SZA Opens Up About Her Forthcoming Album, 'Ctrl' & Past Grammy Snubs

The TDE singer speaks candidly about her new album, the past and more in a new cover story.

SZA is back and she has her eyes set on releasing a new album. In a new cover story for Cosmopolitan, the singer-songwriter shared her thoughts on everything from her previous Grammy snubs to how she’s reflecting on the impact her music has had on the industry.

You may recall SZA’s 2018 and 2019 Grammy nominations (9), she didn’t walk away victorious during either ceremony, even after her emotional debut album Ctrl became a hit record. The singer on Ctrl: “The subject matter, I guess ended up seeming like this highly curated journey through female adolescence and adulthood,” SZA said. “That was not intentional. I was just talking my shit.”

On where she's at right now she says, "I’m just figuring it out—who I am and what I want to be." She expands on this by noting, "Before, it was more about letting people know that I was a good writer and that I shouldn’t be counted out. Now, it’s more, ‘You have power; you can shape the world based on things you genuinely care about.’"

Her thoughts on the Grammy noms might surprise you if you’re obsessed with her music: “I'm just a girl from the 'burbs. I never had dreams of being nominated for a Grammy,” she said. “I thought I was going to be a gymnast and a f—ing business accountant somewhere. Or working at Nike corporate or some shit in Portland. Who knows, but something that involved a power suit. So it's not a heavy burden.”

On the snubs which riled up her loyal fanbase who vocally spoke out SZA also added, "Once you've been nominated and lost, you're very much free because you’re not concerned," she said. "I passed that threshold years ago—it's an old energy to me. Why would I be mad?"

During the extensive interview, she expressed what’s to come on her forthcoming album. Before we get into that, to be clear, last summer SZA tweeted that Top Dawg Entertainment was holding up the release of her new music. The following day, she tweeted she trusts the people around her. The singer has unveiled two singles since that tweet, Neptunes-produced “Hit Different” featuring Ty Dolla $ign and “Good Days” which dropped on Christmas.

"Sometimes you just want to make something fucking awful just to rage against the system, but that’s not where I’m at," she said. "In this space, I just want to do what I want without any pressure, without any hyper-conversation about it."

She added, "This album is going to be the s— that made me feel something in my...here and in here," she said pointing to her gut and heart. “That's what's going to go on the album. I'm making all different types of s— every day from different places in my spirit."

Head to Cosmpolitan to read the entire interview.