SZA, SOS | Album Review 💿

Despite a long wait, SZA makes a compelling comeback with her lengthy but high-quality sophomore album, SOS.

Sometimes, quality takes a bit longer than expected to deliver. For 🎙 SZA, her sophomore album, 💿 SOS, has been a long time coming. Finally, in December 2022, the 🏆 Grammy-winning R&B singer/songwriter delivered the goods.  SOS is comprised of 23 tracks and running nearly 70 minutes in duration.  Yes, SOS is lengthy, but the quality is undeniable – there are NO bad tracks.

“SOS”

SZA gets off to a strong start on SOS with – wait for it – 🤩 🎵 “SOS.” Though the opener runs just under two minutes in duration, SZA is on fire, melodically rapping over two samples, courtesy of 🎙 The Gabriel Hardeman Delegation and 🎙 Beyoncé. Among her best lines: “Comin’ back, this ain’t canned shit / I’m organic with my fresh squeezed.” SOS continues on an upward trajectory with 🤩 🎵 “Kill Bill,” which maintains brevity, running just north of two-and-a-half minutes. SZA sings gorgeously despite being pissed off.  Why? Perhaps you’ve seen the Quentin Tarantino films she’s referencing. She’s angry at her ex, asserting in initial the chorus, “I might kill my ex, not the best idea,” before eventually confirming she did kill him, and his new girlfriend: “I still love him, though / Rather be in hell than alone.”  SZA’s love pain, and violence, is our listening pleasure.

🤩 🎵 “Seek & Destroy” keeps SOS rolling without any drop off. The songwriting continues to be compelling and incredibly emotional.  The first verse shines, brilliantly centered around the titular lyric: “Permission to crash, collectin’ damages, boy /… Seek and destroy, all missiles deployed.” Of course, the chorus is catchier despite its simplicity and repetition (“Do it to you / I had to do it to you”).  Still, how about the brutal honesty on the bridge where, “Danger arise and I deflect it / New dick arrives and I erect it / Beggin’ my angels for protection / Thankin’ my stars, livin’ reckless, oh.” Sigh, it all comes back to a devastating break up. Also making “Seek & Destroy” so lethal – in the best way possible – is marvelous production work courtesy of 🎛 Carter Lang, Rob Bisel, Scum, and ThankGod4Cody.

“Low”

Can SOS remain hot AF? Of course! That is when 🤩 🎵 “Low” enters the mix, featuring a banging-ass backdrop (Bisel, 🎛 Alessandro Buccellati, and Aire Atlantica).  Think a modern brand of hip-hop soul.  SZA continues to impress with her pipes, while also shooting bullets with biting lyricism. “Got another side of me, I like to get it poppin’,” she asserts in the pre-chorus, adding, “But these bitches in my business got me outchea choosin’ violence.” Woo! Hot production and ample personality seal the deal on this gem. 🎵 “Love Language,” hence has a tough act to follow but the slow jam doesn’t disappoint.  Yes, it is smooth where the sound is concerned, but SZA isn’t soft with quick-paced, unapologetic lyrics.

“All of the love I seek living inside of me / I can’t see, I’m blind.”  Those introspective lyrics, excerpted from the chorus of 🎵 “Blind,” find SZA acknowledging her shortcomings in love.  Even so, as the song also highlights, it does not stop her from seeking validation from her ex, not to mention being vindictive (“I don’t wanna pipe down, rather get payback / Mama told me never shit where you lay at”).  “Blind” is a contradiction of sorts, one that many of us can relate to.

“Used”

“Niggas love to break my focus, bitch, I’m Obi Wan,” SZA asserts in the second verse of  🎵 “Used”. On this two-and-a-half minute joint, she’s assisted by 🎙 Don Toliver. Expectedly, Toliver provides quite the vibe on the melodic chorus.  Of course, SZA is a surefire vibe herself – her tone is gorgeous. Like many of the songs, “Used” is tuneful, even if you have to peek at the lyrics for clarification. 🎵 “Snooze” is no snooze fest, keeping SOS afloat and thriving 💪.  The attitude and assertiveness rolls on for SZA, who is clearly stuck on him.  Early on, she asserts, “I’d touch that fire for you / I do that three, four times again.” She goes on to say in the chorus, “I can’t lose when I’m with you / How can I snooze and miss the moment?” Indeed, especially when “Nobody do body like you do,” WOO! On 🎵 “Notice Me,” she isn’t concerned with being his girlfriend. “I’m just tryna be your person,” she states in the chorus.  It is an interesting idea because what does that mean? She’s failed at being his girlfriend.  In the process, she keeps it street and unapologetic with respectable results.

“Gone Girl”

“Squeezin’ too tight, boy, you’re losing me.” 🤩🎵 “Gone Girl” kicks off an incredible run of songs on SOS.  Fittingly, she references the film of the same title.  Like many of the musical selections, there are no shortage of memorable lines, such as, “I decide no matter the climate / Birthin’ bitches in my third trimester.” Say what? Of course, the best moment is the tuneful chorus where, “She’s gone, gone, girl, so gone, girl.” Ultimately, SZA appears to need more than what this man has to offer. Of course, she also seems to have no share of emotionally charged, love-driven issues.  Shout out the key change, something that is rare in so much of the R&B music of the 2020s. 

