SZA's Return: The Manifestation of Better Days.
A thank you to my favorite artist.
I was 15 when SZA released her debut album, CTRL, on June 9th, 2017. Months before that I was blasting her lesser-known album “Z,” which I discovered through the song “Child’s Play” featuring Chance the Rapper.
CTRL was immediately a masterpiece. A debut album with absolutely no skips is hard to find, and SZA became a legend summer ’17 when we were all blasting Love Galore, windows down, summer nights ahead of us.
CTRL is a comfort album. Almost 4 years later I still scream “Supermodel,” CTRL’s title track, whenever I’m angry at the world. The feelings are so universal. SZA’s songs are poetry, and we all derive our own meanings and interpretations from poetry. Even if SZA sings about how pissed off she is with douche-bag guy and I’m a lesbian, I’m still going to cry my eyes out while listening.
“Normal Girl” was one of my first favorites of Ctrl. SZA sings about the way we doubt our worth after being mistreated as if it were somehow our fault. As young as I was, I still felt hopeless when it came to relationships, and eventually, these translated into identity issues. Queer kids all have that moment in their lives when they wish they didn’t have to wrestle with coming out and bringing a partner home. For some, the reality of being out comfortably is still a dream, and watching other queer people have their peace in safe homes makes us all wish we were “normal girls.”
I could go on about every track on CTRL, but I’d rather look to the future of SZA’s reign as the Queen of contemporary R&B music.
On Christmas day last year SZA blessed us with the best gift we could ask for –- Good Days. Listening for the first time was the sigh of relief I had waited for the whole year. It felt like SZA gave us three months of free therapy in 5 mins, along with a hug and a “you’ll be okay.” The third verse reflects an almost New Years Resolution type script, looking towards new beginnings, inner peace, and youth:
“Gotta get right/ Tryna free my mind before the end of the world/ I don’t miss no ex, I don’t miss no text / I choose not to respond/ I don’t regret just pretend shit never happened/ Half of us layin’ waste to our youth, it’s in the present”
Lyrics from Genius.com
Good Days is a collection of affirmations – mantras – to unconsciously repeat as we sing along everyday, which isn’t surprising considering SZA’s appreciation for spirituality and manifestation. We’re all just trying to free our minds before the end of the world, which is what 2020 felt like to most of us. SZA is preaching about the importance of living in the moment, even when that moment is surrounded by dystopia. We often worry too much about things on an existential scale that we end up forcing ourselves into speeding through the important parts of our lives. SZA is reminding us to take care of ourselves, and her music is included in that process.
It’s rumored that SZA will release her third album sometime in Spring 2021, which is almost 4 years after the initial release of CTRL. With this new era, I’m predicting SZA’s music will be focused on self-reflection, genuine love, less heartbreak, and more hope. Whatever she brings us and whenever she brings it will certainly wow us nonetheless, and for now, we’ll be meditating on Good Days every day repeatedly.
Happy Listening,
Linds