SZA Hits Gold Again

SZA is taking the world by storm with her new album. “SOS”, the long-anticipated follow-up to her 2017 debut album “Ctrl” was released on December 9. At 23 songs and more than an hour in length, the singer has not disappointed.

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The American singer’s unique style of merging R&B and Soul comes across extremely strongly in the album. There is a huge variety in songs, with tracks ranging from upbeat (“Conceited”, “Used” ft Don Toliver”) to blasting rock “F2F” and a calm acoustic atmosphere (“Special”, “Blind”, “Nobody Gets Me”). The songs are all extremely intimate and personal, with SZA navigating through topics of sex and love but in a genuine tone that strays away from clichés. She is routinely a refreshing artist in the music industry who tends to be conversational in her albums, thus her wide appeal to fans worldwide.

The album features many surprise collaborations that have caused it to rocket on the charts. Having already collaborated with Travis Scott five years ago on “Love Galore”, SZA reunites with the rapper on “Open Arms”, which is a more soulful ballad. Indie rock artist Phoebe Bridgers also features in the track “Ghost in the Machine”, which she described as “super strange and alternative”. There are also posthumous bars from the late singer Ol’ Dirty Bastard that add to the upbeat vibe of “Forgiveless”. Interestingly, SZA was supposed to have more collaborations, but she reported they did not send back verses to her in time for the production and release.

SZA was insistent on showing a “new side” of her in the songs which marked her five-year return. And indeed she has. The singer has incredible range, making her high notes shine and featuring catchy but powerful lyrics that are sure to resonate with her legion of fans. Those five years were a long wait, but it was worth it.