# SZA
**SZA** (pronounced "Sizza") is the stage name of Solána Imani Rowe (born 1990), an American R&B singer-songwriter from St. Louis, Missouri, raised in Maplewood, New Jersey, known for the albums *Ctrl* (2017) and *SOS* (2022) and for songs including "Kill Bill," "Good Days," and "Snooze"[1](https://www.liverate.com/artists/sza) • [2](https://www.biography.com/musicians/a57628214/sza). A Grammy-winning artist with seven wins from 31 nominations through the 68th Annual Grammy Awards, she has been described by critics as one of the defining voices of contemporary R&B[3](https://www.grammy.com/artists/solana-rowe/32514/).
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Full name | Solána Imani Rowe, born 1990 in St. Louis, raised in Maplewood, New Jersey[1](https://www.liverate.com/artists/sza) |
| Breakthrough album | *Ctrl* (TDE/RCA, 2017), No. 3 on the Billboard 200, No. 1 on Billboard's R&B album chart, certified triple platinum[4](https://www.sonymusic.co.jp/artist/sza/profile/) • [5](https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/sza-sos/) |
| Second album | *SOS* (December 9, 2022), 23 tracks in about 67 minutes, Metacritic 90, Pitchfork 8.7 (Best New Music)[6](https://www.metacritic.com/music/sos/sza) • [5](https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/sza-sos/) |
| First Hot 100 No. 1 | "Kill Bill," written and produced with Carter Lang and Rob Bisel[7](https://ca.billboard.com/music/rb-hip-hop/sza-sos-producers-kill-bill-interview-1235436553/) |
| Grammy record | 7 wins from 31 nominations, including Record of the Year for "luther" with Kendrick Lamar (2026)[3](https://www.grammy.com/artists/solana-rowe/32514/) |
| Labels | Top Dawg Entertainment (signed 2013, its first female artist) and RCA Records[4](https://www.sonymusic.co.jp/artist/sza/profile/) • [8](https://www.rcarecords.co.uk/artists/sza) |
## Early releases and Top Dawg Entertainment
SZA self-released her first EP, *See.SZA.Run*, in 2011 and a second, *S*, in 2012, drawing attention from early listeners with an ambient, genre-crossing style[4](https://www.sonymusic.co.jp/artist/sza/profile/). In 2013 she signed with [Top Dawg Entertainment](https://www.edgepedia.org/top-dawg-entertainment), the label home of [Kendrick Lamar](https://www.edgepedia.org/kendrick-lamar), becoming the first woman on its roster[4](https://www.sonymusic.co.jp/artist/sza/profile/). Her third EP, *Z*, followed in 2014, and around this time she began writing for Beyoncé and [Nicki Minaj](https://www.edgepedia.org/nicki-minaj) and appeared as a guest on Rihanna's "Consideration" from the album *ANTI*[4](https://www.sonymusic.co.jp/artist/sza/profile/).
## Ctrl and mainstream breakthrough
*Ctrl*, her major-label debut album, arrived on TDE/RCA in 2017. It reached No. 1 on Billboard's R&B albums chart and No. 3 on the Billboard 200, and critics praised its distinctive phrasing, husky voice, and crossover sound[4](https://www.sonymusic.co.jp/artist/sza/profile/). Metacritic recorded a score of 87 based on 17 positive reviews, and Pitchfork rated it 8.4 out of 10[9](https://www.metacritic.com/music/ctrl/sza) • [5](https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/sza-sos/). The album's frank writing about insecurity, sexuality, and modern romance drew an especially strong response from young women of color, and it was certified triple platinum by August 2022[10](https://time.com/4837889/sza-ctrl-interview/) • [5](https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/sza-sos/).
At the 60th Annual Grammy Awards in 2018, SZA was nominated in five categories, including Best New Artist and Best Urban Contemporary Album, making her the most-nominated woman of that year; she won none of them[11](https://time.com/5122443/sza-grammys-snub/). In 2018 she also featured with Kendrick Lamar on "[All the Stars](https://www.edgepedia.org/all-the-stars)" from the *Black Panther* soundtrack, which was nominated for the Grammy Awards for Song of the Year and Record of the Year and for the [Academy Award for Best Original Song](https://www.edgepedia.org/academy-award-for-best-original-song)[4](https://www.sonymusic.co.jp/artist/sza/profile/).
## SOS and commercial peak
*SOS*, released on December 9, 2022 after a five-year wait filled with leaks, delays, and label tensions, is a 23-track album of roughly 67 to 68 minutes[6](https://www.metacritic.com/music/sos/sza) • [12](https://www.documentarytube.com/blog/szas-sos-reviewed-a-restless-expansive-follow-up-to-ctrl/). Pitchfork, which scored it 8.7 and named it Best New Music, described it as the work of an artist who had sharpened her songwriting since *Ctrl*, moving between belted R&B, rap, and, on "F2F," a pop-punk-inflected country song[5](https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/sza-sos/). Metacritic's aggregate of 20 critic reviews stood at 90, with 19 positive and one mixed[6](https://www.metacritic.com/music/sos/sza).
