SZA is the hottest new R&B talent to come out of the America. In fact, she is the first woman and R&B singer to sign with the TDE label.  Despite a relatively short career, the singer has been receiving increased recognition given to her varied collaboration with a number of reputable artists. Having dropped her latest album “CTRL” earlier this year, the performer has teamed with RZA to produce its title track. After the success of this album, SZA is touring the U.S alongside Smino and Ravyn Lenae this summer. SZA tickets for this tour and more are on sale now. Catch the latest name in R&B at her best live.

The Musical Journey

SZA’s commercial career has been an accidental, but welcome, success. Originally title ‘A’, her debut studio album was merely meant to be a trilogy of self-titled releases following 2013’ ‘S’ and 2014’s ‘Z’. However, it ended up becoming her rite of passage into the music world. The reason for this was and is the amount of authenticity within her lyrics. As she has revealed in an Entertainment Weekly interview, it is a frank and honest recounting of her love-life; it’s good and bad and grimy truth. She does not hold back on the details and this honesty makes her relatable. Her fans resonate with this musical style.

CTRL

CTRL, on the other hand, is a carefully charted and completed to perfection. Infact, it has remained on the shelves of TDE, constantly being re-tweaked until it has become a powerful R&B set piece. On this album, SZA makes some glaring confessions in the most matter of fact ways, such as telling her ex-boyfriend that he has been unfaithful to him in “Supermodel”. In an interview, she mentioned that this is the “first time he hears about it”. The album, however, is not a pity party; it is also a celebration of secual freedom. “Doves in the Wing” has SZA singing about Forrest Gump—not as a figure running a whole marathon—but as the kind of person who sees women a more than just their bodies who ‘deserve the whole box of chocolates’. Infact, the Forrest Gump universe is addressed a number of times on previous releases of hers as well.

SZA scrutinize modern dating on the album as well. On “Love Galore”, she and Travis Scott belt out “Why you bother me when you know that you don’t want me?” It’s a sentiment that feels very current given to social interactions via Tinder and other similar interactions. Loneliness is easier to combat fingers-to-screen instead of face-to-face. CTRL is a rather peculiar R&B album since it employs elements of indie rock and neo-soul elements to the track. Despite maintaining R&B, it pushes the genre’s boundaries as well. Despite being an unorthodox approach, it works; and brilliantly so.

SZA

Born as Solana Imani Rowe, the singer adopted SZA as her stage-name. Starting out as a songwriter in her hometown St. Louis, Missouri, she relocated to Maplewood, New Jersey later on. After working continuously, she released her first album in July 2013 and has been in the mainstream ever since.

Despite being an R&B artist, she deals outside the confines of her genres. Inspired by the likes of Keyshia Cole and Mary J. Blige, SZA often dabbles in soul, reggaeton and other indie influences. Also following in their footsteps, SZA is raw and honest within her songs, keeping them as real as possible, even if they paint her in a negative light. This is a rarity amongst celebrities, and is one of the many reasons the singer has collected a loyal group of fans. Critics too are always on the lookout for her next big thing.

CTRL Tour

And the singer’s next big thing now is a summer tour alongside Smino and Ravyn Lenae. Presented by her record label TDE records, the shows are going to catalogue her entire new album, including the many collaborative tracks on it. Therefore, one can expect SZA accompanied by a bunch of other name drop, such as Kendrick Lamar who worked on the powerful and soul-crushing “Doves in the Wind”.

SZA is a freak force on stage with her compelling, seemingly unstoppable rapping. You have a chance to catch her on stage on TDE Records Presents: The CTRL Tour. The shows have already been announced for a number of venues across America and Canada, and you have many opportunities to get a hold of some SZA tickets.