{"id":34000,"date":"2022-12-23T23:23:53","date_gmt":"2022-12-23T23:23:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/traklife.com\/featured\/sos-is-szas-most-experimental-album-yet\/"},"modified":"2023-09-16T21:34:38","modified_gmt":"2023-09-16T21:34:38","slug":"sos-is-szas-most-experimental-album-yet","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/traklife.com\/culture\/sos-is-szas-most-experimental-album-yet\/","title":{"rendered":"‘SOS’ is SZA’s Most Experimental Album Yet"},"content":{"rendered":"

The magic of SZA\u2019s artistry is her ability to truly welcome listeners into her inner monologue, her honest conversations and musings with herself as she navigates the rollercoaster emotions of life and relationships. She has a poignant way of putting to lyrics the relatable, humorous, sometimes embarrassing, often painful experiences of life and relationships. That\u2019s why her beloved triple platinum debut album, Ctrl<\/i><\/a>, has resonated with R&B fans for more than five years since its original release in 2017. <\/p>\n

SZA reminded the world of Ctrl<\/i>\u2019s continued relevance with the release of a deluxe version<\/a> in June 2022 on the album\u2019s 5th anniversary. The surprise deluxe album both celebrated the immense impact of Ctrl<\/i> and prepared fans for a new era of SZA music – which, after five long years, has finally arrived. <\/p>\n

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Anna Webber \/ Getty Images for Spotify<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

On December 9, SZA released her long-awaited sophomore album SOS<\/i>. The 23-track album shattered sales and streaming records with 318,000 units sold and 404.590 streams in its first week – the biggest streaming week ever for an R&B album. With such impressive figures posted since its release, SOS <\/i>has already captivated fans and music industry critics who praise the work for its stylistic variety and SZA for her vocal delivery.<\/p>\n

SOS<\/i> begins with the sound of Morse code<\/a> spelling out \u201cSOS\u201d on the title track, which is built on a sample of \u201cUntil I Found the Lord (My Soul Couldn\u2019t Rest<\/a>)\u201d by The Gabriel Hardeman Delegation – also famously sampled by Drake on \u201cChampagne Poetry<\/a>.\u201d At the end of the song, SZA interpolates lyrics and melody from Beyonc\u00e9\u2019s \u201cListen<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cKill Bill,\u201d a fan favorite upon the release of SOS<\/i>, highlights SZA\u2019s self-proclaimed jealous tendencies and fantasies of killing her ex and his new girlfriend. She vows, \u201cIf I can\u2019t have him, no one will.\u201d The song\u2019s title alludes to Quentin Tarantino\u2019s 2003 film<\/a> Kill Bill, <\/i>in which a female assassin murders an ex-boyfriend. SZA\u2019s toxic mentality is further emphasized by her admittance that she would prefer punishment over loneliness from her ex, for whom she still has feelings. \u201cI might kill my ex \/ I still love him though \/ Rather be in jail than alone,\u201d she sings. With over 84 million streams on Spotify, SZA\u2019s revenge anthem is a driving force behind the success of SOS<\/i>. As of December 23, 2022, \u201cKill Bill\u201d is the most-streamed song on SOS <\/i>(besides the singles) and has topped several R&B Billboard charts, as well as reaching number three on the Billboard Hot 100<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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Blair Caldwell \/ Vogue<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

While SZA is known for her genre-bending experimentation, she pays homage to classic, old school R&B and hip hop on tracks like \u201cLove Language,\u201d \u201cSnooze,\u201d and \u201cForgiveless,\u201d the latter featuring late rapper Ol\u2019 Dirty Bastard. The Babyface-produced \u201cSnooze\u201d simmers like a \u201890s slow jam, while \u201cLove Language\u201d includes an Aaliyah sample of “I Don’t Wanna<\/a>” immediately followed by a sample of SZA\u2019s own \u201cHit Different<\/a>.\u201d <\/p>\n

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YouTube<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The 33-year-old singer spits rhymes on the record for the first time ever, showcasing her rapping chops on \u201cSmoking on My Ex Pack.\u201d She also explores rock music on \u201cF2F,\u201d an alternative rock song featuring background vocals from Lizzo. Other major features on the album include Phoebe Bridgers on \u201cGhost in the Machine,\u201d Don Toliver on \u201cUsed,\u201d and Travis Scott on \u201cOpen Arms.\u201d The album\u2019s final few tracks include the three singles SZA released over the past few years prior to SOS <\/i>– \u201cGood Days\u201d (2020), \u201cI Hate U\u201d (2021), and \u201cShirt\u201d (2022).<\/p>\n

SZA recently announced her upcoming nineteen-date North American tour<\/a> in support of SOS, <\/i>which will begin on February 21, 2023 in Columbus, Ohio. <\/i>The tour will be her first arena tour and will feature Omar Apollo as the opening act. According to an Instagram Live<\/a>, SZA is currently in the process of filming several music videos for the album.<\/p>\n

Stream SOS <\/i>by SZA below on Spotify.<\/p>\n