Such situations became possible through the introduction of digital downloads and listening figures from streaming services being part of the sales calculation.
The change was prompted by artists such as Drake, Stormzy, Kendrick Lamar, Chainsmokers, Little Mix, The Weeknd and, particularly, Ed Sheeran dominating the chart with album tracks rather than singles.
This month sees the introduction of new rules for the UK singles chart which will limit artists to a maximum of three songs in the top 100. I just want to speak to everyone through my music and be able to do what I want to do.” I’ve also been labelled as the next Lauryn Hill or the next Erykah Badu. Everyone thinks they know you and has an opinion about you. “I don’t much like being thought of as a public figure. The one aspect of her work for which SZA does not care is being regarded as a celebrity. The deal with RCA was done this past April and they’ve given my album fantastic promotion.” I actually became the first female and first non-rapper to sign with them. He thought I had potential and kept in touch. She gave Top Dawg co-president (Terrence) ‘Punch’ Henderson some of my early songs. I had a friend to thank for hooking me up with the label. “Top Dawg signed me after I’d self-released S. Her progression was through a further two acclaimed EPs, S and Z, a record deal with Top Dawg Entertainment and now a major label contract with RCA. The LP also holds pole position on the Top R&B Albums chart. SZA’s rise to fame has culminated in a number three spot on the Billboard 200 for her debut album, Ctrl. They can also see I’m having a great time.” I’m sure the success I’ve had has also helped them come to terms with what I do. They spent so much time being super conservative that a music artist was probably the last thing they expected me to be. “I guess there are times when they feel like they don’t know who I am. Her parents have gradually come to accept SZA’s career choice. My mom always said I was too sensitive and I had to get over it.” My dad, with his militant state of mind, talked to me like I was a boy. Many of her early songs explored the lack of approval she received from her parents. Her mother also held an executive position at AT&T. Louis, Missouri, the family relocated to New Jersey after her father became an executive producer at CNN. SZA’s move into music was not enthusiastically embraced by her parents. Not just music stars such as Jamiroquai, Billie Holiday, Frank Ocean or Red Hot Chili Peppers but non-musical people such as gymnasts, ice skaters, painters and filmmakers.” Her music was described as everything from chillwave to cloud rap and ethereal R&B to witch house. The number of songs allowed SZA’s range of styles to be revealed. Containing seven tracks, it was more like a mini-album than an EP. See SZA Run attracted enormous critical acclaim. I then did another song, then another and came to realise the tracks were good enough to make something out of them.” My friend insisted it sounded good and we recorded the song. I was with a friend when we took some beats from the Internet and I freestyled lyrics over them. “My recording career came about by accident. Having the opportunity to quit before someone fired me felt really cool.”īy this time, she had self-released her debut EP, See SZA Run. “I got fired from all of them apart from my last job at the Sephora cosmetics store. As it transpired, she simply left college and did a string of random jobs. SZA was supposedly set for graduate school. I didn’t really know what I wanted to do but I figured I was going to be a scientist and travel the world doing some kind of work with animals.” I collected National Geographic magazines and watched everything on Animal Planet. She was this pretty voice and face that my father respected.”Īlthough hearing the iPod songs may have broadened her musical horizon, SZA (pronounced Sizza) had no thoughts of forging a career in the music business. I used to see her all the time at the local Baskin-Robbins ice cream shop. Lauryn Hill lived on the next street to us in Maplewood, New Jersey. They limited me to Brazilian jazz, Lauryn Hill, Miles Davis and soul. My parents were strict when it came to music. I heard Bjork and rap artists such as Jay-Z, Common, OutKast and Nas on an iPod that one of the other girls had taken to camp.
“My mother had enrolled me in a gymnastics camp when I was a child. “I came across Bjork’s music by accident,” explained 26-year-old SZA, real name Solana Imani Rowe. It is a vocal style which is likened to that of Icelandic singer Bjork, one of SZA’s acknowledged music influences. SZA’s voice has been described as alternating between a smoky husk and a sky-high falsetto.
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