SZA: the artist who kept Taylor Swift from the top of the US Billboard chart top spot

Her second album is currently setting records on the Billboard album chart, keeping Taylor Swift off the top spot and breaking records along the way. Contrary to belief however, there is no “beef” between Swift and R&B/neo-soul performer SZA (pronounced Siz-zah), whose new album SOS broke the record for the biggest streaming week ever for an R&B album, and became the second-largest streaming week for an album by a female artist.

Taking her stage name from the Supreme Alphabet, similar to Wu-Tang Clan’s RZA (Ri-zah) and GZA (Ji-zah), Solána Imani Rowe can count on many names who have either appeared in her works or she’s collaborated with in other’s work. SOS alone contains collaborations with indie-musician Phoebe Bridgers, a former beau of Kylie Jenner, Travis Scott and songwriting credits from Lizzo and Babyface.

But her ascension to the top of the Billboard charts wasn’t easy and demonstrates the sheer determination SZA had in becoming the celebrated musician she finds herself as currently. From bullying to bucking trends, the rise of SZA has been a remarkable story once again of strong female talent within the music industry.

Humble beginnings

Born in St. Louis in 1989 and raised in New Jersey shortly thereafter, SZA was the child of a Christian mother and Muslim father, being raised in the Muslim faith. Her faith, in light of the events of September 11, led the musician to become bullied in school and saw her stop wearing her hijab to prevent any further harassment.

Speaking about her faith to radio station HOT 97.7 back in 2017, she said “I think I would love to wear my hijab but I feel like I don't wanna wear my hijab and talk crazy on stage and be in videos with Travis Scott. Like I don't wanna be disrespectful because I have too much love and respect for the religion, for my father, and for myself.”

Studying marine biology at Delaware University, SZA dropped out to earn money for her burgeoning music career. Her first dalliance with the industry came during a Kendrick Lamar concert that her then-boyfriend was sponsoring through his clothing label. Her demos were passed to Terrence Henderson, the president of Top Dawg Entertainment - her label she remains on to this day. Her early production work impressed Henderson, and after garnering critical attention with her first two self-released EPs, See.Sza.Run and S, she was signed for her first studio album to Top Dawg in 2013, becoming the first female musician signed to the label.

Collaborations with Kendrick Lamar, Travis Scott and debut album.

The link between Kendrick Lamar moved from association by proxy to collaboration with SZA’s debut album, Ctrl, released in 2017. Capturing the popularity of trap production (synthesised drums, complex hi-hat patterns, tuned kick drums with a long decay) that had crossed over into mainstream music production in the 10s, SZA admitted that her lyrics and approach to Ctrl was an aggressive response to where she was at during the songwriting process.

Speaking to the renowned hip-hop radio show The Breakfast Club, SZA let the presenters know that “I've been burying friends, burying family members, burying weight, the way I feel about myself, the way I feel about God, the way I process information" in regards to how involved she became with the album process.

It was on Ctrl that SZA first collaborated with Travis Scott, by virtue of a shared producer in James Fauntleroy, who himself has worked with Scott alongside Drake, Rihanna and Justin Timberlake. It was Fauntleroy’s involvement with Kendrick Lamar (he guested on Lamar's third album, To Pimp a Butterfly) that led to Lamar and SZA collaborating on the track Doves In The Wind.

The duo would once again collaborate in 2018, this time for Lamar's soundtrack to the box-office smash Black Panther, as All The Stars earned SZA her second Billboard top 10 hit (charting at seven.)

Collaborations with Justin Timberlake, Doja Cat and TikTok fame

SZA’s demand increased throughout 2019, appearing on DJ Khaled’s single Just Us from his album Father of Asahd and then with Justin Timberlake a year later for the Trolls World Tour movie soundtrack (The Other Side). It was in 2021 though that SZA earned her first piece of solo success on the Billboard Top 100 with the release of Hit Different (with Ty Dolla Sign), which peaked at number nine.

Her collaboration with Doja Cat, Kiss Me More, brought more widespread attention to the musician, with the single placing in many top 40 singles charts across the world, including peaking on the UK singles chart at number three.

It would be on the social media platform TikTok though where SZA would start to foster a larger fan base; a version of her track I Hate U, originally released in August 2021 as an exclusive streaming track, found its way to virality after becoming one of the most used music backgrounds by TikTok users. SZA would once again return to TikTok virality upon the release of her most recent album.

Second album and broken records

SOS, SZA’s most recent album, was teased to listeners throughout the start of the 20s; TikTok once again forced her hand to officially release a second single from the album - Shirt. Initially teased as a single in 2020, it became featured as part of a TikTok challenge throughout 2021 before finally seeing a full release in October 2022.

That same month, SZA finally released her, by now, hotly anticipated follow-up to Ctrl, SOS, to overwhelmingly positive reviews. Pitchfork decreed that the sophomore effort “solidifies her position as a generational talent,” while New York music publication Consequence said the album was “an assured, ambitious, expansive, and genre-defying journey into the very depths of heartbreak and the many shades it comes in.”

Cascading across genres, SZA managed to rope in collaborations with singer/songwriter Phoebe Bridgers while paying tribute to the Wu-Tang Clan once more by managing to feature a sample of ODB. The album debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 chart, remaining there for four weeks leading SZA to be the first female musician to hold onto the Billboard top spot for four consecutive weeks in the 21st Century.

SOS has already gone gold in the United States, selling 500,000 copies and keeping Taylor Swift’s juggernaut latest album off the top spot (to be fair, Swift’s album was originally knocked from the number one spot by Metro Boomin) and earned 404.58 million on-demand official streams in its first week breaking the record for the biggest streaming week ever for an R&B album and becoming the second-largest streaming week for an album by a female artist.

It led to some in the media alluding to a behind-the-scenes “beef” between the two, almost orchestrating a similar “battle of the album chart” feud that music fans may remember occurred during Blur and Oasis’ single battle in the heyday of Cool Britannia.

But SZA has rubbished such claims, taking to Twitter to let followers know “I feel silly that I even have to say this but I see supporters arguing and I hate that. I don’t have beef [with] ANYONE especially not Taylor lmao I genuinely loved her album and the writing! Everyone’s [just] tryna do their BEST as we all should. LOVE TO EVERYONE.”