**Chart performance.** The album spent multiple weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, and its single "Kill Bill" became SZA's first No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100[13](https://www.soundonsound.com/techniques/inside-track-sza-kill-bill) • [7](https://ca.billboard.com/music/rb-hip-hop/sza-sos-producers-kill-bill-interview-1235436553/). At the 66th Annual Grammy Awards in February 2024, SZA led all nominees with nine nods, including Record of the Year, Song of the Year, and Album of the Year, and *SOS* won Best Progressive R&B Album[14](https://www.grammy.com/news/2023-in-review-5-rb-trends-sza-summer-walker/) • [15](https://nutanica.com/SOS_%28SZA_album%29).
The album's life extended through deluxe editions. *SOS Deluxe: LANA*, released in December 2024, returned the album to No. 1 on the [Billboard](https://www.edgepedia.org/billboard-magazine) 200 in January 2024, its 11th total week at the top, and also led the Top R&B Albums, Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums, and Top Streaming Albums charts[16](https://cdn-p.smehost.net/sites/8e1f40b762984a27a20f577d99b7ac97/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/SZA_1-Billboard-200_-Lana.pdf). In 2024 SZA received the [Songwriters Hall of Fame](https://www.edgepedia.org/songwriters-hall-of-fame)'s Hal David Starlight Award and won awards at the iHeartRadio, BMI, Billboard Music, MTV Video Music, BRIT, and [BET Awards](https://www.edgepedia.org/bet-awards)[16](https://cdn-p.smehost.net/sites/8e1f40b762984a27a20f577d99b7ac97/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/SZA_1-Billboard-200_-Lana.pdf).
## Working method and vocal production
Her longtime engineer and producer Rob Bisel, a Grammy-nominated producer who also works with Kendrick Lamar and [Doja Cat](https://www.edgepedia.org/doja-cat), has described the recording process in detail[13](https://www.soundonsound.com/techniques/inside-track-sza-kill-bill) • [17](https://www.mixonline.com/recording/capturing-szas-vocals-with-rob-bisel-part-2). Recording usually begins with SZA freestyling for 5 to 10 minutes over a beat while Bisel notes what he hears as "magic moments"; the two then piece the song's structure together, and a song they consider good is typically written in under an hour[13](https://www.soundonsound.com/techniques/inside-track-sza-kill-bill). Bisel adds effects during writing, including heavy [Auto-Tune](https://www.edgepedia.org/auto-tune), delay, reverb, and formant shifts, to spark new lyrical or thematic ideas[13](https://www.soundonsound.com/techniques/inside-track-sza-kill-bill). The pair cut vocals together in the same room, often with Bisel wearing Audio-Technica ATH-M50x headphones rather than using studio monitors[13](https://www.soundonsound.com/techniques/inside-track-sza-kill-bill).
"Kill Bill" itself was built by Bisel with producer Carter Lang, who had worked with SZA since *Ctrl*; Bisel recalled that she wrote the song in under an hour on the first night, and the title, which SZA devised with Rob, was kept despite discussion of a more literal alternative[7](https://ca.billboard.com/music/rb-hip-hop/sza-sos-producers-kill-bill-interview-1235436553/) • [18](https://www.musicweek.com/public_html/index.php/interviews/read/hitmakers-carter-lang-on-the-story-behind-sza-s-kill-bill/088549). Variety, naming her its 2023 Hitmaker of the Year, noted that she does not play an instrument and that melodies and lyrics typically emerge directly into a phone microphone[19](https://au.variety.com/2023/music/features/sza-hitmaker-of-the-year-sos-grammy-song-leakers-12050/).
## Later work: LANA, luther, and touring
At the 67th Annual Grammy Awards in 2025, "Saturn" won Best R&B Song, her second win in that category[3](https://www.grammy.com/artists/solana-rowe/32514/). In 2025 she joined Kendrick Lamar as a special guest at the [Super Bowl LIX](https://www.edgepedia.org/super-bowl-lix) halftime show, performing "Luther" and "All the Stars," and the two then mounted the joint [Grand National Tour](https://www.edgepedia.org/grand-national-tour), which included her first-ever arena and stadium dates[2](https://www.biography.com/musicians/a57628214/sza) • [20](https://www.nme.com/features/music-features/sza-sos-tour-setlist-flo-baby-rose-radar-3403286). At the 68th Annual Grammy Awards in 2026, "luther" with Kendrick Lamar won Record of the Year and Best Melodic Rap Performance[3](https://www.grammy.com/artists/solana-rowe/32514/). The song ranked seventh among 2025's global on-demand audio streams with 1.672 billion plays[21](https://apnews.com/article/a5e06a001705cd7e5d3854d8fab901b8).
She has also moved into acting, making her debut in the 2025 comedy *One of Them Days* alongside [Keke Palmer](https://www.edgepedia.org/keke-palmer), a performance that earned an Independent Spirit Award nomination for Best Breakthrough Performance[2](https://www.biography.com/musicians/a57628214/sza) • [22](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm6855916/awards/).
