1. SZA first garnered attention with her self-released extended plays See.
88 Facts About SZA
1. 2.
SZA's rock and jazz-influenced debut studio album, Ctrl, was a critical and commercial success.
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SZA's 2018 single "All the Stars" with Kendrick Lamar was a top-10 single in the US and UK, and it earned her Golden Globe and Academy Award nominations for Best Original Song.
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SZA experimented with several genres like rock, hip-hop, and pop on her second studio album, SOS.
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In 2024, SZA collaborated with Lamar on the single "Luther", which topped the Billboard Hot 100.
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SZA made her acting debut in the buddy comedy film One of Them Days.
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SZA has earned numerous accolades throughout her career, including five Grammy Awards, a Brit Award, an American Music Award, a Guild of Music Supervisors Award, and two Billboard Women in Music awards, including Woman of the Year.
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SZA has co-written songs for artists such as Nicki Minaj, Beyonce, Travis Scott, Schoolboy Q, and Rihanna.
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SZA later attended Columbia High School, where she participated in the school's gymnastics and cheerleading teams, as well as its dance team dubbed the Special Dance Company.
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SZA dropped out in her final semester to focus on her music career and worked various jobs to support herself.
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SZA lied about her age to get a bartending job and occasionally dance at several strip clubs in New Jersey and New York City.
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When she formed her stage name SZA, Rowe was inspired by Nation of Islam, a black nationalist religious movement.
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SZA took cues from the Supreme Alphabet, taking influence from rappers RZA and GZA of Wu-Tang Clan.
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SZA first met members of Top Dawg Entertainment during the CMJ New Music Report in 2011, when her boyfriend's clothing company sponsored a show in which Kendrick Lamar was performing.
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SZA self-released her second EP, S, on April 10,2013.
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In October 2013, SZA joined Swedish band Little Dragon for a four-show tour, beginning on October 17 at the El Rey Theater in Los Angeles and concluding on October 24 at the Music Hall of Williamsburg in Brooklyn.
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In 2014, SZA was featured on multiple tracks from her labelmates' projects, including two songs on Isaiah Rashad's debut EP, Cilvia Demo, and a collaboration on Schoolboy Q's debut album, Oxymoron.
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SZA began recording the first songs for her forthcoming debut album in 2014.
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SZA co-wrote "Consideration" for Rihanna's 2016 album Anti, alongside Rihanna and Tyran Donaldson.
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SZA later joined Rihanna for a live performance of "Consideration" at the 2016 Brit Awards.
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SZA took influences from rock music for the project, shown through tracks like "Drew Barrymore" and "Prom".
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Between August 2017 to February 2018, SZA promoted the album on a North American and Oceanic concert tour consisting of more than fifty shows.
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SZA opened for the European portion of Bryson Tiller's "Set It Off Tour" in support of his album True to Self from October 17,2017, to November 30,2017, separate from SZA's tour.
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In November 2017, SZA received five Grammy nominations, including Best New Artist.
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SZA was the most-nominated female artist at the 2018 Grammy Awards.
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In January 2018, SZA collaborated with Lamar on "All the Stars", the lead single from the soundtrack album of the film Black Panther.
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In May 2019, SZA was featured on "Just Us", a track from DJ Khaled's eleventh studio album, Father of Asahd.
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On May 25,2020, SZA expressed interest on Twitter in releasing a collection of previously unreleased songs, potentially consisting of twenty tracks.
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SZA made her long-awaited return as a lead artist on September 4,2020, with "Hit Different", featuring Ty Dolla Sign and produced by the Neptunes.
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SZA later revealed that "Good Days" was not initially planned as a single.
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Later that year, SZA released a cover of "The Anonymous Ones", a song written for the soundtrack of the 2021 film adaptation of Dear Evan Hansen.
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In December 2021, SZA officially released the single "I Hate U", after the song went viral on TikTok; it was initially released exclusively on SoundCloud in August.
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On June 9,2022, SZA released a deluxe edition of Ctrl to celebrate its five-year anniversary.
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On October 28,2022, SZA released a new single, "Shirt", accompanied by a music video starring actor LaKeith Stanfield.
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On her 33rd birthday, November 8,2022, SZA released a teaser titled "PSA" on Instagram.
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In January 2023, SZA featured on the remix of Lizzo's single "Special" from her eponymous 2022 album.
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In March 2023, SZA modeled for Kim Kardashian's fashion brand, Skims, representing the "Fits Everybody" collection, which includes size-inclusive T-shirts, bodysuits, and intimate apparel.
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In September 2023, SZA collaborated with Drake on the single "Slime You Out" for the latter's eighth album, For All the Dogs.
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SZA told the crowd that the deluxe edition of SOS, titled Lana, would be "coming soon".
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The scheduled release date for Lana was suggested by SZA to be around December 2023.
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SZA was prominently featured on the third track, "Luther", contributing vocals on two verses as well as the chorus.
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SZA appeared on the album's closing track, "Gloria", performing the chorus and outro.
