SZA shades the music "machine" while teasing new album: "I only do what I want to do"

Los Angeles, California - It's no secret that SZA's fans have been waiting for the singer to drop a new album. The Grammy-winning artist finally broke her silence about the forthcoming release, and why she opted to do things differently this time around.

SZA isn't playing into the "machine" that is the music industry for her forthcoming album.
SZA isn't playing into the "machine" that is the music industry for her forthcoming album.  © Collage: Screenshot/Instagram/sza

Those who rock with SZA have probably noticed she's doing things a bit differently when it comes to her sophomore album, and according to the artist, it's intentional.

In a new interview with Billboard, SZA admitted the highly demanding album cycle surrounding her 2017 debut of Ctrl was a little too much for her.

"But it’s not like, the album pressure," she said. "It’s just, life is f**king hard. To be expected to do anything at a high level while life is life-ing is f**king crazy. This isn’t meant for a person; it’s meant for a machine."

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For that reason, SZA has decided to take a less traditional and surprise-filled route when it comes to new music releases: "I hate the red tape analytics of dropping anything – it’s so stressful," she said.

The Shirt singer gave her manager Terrence "Punch" Henderson a four-day warning before she dropped Good Days, her first solo single in two years, on Christmas Day 2020.

In August 2021, she told her sound engineer Rob Bisel to upload her song I Hate U to an anonymous SoundCloud account the next day. Speaking on SZA's new way of doing things, Bisel told the publication, "She genuinely was excited about the stuff she’d been working on and wanted to share it right away."

SZA noted, "I only do what I want to do," adding that randomly dropping songs whenever it feels right "makes me feel free and safe and unrestricted." Better yet? She plans to do the same with her forthcoming album.

SZA name-drops her new album

According to SZA, the highly anticipated album is called S.O.S, and it's currently set for a December release, though she admitted to being "stressed" about meeting that deadline.

The 33-year-old will also be taking the Saturday Night Live stage on December 3 alongside first-time host Keke Palmer, and it's possible the songstress could preview some new music during her performances.

Regarding her long term goals with music and the forthcoming album, SZA kept it real as ever: "I like to create, I like to write, I like to sing, and I like to share. But I don’t know if chasing after superstardom or whatever I’m supposed to be doing right now is sustainable for me or for anybody."

"I’mma take a good swing at it, and I’mma give ’em my absolute best," she added.

Cover photo: Collage: Screenshot/Instagram/sza

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