains unanimous. Ctrl is a fourteen-track body diverting from traditional R&B, tackling the singer’s personal experiences and intricacies of love while interpolating elements of hip-hop, electronic, indie and soul in to 49 minutes of magic.
In a recent interview with Wonderland Magazine, the songstress elaborated on the diverse sides of her identity as an artist, her versatile range of influences and why she refuses to confine herself solely to R&B.
“It’s all from so many different perspectives of me. I don’t know if I want to do aggressive me, or trap me, or Joni Mitchell me, or falsetto me, or acoustic me, or some sh*t that sounds like “The Weekend” but it’s all there.”
SZA’s ability to create real energies that allow one to feel all that is intended is sculptured through the creative elements that make her sound distinctive. From clever beats and rhythms that marry well with carefully chosen and arranged melodies, to the balanced harmonies directed by strategically placed sound bowls, this combination is unique and unparalleled.
On February 26, SZA sat down with Rolling Stone magazine, detailing her inspiration from jazz and an early childhood playlist. She explored various genres from the Beach Boys to Ella Fitzgerald to Australian neo-soul group Hiatus Kaiyote. During the interview, TDE’s “Punch” Henderson stepped in to further prove she is no stranger to versatility.
“She has so much range. She can do alternative rock, traditional R&B, hip-hop, country. Weaving all of those in together, kind of how we did on Ctrl – that’s the fun part for me. It’s a new chapter. She’s not scared to try certain things now.”
Since 2017, the critically acclaimed debut release ctrl boasts over 2 billion streams across all platforms, earning 5 Grammy nominations and a multi-platinum certification for accumulating over 2,000,000 album-equivalent units and pure sales since release.
The first lady of TDE has drawn comparisons as “part Erykah Badu with a dash of Björk” from GQ, reported by Forbes as a major contributor in expanding the female R&B/Soul genre further into mainstream, and has been praised by Rolling Stone for “transforming” R&B with her honesty and warmth.
SZA sparked a whirlwind of attention after hinting the concept of a “music dump” to over three million twitter users, comprising of unreleased music compiled over the last six years. Snippets shared online by the singer have garnered thousands of views online, trended instantly and prompted the creation of multiple threads.
Fans eagerly await the highly anticipated sophomore drop from the nine-time Grammy nominee and whenever her next project may arrive, it is likely that the success of ctrl will be replicated at the very least, if not surpassed, given the many combined artistic elements that have since found a place in her unique musical imprint.
Photo: Matt Jelonek/Getty Images
Written by: Manuel Cav