A biography for SZAhasn’t been written yet.
“You can take care of your body, and it will low-key show you respect in turn.”
“The album that defined my childhood was probably Ella Fitzgerald's 'Greatest Hits,' whereas my half-sister, who didn't have the same conservative upbringing, was listening to Cash Money and crunk.”
“My parents wanted me to go to school.”
“I have an abundant amount of love in my life, and I'm grateful for that.”
“When your parents regulate everything you hear and everything you intake, it forces you to get creative in other ways. It sparked the writing bug and the very overactive imagination. Because I've had a lot of time by myself and a lot of time isolated from regular culture, I created my own.”
“Biochemical interactions are very interesting to me.”
“I listen to Stevie Nicks.”
“We're changing little girls' lives across the world, and we didn't even know what we were doing when we started.”
“As long as you're being honest and there's intention in what you're doing, then I think that energy permeates your field and becomes like a homing signal for other people with like energies.”
“I used to be offended when people would compare me to Erykah Badu. Because I'm black, thick, and have large lips? There's nothing similar about us whatsoever, and I felt very disrespected by the fact that people needed to pigeonhole me. I wasn't even raised on Erykah Badu!”
“In one way, I want to heal people.”
“I got a lot of crap for being named SZA but not being affiliated with Wu-Tang, and being a girl.”
“My mom was an executive at AT&T, a global account lady. I have no idea what she did. I just know she was never home and speaks several languages.”
“Control is not real, and I'm really understanding that every day. It's about the acceptance of relinquishing control that makes it powerful for you.”
“My music is touching people in whatever spaces they need to be touched in.”
“When I think of Afropunk, I think of the best of the best. I think of, like, D'Angelo.”
“In the real world, I kind of, like, thrived a little bit. The things that were awkward about me at school, like being hyper passionate... I realized, 'Oh I'm my own person, and I have my own idiosyncrasies and nuances that I don't mind.'”
“Wearing a hijab never made me feel any more conservative - it made me feel safe. Then, after 9/11, I became the butt of a joke on the playground, so I stopped wearing it. Kids can be really cruel when you're the only black girl in your Girl Scout troop.”
“I'm a Scorpio with a Pisces moon. I am very critical of myself. I'm actually way less critical of others than I am of myself. I'm in my own head a lot. It's hard and really discouraging.”
“I was unpopular my whole life.”