Music captures my heart more than anything. It energizes me, reformulates my insides and brings my ravaged mind a sense of understanding. So to name favorite artists could be really simple - I could give you a list of a top 5 and walk away and be filled with deep regret for days because I lied. I don’t have a top favorite artists, rapper, singer, I have music that matches the many moods and phases of my life. And it’s always been loud in my soul. The music I choose to listen to always grabbed me by the heart and sat my ass down and forced itself way into my being. SZA, TDE’s legendary songstress’, did anything but. The first time I heard her songs were probably somewhere on tumblr or soundcloud or something. But I wasn’t instantly captured, to be completely honest. I wasn’t floored or blown away, it was almost as if her music implanted something in me that grew from a small seed to a deep reverent understanding and resonating towards her lyrics. Solana Rowe, fellow Scorpio, from Jersey makes ART meant for decoding. On a first listen, or at least my first listen, I honestly could not understand what she was saying. Soft whispers and breathy outro’s were juxtaposed against today’s music that is noisy and constantly busy. But I knew these new found tapes were gems when I found myself in a local coffee shop working on a paper softly swaying to her Ep’s. And the rest, was history. Her first EP “See.SZA.Run” which was all an accident ending up being the best accident my ears had the pleasure of stumbling upon. With tracks like “Country” (my absolute favorite song by her), acting as more of a chant more than a song, declaring to be much more than even you yourself could imagine - it was hard to pass up what SZA was cooking. I was a fan. I was hooked. Complex had it right when they said she made music palatable for multiple listens because I haven’t stopped since.
It’s difficult to find music to fall in love with and even harder to resonate with the artist themselves. But I’ve always felt like I connected to Solana’s story from the jump. A girl just in the midst of her world truly trying to create her own lane. From her hair styles, to her esoteric style but that hard to miss smile, it’s hard to miss her presence. Whether on a song or just from being on a computer screen. With many features from all her label mates, it seems that her feminine charm seems to subdue the tracks with even the most hardened rappers. She takes whatever she touches and truly turns it into gold. Upping any song’s ethereal aesthetics to (insert 100 emoji here) and beyond. To say I am just a fan is an understatement. Not only has SZA’s music changed my life but I also admire her creative genius so heavily. From the sugar-y tracks on Z, such as Child’s Play ft. Chance the Rapper singing about childhood favorites, or Babylon ft. Kendrick Lamar which makes you wonder about yourself so deeply, you forgot you were even listening to a song in the first place. Because that’s just it, SZA does not make music. At least not to me, in the sense that she comes full circle because she is a tried and true artist. She creates experiences and tells stories and from the looks of her concerts and live shows, constantly keeps you pondering (the forever charm of a Scorpio’s mystery.) If you aren’t interested in traveling to a dimension of your listening palate and dive into your spirit to draw truth from the depths of your soul, then her music isn’t for you. This TDE princess truly has her roots deeply connected in a realm of music that has yet to be tapped. Alternative R&B really doesn’t do her genre justice and it’s safe to say once an artist breaks the confines of a mold or a box to fit in, they are truly destined for greatness.