## Influence and reception
Commentators credit SZA with shifting the sound and subject matter of modern R&B. An academic account places her, alongside [Frank Ocean](https://www.edgepedia.org/frank-ocean), among the artists who introduced new vocal and thematic languages into the genre, favoring introverted, observational, conversational singing over the church-derived melisma (singing many notes on one syllable, gospel-style) that once defined it[23](https://assets-us-01.kc-usercontent.com/f7ca9afb-82c2-002a-a423-84e111d5b498/c5c68a97-abd8-4f25-8ee6-c4a1b7b6e8ca/978-1-4780-2521-4_601.pdf?auto=format&fm=webp&lossless=true). NME wrote that it is hard to think of a current musician with a greater impact on how R&B sounds, citing praise from fellow songwriters such as Lizzo and [Olivia Rodrigo](https://www.edgepedia.org/olivia-rodrigo)[20](https://www.nme.com/features/music-features/sza-sos-tour-setlist-flo-baby-rose-radar-3403286). The Recording Academy's 2023 year in review concluded that "the year in R&B unequivocally belonged to SZA"[14](https://www.grammy.com/news/2023-in-review-5-rb-trends-sza-summer-walker/).
Live performance has been part of that standing: an aggregate of 94 critic concert reviews rates her shows at 85 percent and places her in the top 5 percent of live performers, with concerts typically running one hour to an hour and a half[1](https://www.liverate.com/artists/sza).
## References
1. [SZA – Live Tour & Concert Review Consensus, LiveRate](https://www.liverate.com/artists/sza)
2. [SZA: Biography, Singer, Musician, Solána Rowe, Biography.com](https://www.biography.com/musicians/a57628214/sza)
3. [SZA – Grammy Awards and Nominations, Recording Academy](https://www.grammy.com/artists/solana-rowe/32514/)
4. [シザ プロフィール, Sony Music Japan](https://www.sonymusic.co.jp/artist/sza/profile/)
5. [SZA: SOS Album Review, Pitchfork (Julianne Escobedo Shepherd, 2022)](https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/sza-sos/)
6. [S.O.S. by SZA Reviews, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/music/sos/sza)
7. [Meet SZA's Secret Weapons: Her 'SOS' Producers, Billboard Canada](https://ca.billboard.com/music/rb-hip-hop/sza-sos-producers-kill-bill-interview-1235436553/)
8. [SZA, RCA Label Group UK](https://www.rcarecords.co.uk/artists/sza)
9. [CTRL by SZA Reviews, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/music/ctrl/sza)
10. [How Breakout R&B Star SZA Went From Sharing a Futon to Finding Her Voice, TIME](https://time.com/4837889/sza-ctrl-interview/)
11. [SZA, The Grammys' Most-Nominated Woman, Didn't Win Anything, TIME](https://time.com/5122443/sza-grammys-snub/)
12. [SZA's SOS Review: How the 23-Track Album Expands Ctrl, DocumentaryTube](https://www.documentarytube.com/blog/szas-sos-reviewed-a-restless-expansive-follow-up-to-ctrl/)
13. [Inside Track: SZA – Kill Bill, Sound On Sound](https://www.soundonsound.com/techniques/inside-track-sza-kill-bill)
14. [2023 Year In Review: 5 Trends That Defined R&B, Recording Academy](https://www.grammy.com/news/2023-in-review-5-rb-trends-sza-summer-walker/)
15. [SOS (SZA album), Nutanica](https://nutanica.com/SOS_%28SZA_album%29)
16. [SZA Returns to #1 on the Billboard 200 with SOS Deluxe: LANA, Top Dawg Entertainment press release](https://cdn-p.smehost.net/sites/8e1f40b762984a27a20f577d99b7ac97/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/SZA_1-Billboard-200_-Lana.pdf)
17. [Capturing SZA's Vocals with Rob Bisel, Part 2, Mixonline](https://www.mixonline.com/recording/capturing-szas-vocals-with-rob-bisel-part-2)
18. [Hitmakers: Carter Lang on the story behind SZA's Kill Bill, Music Week](https://www.musicweek.com/public_html/index.php/interviews/read/hitmakers-carter-lang-on-the-story-behind-sza-s-kill-bill/088549)
19. [SZA, Variety's Hitmaker of the Year, Variety Australia](https://au.variety.com/2023/music/features/sza-hitmaker-of-the-year-sos-grammy-song-leakers-12050/)
20. [How SZA inspired a generation of R&B storytellers, NME](https://www.nme.com/features/music-features/sza-sos-tour-setlist-flo-baby-rose-radar-3403286)
21. [Music streams hit 5 trillion in 2025, AP News](https://apnews.com/article/a5e06a001705cd7e5d3854d8fab901b8)
22. [SZA – Awards, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm6855916/awards/)
23. [Queering Black Music scholarship chapter (PDF), Duke University Press](https://assets-us-01.kc-usercontent.com/f7ca9afb-82c2-002a-a423-84e111d5b498/c5c68a97-abd8-4f25-8ee6-c4a1b7b6e8ca/978-1-4780-2521-4_601.pdf?auto=format&fm=webp&lossless=true)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Music › Musicians and ensembles › Individual musical biographies › Pop and R&B singer-songwriters › R&B singers, 2010s to present › Surnames P to Z*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license