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SZA sings and raps fluidly on her latest album, which features frequent medium tempos and romantic imagery reminiscent of Luther Vandross, Minnie Riperton, and the “Quiet Storm” era of 1980s R&B.
Terry Gross, host:
This is fresh air. Five years after the release of Siza’s debut album ‘Ctrl’, she has a new album called ‘SOS’. Released late last year, it quickly reached her No. 1 spot on Billboard’s Top 200 chart. Rock critic Ken Tucker listens to her 23-song collection that spans pop, hip-hop, and R&B. And he thinks “SOS” ended last year with a bang that still reverberates.
(song sound bite, “NOTICE ME”)
SZA: (singing) You are in my heart. I can’t regret the time I spent with you. And I’m still wondering if you notice me, yes.
KEN TUCKER, BYLINE: Five years ago, SZA’s debut collection Ctrl struck a chord with many listeners with its portraits of young women going through change with conflicting emotions, ambition and insecurity, awkwardness and rebellious confidence. It pierced my heart. With his new album SOS, SZA describes his world with even more precision and a bittersweet edge. For example, in her song “Shirt,” she wants to share her romantic disappointments and urges her listeners to “feel the taste of her resentment.”
(song sound bite, “SHIRT”)
SZA: (singing) Kiss me dangerous. I was so lost that you weren’t around me. Become anxious. Lead me and don’t look back it’s all about you. in pitch darkness. I feel lost, but I love you. My guilt and all the comfort around me – all I got now. Feel the taste of resentment. Boil in my skin Blood stains on your shirt…
Tucker: Siza, in her early thirties, was born Solana Imani Lowe. Raised in a devout Muslim household and in Maplewood, New Jersey, she describes her childhood as being very protective and very conservative. Meanwhile, he’s a CNN producer and her mother is an AT&T executive, and SZA definitely looks connected to the wider world. She sings and raps in a fluid way, making her crouch conversational. The instruments behind her emphasize hip-hop rhythms, but the frequent medium tempos and romantic imagery recall her R&B’s quiet stormy days in the 1980s. We hear Luther Vandross, Minnie Riperton and Peabo Bryson approaching.
(song sound bite, “GONE GIRL”)
SZA: (singing) We need more space and security. I need fewer voices, just you and me. We need your touch, not your scrutiny. Too tight, boy, you’re losing me. Boy, you’re losing – go, go, girl, go, girl. Better learn how to face it. She’s gone, gone girl. she’s a gone girl You will never take her place. She’s gone, girl gone, girl gone Better learn how to face it. She’s gone, gone girl. she’s a gone girl
TUCKER: Over the course of this substantial 23-track album, we play a couple of songs briefly to hint at SZA’s range. On “Ghost In The Machine,” one of her best songs here, SZA creates an eerie soundscape, letting her voice meander in and around the melody. Her voice twists with desperation about impending disaster. You’re not sure if she’s talking about the end of a relationship or the end of the world.
(song soundbite, “Ghost in the Machine”)
SZA: (singing) All disgusting, conversations are boring. what did you hear about I hate her, I disagree, I did that first. I give – I just want – eat, sleep, love and be happy. can you make me happy can you make me happy Can you distract me from all the disasters? Can you touch me and don’t call me later? Can you hate me and hide it with laughter? Will you take me to What’s the password? I need humanity. Lacking humanity and drowning in vanity. craving for humanity.
Tucker: There are moments when SZA goes into singer-songwriter mode. She outdid Taylor (ph) Taylor Swift on the song “F2F,” and performed here on “Nobody Gets Me,” with a strumming acoustic guitar and enough love to send big love. With lyrics that say no, in kind.
(song sound bite, “NOBODY GETS ME”)
SZA: (singing) Nobody understands me. They took me to the ballet. you suggested I went on the road You left me because you were feeling empty. Now I’m stuck dealing with deadbeats. If I’m real, I’m worth less. If I were you I wouldn’t take me back When I’m with a guy, pretend it’s you. And I know it’s too late I don’t want to lose what’s left of you how should i tell? I don’t want to see you with anyone but me. nobody gets me like you How am I to let you go? Only be me when I’m with you. no one catches me you do. you do. no one catches me you do.
Tucker: There’s a song on this album where SZA fantasizes about killing her ex-boyfriend and another where she says I’m still playing the victim. But one of the best things about “SOS” is that it rejects the simple notion of victim versus perpetrator. These new songs resist listeners’ attempts to understand her true SZA. She makes music that’s more concerned with her feelings of wanting to know what you think of her life.
GROSS: Ken Tucker has reviewed SZA’s new album “SOS”. His FRESH AIR guest tomorrow is long-distance runner Lauren Freshman. She is now making the sports world aware of the differences between male and female bodies, the practice of causing girls to become anorexic, lose their periods, and ultimately disrupt hormonal function that is essential for building healthy bones and healthy bodies. I am a coach and activist working to stop racism. body. She knows this from her research and her personal experience. She’s writing her new memoir called Good For A Girl. We hope you will join us.
(song sound bite, “SEEK & DESTROY”)
SZA: (singing) You push me beyond my capabilities. Permission to crash, damages, baby. No need to reach or grab for more clarity. Find and destroy all deployed missiles. do it to you do it to you i had to do it to you do it to you don’t let me do it do it to you do it to you
GROSS: FRESH AIR Executive Producer is Danny Miller. Our Technical His Director and Engineer is Audrey Bentham and today he is with Adam Staniszewski doing additional engineering. Interviews and reviews written and edited by Amy Surritt, Phyllis Myers, Sam Briger, Lauren Krenzel, Heidi Samman, Therese Madden, Anne-Marie Baldonado, Thea Chaloner, Seth Kelly, Susan Nyacundi, and Joel Wolfram. Our Digital Media Producer is Molly Seavy-Nesper. Roberta Shorrock will direct the show. I’m Terry Gross.
(song sound bite, “SEEK & DESTROY”)
SZA: (singing) I’ve messed everything up so leave it all to me. All I need now is space. do it to you do it to you
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