SZA‘s long-awaited sophomore album, ‘SOS,’ had barely been out 24 hours before it was already making R&B history.
But, while most artists would be celebrating the record-breaking run, the GRAMMY-winning diva finds conflict with the genre labeling – a “limitation” she waxed honest about in the latest issue of ‘Consequence.’
Amid reports her latest LP, the follow-up to 2017’s critically acclaimed ‘Ctrl,’ is en route to control the Billboard 200 and R&B charts next week (as we reported here), SZA’s interview with ‘Consequence‘ surfaced and sees her detail why ‘SOS’ was supposed to demonstrate she shouldn’t be limited to just one genre.
“I’m so tired of being pegged as [an] R&B artist,” SZA shared. “I feel like that’s super disrespectful, because people are just like, ‘Oh, ’cause you’re Black, this is what you have to be’ — like, put in a box. And I hate that. With songs on this album, it’s supposed to help round out the picture and the story.”
Like recent quotes from her friend Lizzo, who is reportedly set to guest on the deluxe edition of ‘SOS,’ the ‘Shirt‘ singer suggested the classification is a form of racial profiling.
“It’s very lazy to just throw me in the box of R&B. I love making Black music, period. Something that is just full of energy. Black music doesn’t have to just be R&B. We started rock ‘n’ roll,” she relayed before asking, “Why can’t we just be expansive and not reductive?”.
Later in the interview, SZ A made it clear she wasn’t dissing the genre.
“I think there are certain people who love making R&B and who do it so well, like Summer Walker, or who make soul music and do it so very well, like Ari Lennox,” she said. “That’s what they want. But that’s not my goal.”
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That’s not all she talked about.
Click here to read the full interview and see her dish about the new album, the delay between her freshman and sophomore albums, and so much more.
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B**** nobody really knows who you is
Suuuuuurrrrrreeeeee 🥴
Don’t talk nonsense, she’s worldwide known, YOU are nobody.
Well she told no lies her music isn’t just R&B…her 2nd album has a lot of folk undertones in it as well! But I get what’s she’s trying to say tho
B**** please
she’s not wrong.
Agree.
SZA is NOT R&B.
Her music was never played on Black radio until “Love Galore”.
Her music was considered weird.
Her music wasn’t played anywhere because she wasn’t a mainstream artist prior to CTRL. Her music isn’t strictly R&B but a lot of it is… the vocal approach, production, melodies…gives very much R&B imo
True and I get this but her core sound is very much Emo/alternative.
She BECAME R&B so her music would have radio appeal. And every since, she has been tagged as R&B.
She never intended to be an R&B artist is what she’s implying.
Trap/Emo/alternative*