SZA: From Ctrl to Cultural Icon

Solána Imani Rowe, born on November 8, 1989, and known professionally as SZA (pronounced SIZ-ə), has become a prominent figure in contemporary music. Her innovative blend of R&B, hip-hop, and alternative influences has garnered critical acclaim and a devoted following. This article explores SZA's journey, from her early releases to her rise as a Grammy-winning artist and cultural icon.

Early Life and Influences

Solána Imani Rowe was born in St. Louis, Missouri, and grew up in Maplewood, New Jersey. Her parents hail from the Southern United States. Due to her upbringing, SZA has practiced several religious beliefs throughout her life. She considers herself Muslim and believes in the pillars of Islam. SZA has also practiced and identified with Christianity and incorporates Hinduism in her personal belief system. She believes in a "higher power or presence […] that's running and moving the world like a well-oiled machine," regardless of religion.

SZA cites a diverse range of artists as influences, including Meelah, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, LFO, Macy Gray, Common, Björk, and Jamiroquai, as well as hip-hop acts like Wu-Tang Clan, Nas, and Mos Def. She was also inspired by film director Spike Lee. She has looked up to people who were not "typical artists" including her "favorite gymnast, ice-skater, saxophonist, painter, or movie director".

Early Career and Top Dawg Entertainment

SZA's introduction to Top Dawg Entertainment (TDE) occurred during the CMJ New Music Report in 2011. Her boyfriend's clothing company sponsored a show featuring Kendrick Lamar. Her early music impressed TDE president Terrence "Punch" Henderson. SZA's early music was recorded with friends and neighbors; many of the beats were taken from the Internet.

In 2012, SZA self-released her debut extended play (EP), See.SZA.Run, which received positive reviews. She then signed to Top Dawg Entertainment in 2013. Under the label, she released the lo-fi and psychedelic EP Z (2014).

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Breakthrough with Ctrl

SZA's debut album, Ctrl, released in 2017, marked a significant turning point in her career. The album was critically acclaimed and explored themes of identity, relationships, and self-discovery with raw honesty. It also placed in several year-end lists. Several critics have noted that SZA has cultivated a "girl next door" persona through her music, and she has been dubbed the girl next door of R&B.

Collaborations and SOS

Following Ctrl, SZA engaged in a series of high-profile collaborations over the next four years. In 2014, SZA co-wrote "Feeling Myself" by Nicki Minaj and Beyoncé, Scott's "Ok Alright" in 2015, and Rihanna's "Consideration" in 2016.

SZA took five years to release her second album, SOS (2022). With her acclaimed and multi-genre second album SOS, SZA became the first woman to spend 100 weeks on the Billboard 200's top-ten. The album also broke the record for the longest-running US top-ten by a Black musician. Its fifth single, "Kill Bill", was the third best-selling song of 2023 and peaked atop the Billboard Hot 100.

Lana and Continued Success

From 2024 to 2025, SZA achieved a string of top-tens with "Saturn" and "30 for 30", both from the deluxe reissue of SOS entitled Lana (2024), and her longest-running US number-one "Luther".

In September 2023, SZA performed at an invite-only show in Brooklyn Navy Yard to celebrate the success of SOS. Variety and Time magazines listed Lana as one of the most anticipated albums of 2024.

It was released on December 20, 2024, and rereleased with four more tracks on February 9 of the following year. The standard edition of Lana was preceded by the lead single "Saturn", which she debuted at the 2024 Grammy Awards and which won Best R&B Song at the next ceremony. It peaked at number six on the Hot 100, her tenth top-10 on the chart. Two more songs she performed at Brooklyn Navy Yard - "Diamond Boy (DTM)" and "BMF" - were also included on Lana. The latter was released as a single from the reissue in 2025, alongside a collaboration with Lamar titled "30 for 30". The reissue's updated version featured "PSA" and "Joni", the latter of which had leaked back in 2023. After the rerelease, SOS returned to the top of the Billboard 200 for its eleventh and twelfth weeks at number one.

Musical Style and Influences

SZA self-identifies with the label "alternative" and has resisted being categorized solely as R&B throughout her career. Critics have frequently described SZA as an R&B and hip-hop singer-songwriter, a narrative for which she has expressed disdain since the beginning of her career. Many of her songs from Ctrl have influences of alternative rock, whereas one track from SOS, "F2F", is explicitly pop rock. Saying that Black music has never been limited to the genre, SZA told Consequence: "We started rock 'n' roll. Outside of R&B, critics have also written that several of her works combine the genre with hip-hop or pop music.

According to Rolling Stone's Marissa G. SZA has a slight speech impediment, which influences her delivery. Her fans treat it as a running joke, saying that she sings in "cursive and italics". However, journalist Mankaprr Conteh argues that SZA's enunciation began to be clearer with SOS. Several of SZA's works are the result of improvisation. Because she writes to express whatever comes to her mind, she tends to freestyle and produce stream-of-consciousness songs.

Collaborations and Personal Connections

SZA is known for her work relationship with former TDE labelmate Kendrick Lamar. Dubbed by SZA as her "sensei", Lamar has inspired her to take risks and experiment when making music.

Many other artists have worked with SZA multiple times. One of her earliest collaborators was rapper Mac Miller, who produced two songs from Z. SZA and singer and rapper Lizzo, whom she befriended after a 2013 Red Bull tour, once considered starting a rock band. The two co-wrote "F2F" from SOS when the idea first came to them.

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Norma Rowe, SZA's deceased maternal grandmother, appears via sampled voice recordings on Ctrl and SOS. Rowe affectionally calls her "Granny", and she is credited as such on both albums.

Beyond Music

Outside music, SZA ventured into other creative projects in 2025, beginning work on cosmetic and fashion products. SZA began teasing new music during the latter half of 2025; some songs would presumably appear on her third album. In August, she posted snippets of unreleased tracks on an alternate Instagram account.

During an interview with W, SZA spoke on her style influences, saying a large amount of her style inspiration comes from movies, including Wes Anderson films, praising his use of "pantone color palette" and that she "would love to dress like a character from Moonrise Kingdom.

Recognition and Advocacy

SZA has earned numerous accolades throughout her career, including seven Grammy Awards, a Brit Award, three American Music Awards, a Guild of Music Supervisors Award and two Billboard Women in Music awards, including Woman of the Year. She has co-written songs for artists such as Nicki Minaj, Beyoncé, Travis Scott, Schoolboy Q, and Rihanna. In 2023, NME called SZA one of the most influential voices in contemporary music. In 2025, Billboard ranked SZA as the 44th-greatest R&B musician of all time.

SZA has also advocated for social justice. In 2021, she partnered with American Forests and tea brand Tazo to address environmental harm that disproportionally affects Black and Brown communities.

SZA has a strong online presence. Many of SZA's unreleased songs have been leaked online, which she has openly criticized, stating, "When people leak my songs, they ruin them". She 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".

Personal Life and Mental Health

SZA has been candid about her struggles with mental health, describing the music industry as "one of the most stressful, psychosis-inducing industries". She became depressed and developed suicidal thoughts after the sudden deaths of three ex-boyfriends in quick succession.

She went to a silent retreat in India in 2025, refraining from social media use for over a week and practicing samyama all the while. She wears a Linga Bhairavi pendant to get a positive energy, which was given by the Isha Foundation.

SZA is known for keeping her dating life private. Her known former partners include Drake, whom she dated in 2009. Another is an unnamed fashion designer, with whom she was in a relationship for eleven years, five years of which were spent engaged to be married.

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