SZA Talks Extreme Anxiety In Lieu of Successful SOS Project

SZA has been burning up the charts with her hit album SOS. However, the process hasn’t been peaches and cream, and on February 8, the talented performer opened up about the album and the anxiety that accompanied it.

Who is SZA?

SZA, formerly known as Solani Imani Rowe, entered the industry as a one-of-a-kind artist with a uniquely creative and signature approach. Although 2012 would see the release of her self-made EP’s, according to All Music, she wouldn’t be signed to a label until 2014. “Z” would be her first release under a label. As All Music goes on to note, the project debuted at number 39 on the Billboard 200. In 2017 her first full album, CTRL, would be released. This album came in at number three on the Billboard 200 and was a massive signifier of SZA’s impending rise. SZA’s career-defining album SOS dropped in 2022, inevitably showcasing her as the talented superpower she was. She took a position of dominance with her album, remaining at the top of the Billboard for seven weeks straight. In fact, the album was so successful that it rivaled a record set by Whitney Houston and broke a record set by Janet Jackson. According to a source, “SZA’s [SOS] broke a 1993 record set by Janet Jackson and became the only R&B album by any act to spend this many consecutive weeks at No. 1 since then.”

Success Can Be Humbling

Despite SZA’s record-breaking achievements, she remains humble and transparent. SZA makes no qualms about the ardor of making the SOS album. In her latest interview, the artist admits that the anxiety almost took her out. According to the New York Times, “Leading up to the release of SZA’s album “SOS,” she suffered the fits and starts much like many artists experience before their projects premiere.”

SZA On The Period Before Album Release

While anxiety is part and parcel of any major undertaking, SZA was expressly hard on herself. According to SZA,

“She didn’t expect anything. But rather, she told herself, I’m ready for the hate, backlash, or disappointment. … I’m not expecting people to say, Oh, my God, this album is so good. But I’m expecting people to be like, Y’all hyped this b**** up too much.”

And that was only half of it.

Nothing New to See Here

SZA admits that this is not abnormal behavior for her. In fact, her emotional responses before something big happens in her life are often explosive and erratic. In the artist’s words.

“I cry a lot prior to big things, like releases. Or I’ll get angry, mean. And I realize I’m a b**** right now because I’m scared. Much of that occurred during this last section of putting this album together — lashing out and freaking out.”

SZA’s Courage

It’s one thing to share your heart with the world through music. It’s another to share core-shaking vulnerabilities. But SZA has boldly shared a side of herself she owes to no one. And that makes SZA personable and relatable but even more so, a standup individual who is as much courageous as she is super talented.

In Closing

Success is not easy by any means. And artists like SZA, who fight everything within them to put their art in front of the world, deserve to be celebrated. They demonstrate the strength and courage it takes to live your dream despite what others may see as limitations. And that is a powerful example to set.

Written by: Renae Richardson