SZA
Variety via Getty Images
Grammy-winning singer SZA has long been teasing the release of Lana, her follow-up project to her 2022 sophomore album SOS. First billed as a standalone album, she eventually announced it would serve as the deluxe version of SOS, building on the themes of the smash album with a slew of new music for hungry fans.
Lana is out now, complete with 15 new tracks that, like those on SOS, span a wide swath of sounds that showcase the “Saturn” singer’s undeniable versatility. From empowering outings like “My Turn” and “Love Me 4 Me” to longing pleas like “Scorsese Baby Daddy” and “Diamond Boy (DTM),” SZA delivers something for everyone to enjoy. She even brings along former labelmate and frequent collaborator Kendrick Lamar for “30 for 30,” their latest link-up following their “Gloria” and “Luther” collabs on Lamar’s GNX album released last month.
The album arrives as the hit-making crooner faces a new chapter in her career. Next month, she’ll be making her acting debut opposite Keke Palmer in buddy comedy One of Them Days, in theaters Jan. 17.
“Every day I grapple with, ‘Am I done with music?’” she recently confessed to British Vogue. “Maybe I’m just not meant to be famous; I’m crashing and burning and behaving erratically. It’s not for me because I have so much anxiety. But why would God put me in this position if I wasn’t supposed to be doing this? So I just keep trying to rise to the occasion. But I’m also just like, ‘Please, the occasion is beating my a**.’”
Thankfully, creating Lana was a cathartic experience as she explored her emotions in new ways in her music.
“I think I am making music from a more beautiful place. From a more possible place versus a more angsty place,” she said. “I’m not identifying with my brokenness. It’s not my identity. It’s s**t that happened to me. Yeah, I experienced cruelty. I have to put it down at some point. Piece by piece, my music is shifting because of that, the lighter I get.”
SZA and Kendrick Lamar’s joint Grand National Tour kicks off April 19 in Minneapolis and wraps up June 18 in Washington, D.C.