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On November 25,2024, SZA announced that she would release a new album before the end of the year on Kai Cenat's Mafiathon 2 Twitch stream that featured Lizzo.
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SZA did an interview with British Vogue where she said that she had "projects in development".
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SZA made her acting debut in the Issa Rae-produced film One of Them Days, co-starring alongside Keke Palmer.
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SZA plays Alyssa while Palmer plays Dreux, who must urgently find rent money after one of their boyfriends recklessly spends it all.
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In March 2025, SZA announced on The Jennifer Hudson Show that she was launching a fashion brand called Not Beauty, which would be available exclusively for purchase on the Grand National Tour.
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SZA listens to Ella Fitzgerald for vocal influence and has said that Lauryn Hill is one of her personal influences.
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SZA has expressed admiration for singer Ashanti, citing her as a major inspiration and someone she has loved since childhood.
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SZA cites Meelah, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, LFO, Macy Gray, Common, Bjork, Jamiroquai, and "a lot of Wu, Nas, Mos Def, Hov" as inspirations.
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SZA expressed admiration for Rihanna, praising her strong and confident attitude and her commitment to creating only the music she truly wants to make.
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SZA is known for referencing films and television series across her discography.
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SZA has named multiple songs after actresses or the characters they play.
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Regardless, SZA has expressed confusion about the media's attempts to categorize her.
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SZA has a slight speech impediment, which influences her delivery.
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SZA's fans treat it as a running joke, saying that she sings in "cursive and italics".
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However, journalist Mankaprr Conteh argues that SZA's enunciation began to be clearer with SOS.
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SZA sees songwriting as a way of proving her self-worth.
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SZA personally considers her songwriting awards as her most important achievements, having started her career without anyone to write for her.
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An enjoyer of poetry, SZA began writing songs due to her passion about the hobby.
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SZA thinks of songwriting as a form of self-therapy, using it to record and resolve her struggles.
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SZA's writing style, as noted by Mesfin Fekadu in a review for The Hollywood Reporter, often takes a vulnerable, confessional, and reflective tone.
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When SZA spoke about how Drew Barrymore inspired her eponymous song, she said that she grew up not seeing herself represented enough in media like television series.
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SZA's freestyles are part of what SZA calls "palate cleanser" moments during recording.
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SZA is known for her work relationship with former TDE labelmate Kendrick Lamar.
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Norma Rowe, SZA's deceased maternal grandmother, appears via sampled voice recordings on Ctrl and SOS.
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SZA gave her a "wholesome index" of eight out of ten.
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SZA's hair became a point of interest during the early stages of her career and she discussed it in interviews with Vogue and Harper's Bazaar.
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SZA explained that her experience of exclusion in school while growing up motivated her to prioritize creating an inclusive environment for both herself and her fans.
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SZA feels that when a song is leaked, it no longer belongs to her but to the public, describing it as "something unfinished that you decided was ready to be shared".
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In December 2018, SZA faced her first major leak when a nine-track unreleased album titled Comethru was distributed through a label called Scissor.
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In January 2024, SZA warned that she may pursue legal action against those who release her music without permission, stating that she promised to hold them accountable as much as the law allows.
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In March 2024, SZA addressed a fan on Twitter who leaked unreleased images and audio, and later deleted and deactivated her accounts before RCA could take action.
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SZA is known for her philanthropic efforts and supports a number of causes, including social and environmental justice as well as Palestinian rights.
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In 2019, a fan of SZA diagnosed with lupus, sickle cell disease, and Crohn's disease shared on social media that the artist had contributed financially toward her chemotherapy treatments and used her platform to help find a kidney donor.
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That same year, SZA launched a merchandise line called Ctrl Fishing Company, which included apparel featuring phrases such as "Puck Flastic" and "Sustainability Gang", as well as sea animals like blue whales and seahorses.
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SZA has been vocal in her criticism of the 45th and 47th president of the United States, Donald Trump.
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SZA has been candid about her struggles with mental health, describing the music industry as "one of the most stressful, psychosis-inducing industries".
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SZA became depressed and developed suicidal thoughts after the sudden deaths of three ex-boyfriends in quick succession.
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SZA found solace through prayer and music, which helped her work toward self-acceptance.
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SZA has practiced and identified with Christianity, and she considers herself Muslim.
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In 2020, she hosted an online meditation session with Lizzo on Instagram Live, where SZA played a Tibetan singing bowl.
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SZA went to a silent retreat in India in 2025, refraining from social media use for over a week and practicing samyama all the while.
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SZA's known former partners include Canadian rapper and singer Drake, whom she dated in 2009.
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SZA has earned one American Music Award, six Billboard Music Awards, four MTV Video Music Awards, and six BET Awards.
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SZA received the "Rulebreaker Award" and "Women of the Year" at the Billboard Women in Music event in 2019 and 2023, respectively.
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SZA has won the Soul Train Music Award for Best New Artist in 2017.
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In September 2022, SZA was included as one of the rising stars on the Time 100 Next List.