She’s unique. She’s soulful. And she’s got great hair.
23 year-old Jersey-born singer Solana Rowe broke onto the scene late last year with her debut EP ‘See SZA Run’, inviting listeners into her romantic dream-like world. Firstly, it’s important to question what scene it was that she broke onto. What seems to be a re-emergence of experimental R&B this year has seen the likes of Jessy Lanza provide excellent vocals on Ikonika’s track ‘Beach Mode’ thanks to the genius nature of the label Hyperdub, and the collaboration of UK label Nightslugs and Washington-born Kelela – her track ‘Enemy’ is a great example of this subgenre. And it is a subgenre that fits SZA’s sound perfectly.
SZA is an interesting character. An artist interested in both experimenting with her vocal talent and being involved with the production-side of her music, she was raised in a Muslim family, studied marine-biology and worked in a strip club. She is heading a movement reminiscent of what Aaliyah and Timbaland were doing in 2000. It’s not R&B; it’s further detached from the genre than the likes of The Weeknd, incorporating different sounds that compliment her soulful vocals.
SZA’s free EP ‘S’ dropped earlier this year and it sounds amazing. Castles, Terror.Dome and Ice.Moon are stand-out tracks on an EP that is the first in the trilogy; there will be two more free installments to come entitled ‘Z’ and ‘A’, great branding from the young artist. SZA has released two tracks from the forthcoming EP ‘Z’ on soundcloud. ‘Julia’ is the first single from the EP and provides a smooth 80s beat, whereas ‘Teen Spirit’ is slower and darker and is produced by the huge young talent Wundagurl, the sixteen year-old girl behind Jay-Z’s ‘Crown’.
On the subject of the trilogy nature of her EPs and the experimental nature of her sound, one may draw parallels between SZA and TheWeeknd – and rightly so. The similarities do not end there either. SZA worked with Jeremy Rose aka Zodiac on the final track of ‘S’,entitled Kismet. Zodiacwas the man behind The Weeknd, creating the artist’s sound, having produced a lot of the first EP House of Balloons, before he went his own way due to disagreements between the two artists concerning a move into the ‘pop’ genre, and was unaccredited for a lot of his work. The fact that Zodiac has now chosen to work with SZA may suggest she doesn’t want to go down the same route as The Weeknd, sliding into pop music and collaborating with artists such as Drake. Further to this point, SZA claims in interviews that she isn’t watering down her music for the masses and hopes that people will accept her ethereal sound for what it is. SZA is not merely the female version of The Weeknd. She is neither 2013’s answer to Cassie. Blossoming is a form of R&B that cannot quite be defined in this very genre; Frank Ocean’s verse on Sunday is a fantastic example of an artist refusing to be boxed-in. SZA is a unique young artist and has signed to Kendrick’s label Top Dawg Entertainment, which also boasts Schoolboy Q, thus surrounding her with artists on the rise and therefore suggesting she is About To Blow in the subgenre of experimental R&B.
Download & stream SZA’s ‘S’ Mixtape below:
Watch her video Time Travel Undone. She looks sexy. And there’s clips from the Wizard of Oz… apparently.
@Antonioslimjim
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