SZA

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**Solána Imani Rowe** (born November 8, 1989), known professionally as **SZA** (/ˈsɪzə/), is an American singer and songwriter. Born in St. Louis, Missouri, she began making music in the early 2010s, releasing two extended plays—*See.SZA.Run* and *S*—before signing with the hip hop record label Top Dawg Entertainment, through which she released *Z*, her third EP and first retail release.

SZA's debut studio album, *Ctrl*, was released on June 9, 2017, to universal acclaim from music critics. It debuted at number three on the US *Billboard* 200 and was eventually certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). The album and its songs were nominated for four Grammy Awards and SZA was nominated for Best New Artist at the 60th annual ceremony. *Ctrl* was ranked as the best album of 2017 by *Time*. That year, she was also featured on Maroon 5's hit single "What Lovers Do". The next year, she collaborated with Kendrick Lamar to create "All the Stars" for the *Black Panther* soundtrack; the song was nominated for the Golden Globe Award and the Academy Award for Best Original Song. In 2021, her single "Good Days" became popular on streaming platforms and became her first solo top 10 hit on the *Billboard* Hot 100.

SZA is a neo soul singer, whose music has been described as alternative R&B, with elements of soul, hip hop, minimalist R&B, indie rock, cloud rap, witch house, and chillwave. SZA's lyrics are described as "unravelling" and her songs often revolve around themes of sexuality, nostalgia, and abandonment.

## Early life

Solána Imani Rowe was born on November 8, 1989 in St. Louis, Missouri and raised in Maplewood, New Jersey. Her father was an executive producer at CNN, while her mother was an executive at AT&T. Rowe was born to a Christian mother and a Muslim father. She has an older half-sister named Tiffany Daniels, and an older brother, Daniel, a rapper named Manhattan. She was raised as an orthodox Muslim.

It's like the belief in one God, all the pillars of Islam et cetera, and I think those are ideas that will never leave me, those make sense in my spirit. It's the way that I connect with God; it has always made sense to me. I think I would love to wear my hijab but I feel like I don't wanna wear my hijab and talk crazy on stage and be in videos with Travis Scott. Like I don't wanna be disrespectful because I have too much love and respect for the religion, for my father, and for myself.
She attended a Muslim prep school every day after her regular schooling. However, due to the September 11 attacks, Rowe was subjected to bullying in 7th grade, leading her to stop wearing her hijab. Rowe attended Columbia High School, where she was very active in sports, including gymnastics and cheerleading. After graduating from high school in 2008, Rowe later went to three separate colleges, finally settling at Delaware State University to study marine biology. She eventually dropped out in her last semester; however, she immediately started taking on random jobs in order to make money. Rowe formed her stage name from the Supreme Alphabet, taking influence from rapper RZA of the Wu-Tang Clan. The last two letters in her name stand for Zig-Zag and Allah, while the first letter S can mean either savior or sovereign.

## Awards and Nominations

Throughout her career, SZA has earned nine Grammy nominations, a Golden Globe nomination, and an Academy Award nomination. She has earned one Billboard Music Award and received the "Rulebreaker Award" at the Billboard Women in Music event in 2018. SZA also won the Soul Train Music Award for Best New Artist in 2017 and the BET Award for Best New Artist in 2018.