Now Playing: SZA – Good Days

Born in St. Louis and raised in Maplewood, NJ as Solána Rowe, five-time Grammy nominee SZA grew up listening to classic and avant-garde jazz, alternative, and rap. She renamed herself finding inspiration within the Supreme Alphabet: the ‘S’ stands for savior or sovereign, the ‘Z’ for zig-zag, and the ‘A’ for Allah.

Now, one of the redefining voices of today’s contemporary music era, SZA entered the music scene in 2012 with her first critically acclaimed EP, See.SZA.Run, consecutively followed by S and Z, both to rave reviews. In 2013, SZA signed to Top Dawg Entertainment (TDE), being the first female artist to join the label. SZA wrote and performed on Rihanna’s Anti single “Consideration” in 2016 and helped write Nicki Minaj and Beyonce’s “Feelin Myself” in 2014.

Revered for its raw and honest lyrics, her major label debut album Ctrl (TDE/RCA) landed at No. 1 on Billboard’s R&B Albums chart, No. 2 on the R&B/Hip Hop Albums chart and, No. 3 on the Billboard 200 chart, according to Nielsen Music. Noisey describes Ctrl as “14 tracks of the dreamy R&B lusciousness that we’ve come to know and love the New Jersey singer-songwriter for,” while Pitchfork proclaims it “an opulent, raw R&B album that constantly tests the borders of the genre.” Ctrl is currently RIAA certified Platinum, while “Love Galore” and “The Weekend” are certified double Platinum, and “Broken Clocks” and “Garden (Say It Like Dat)” are certified Gold.

Listen for “Better Days” on Sunday Night Slow Jams with R Dub!