Fans impatiently await R&B singer SZA's second album. It's been four years since she's released her debut album CTRL, which garnered worldwide critical acclaim. The RIAA certified tracks such as Love Galore four times platinum, Broken Clocks two times platinum, and the controversial song The Weekend three times platinum.
The song The Weekend discusses a man who is being unfaithful to multiple women. Many listeners took it to mean that SZA was glorifying infidelity and that being a side chick was acceptable. However, SZA clarified that the song is about three women who all believe they have one man's loyalty, and one woman decides to opt-out of the love rectangle. SZA's claim to fame is making introspective, vulnerable, and ethereal songs with a lilting accented vocal style. Her 2020 song Good Days reaching the top 10 on the Hot 100 proves she's still got it. Here are ten interesting facts about SZA.
10 She's A Scorpio
Solána Imani Rowe, professionally known as SZA, was born on November 8th, 1990, making her a Scorpio. If you believe in zodiacs, the themes explored in SZA's music with her being a Scorpio make sense. She often sings about sexuality, self-love, insecurities, on-and-off-again relationships, and youthful spontaneity. Scorpios are known for being highly sexual people with deep emotions and ever-changing moods. In SZA's music, you see multiple sides of her, and she isn't afraid to reveal her vulnerabilities. For example, in her song Garden (Say It Like Dat), she comically discusses how her partner loves her even though she doesn't have a substantially sized butt.
9 SZA Was The Target Of Bullying
SZA's father is Muslim, and he raised his daughter as an orthodox Muslim. SZA wore hijabs to school, and after the September 11th attacks, kids started bullying her, which led her to stop wearing her hijab. SZA's family were also the targets of racially motivated attacks due to their faith. Arab News revealed that someone threw a brick at her dad's mosque. SZA has expressed that the Islamic faith makes sense to her, and she trusts it.
8 She Dropped Out Of College During Her Last Semester
Kanye West isn't the only "college dropout." SZA transferred to four colleges, and the final college that she attended was Delaware State University, in which she majored in marine biology. However, she failed her classes during her last semester and decided not to return because her music was the main focus. After college, she worked at places like Sephora and worked as a bartender before signing with Top Dawg Entertainment (TDE).
7 She Was A Gymnast
SZA isn't known for her choreography or dancing abilities, or at least she doesn't boast them. People were pleasantly surprised to find her dancing in her music video for the song Hit Different featuring Ty Dolla $ign. What shocked viewers even more, is that SZA is swinging around a pole skillfully in the Good Days video. Followers of SZA's social media know that SZA can dance, but she rarely showcases it. In school, SZA was active in cheerleading and gymnastics. She spent 13 years as a competitive gymnast, and The Grio reported that SZA was ranked fifth as a gymnast in the U.S. in her sophomore year of high school.
6 She Cuts Out Sugar In Her Diet
SZA has killer abs! She revealed that what she does to stay in shape is maintaining a no-sugar diet, not eating dairy or wheat, and she does Pilates and hiking. Before SZA was famous, she weighed 200 pounds and felt more comfortable wearing baggy clothes instead of the skin-revealing clothes she wears today. While she was working odd jobs before making it big, exercise was not in her lifestyle. SZA decided to lose weight for herself instead of trying to fit the industry's mold. As of 2021, it's unclear what SZA's precise weight is, but she is at least under 160 pounds.
5 RZA Of The Wu-Tang Clan Inspired SZA's Name
If you've been questioning this the whole time, the way that you pronounce her stage name is "sizz-uh." SZA, like RZA from the Wu-Tang Clan, got her name from the Supreme Alphabet, which is a system that interprets texts and assigns meanings to letters from the Roman Alphabet. This Nation of Gods and Earths, also known as the Five-Percent Nation or the Five Percenters, cultivated this religious belief system. The three letters in SZA's name stand for "sovereign," "zigzag," and "Allah."
4 SZA Co-Wrote A Song For Rihanna
The track Consideration ended up on Rihanna's eighth studio album Anti. SZA co-wrote the track, which was supposed to go on her album Ctrl. However, she gave the song to Rihanna to impress producer and rapper, Pharrell Williams. Rihanna invited SZA to a writing camp but didn't successfully write her new music. Therefore, she handed Consideration over to Rihanna. While she doesn't regret it, her album CTRL would have come out a year earlier had she kept the song for herself.
3 SZA Doesn't Write Songs the Traditional Way
SZA doesn't write songs down initially. She freestyles them off the top of her head. Then, she fine-tunes them later. She feels as if every time she writes a song down, it doesn't come out great. Plus, freestyling feels more natural to her because that's when her truths out, and she can be honest with herself. Jay- Z is another artist that doesn't write lyrics down, but his reasoning stems from one particular verse being so long that he had to remember it. However, he encourages aspiring rappers to write every day.
2 Her Net Worth IS An Estimated $3 Million.
SZA's net worth as of 2021 is around $3 million. Most of her income has come from mixtape, album, and concert sales. What also helps boost her income is her owning her master's. When an artist owns their master's, it means that they have complete control over what happens to a song and your career in general. SZA owns everything and has a 70/30 split with her label TDE, which means that SZA makes a 70% profit off her music.
1 Music Was Not SZA's First Choice
You're probably guessing that SZA wanted to be a marine biologist or an Olympic champion. While SZA wanted to be a marine biologist as a child to work at SeaWorld, her end goal was being a powerful businesswoman in a suit. Music, ironically, felt like a job that would take the joy away from merely listening to the music. Growing up with strict parents, SZA wasn't even allowed to listen to a lot of popular music. She drew inspiration from her father's jazz records like Coltrane and Miles Davis.
Later, her older sister and her best friend introduced her to the Wu-Tang Clan, Aaliyah, and Cash Money sounds. She also lists Common, Björk, and Jamiroquai as influences. She secretly began making songs with her brother, and her ex-boyfriend introduced her to Terrence "Punch" Henderson, president of record label TDE, who signed her in 2013 as the label's first woman artist.