“Roll the clip and run it back, I’m really like that / I’m really not friendly, I need my credit, niggas hate that.” 🎵 “Smoking on my Ex Pack” get its chipmunk soul sound by sampling the 1981 song, 🎵 “Open Up Your Eyes” by 🎙 Webster Lewis. Even so, on this brief track – or interlude – SZA raps the sole verse.  She’s unapologetic, dropping no shortage of ‘smoking hot’ one-liners.  “Abracadabra, you niggas sideshow / I’m Bobbin’ like psycho / you gassin’ like Texaco,” she asserts, later stating, “I got your favorite rapper blocked,” and making it clear, “Them ‘ho’ accusations weak / Them ‘bitch’ accusations true.” Woo! It’s safe to say, SZA is on fire 🔥!

🤩 🎵 “Ghost in the Machine” featuring 🎙 Phoebe Bridgers keeps the momentum on the up and up. Who expected this collaboration? It speaks to the versatility of both musicians in all honesty.  SZA continues to be brutally honest, whether it’s “I just wanna fuck, eat, sleep, love happy,” as well as questions like, “Can you distract me from all the disaster?” The lyrics and theme intrigue with references to robots and social media catching the ear.  Bridgers arrives in the third verse and like SZA, she’s dropping that salty language too.  Besides the songwriting, the sound and production of “Ghost in the Machine” (Lang, Bisel, and 🎛 Matt Cohn) stands out too. It’s one of the best from SOS in my opinion.

“F2F”

“I been thinkin’ ‘bout you, haven’t got much sleep / Worried that you already done replaced me.” Oh, snap! On the rock-infused R&B cut, 🤩 🎵 “F2F,” SZA attempts to atone for missing her ex by having sex with other men – a good, old rebound! In the first verse, she adds, “Now I’m ovulatin’ and I need rough sex / Knowin’ you gon’ block me tomorrow, can you still come and get me?” Throughout the verses, she is brutally honest though she is most honest on the centerpiece, the chorus.  “Get a rise out of watchin’ you fall / Get a kick out of missin’ your call / … Hate that I can’t let go of you enough, this why,” she sings, continuing, “I fuck him ‘cause I miss you.” Welp, you can’t get much clearer than that! “F2F” is a brilliant stylistic shift for SZA while remaining tried and true thematically. It marks one of many awesome moments from SOS.

“How am I supposed to tell you / I don’t wanna see you with anyone, but me / Nobody gets me like you.” On 🤩 🎵 “Nobody Gets Me,” SZA is heartbroken about the end of her relationship. Like on “F2F,” she attempts to atone with sex with other guys – “Hurry now, baby, stick it in / ‘Fore the memories get to kickin’ in” – but ultimately, she understands that nobody else feels right for her other than her ex. “I pretend when I’m with a man, it’s you.” SZA clearly adored him and now he is out of the picture. Beyond the relatable narrative and lyrics, the music is a selling point too. The rhythmic guitar accompaniment is a nice touch, giving the record a simple, confessional feel. This is R&B with pop sensibilities. The melody is tuneful throughout, particularly the chorus where her vocals utterly slay. On the brief follow up, 🎵 “Conceited,” SZA has decided to bet on herself, marking a shift from focuses on being fulfilled by her ex. Even though it runs only two and a half minutes, she makes her point loud and clear.  Furthermore, it’s well-produced (ThankGod4Cody).

“Special” 

Despite betting on herself on “Conceited,” 🎵 “Special” finds SZA lamenting her lack of perfection. Early on, she asserts, “I wish I was that girl from that Gucci store,” later speaking about struggling with body image in order to impress him.  “Boy, you got me fucked  up, now I’m getting’ fucked up,” she sing in the second verse, adding, “Thinkin’ ‘bout us fucking, why you’d have to fuck her?” Yeah, she’s clearly not over him.  Her pain is our listening pleasure, with the chorus being the crowning achievement where her specialness has disappeared thanks to both him and her. 🎵 “Too Late” continues to find her desiring reconciliation with her ex.  She asks the right questions but given everything she’s opened up about at this point, it does indeed feel too late for them to ‘try again.’ Then there is 🎵 “Far” where she has moved so far away from who she was, all tied to this particular relationship.  “Far, far like I don’t recognize me / Far, far ‘cause I let you define me,” she sings in the chorus, continuing, “I’m far, far ‘ cause I can’t trust nobody / Far, stay far, so far.”  She makes strong points about how drastically a bad relationship and breakup can change you.

“Blood stain on my shirt / New bitch on my nerves / Old nigga got curved / Going back on my word / Damn, bitch, you so thirsty.” Woo! Now that’s an assertive chorus, SZA! She returned with a bang on 🤩 🎵 “Shirt”, where matters of the heart dominate. SZA appears to be on the losing end, letting this man totally mess her up.  In the chorus, excerpted above, she goes on to sing, “Still don’t know my worth / Still stressin’ perfection / Let you all in my mental / Got me lookin’ too desperate / Damn (You ain’t deserve).”  The verses and the pre-chorus set up the anxious, bothered feelings of the singer. She is self-aware, at least, asserting, “Feel the taste of resentment / Simmer in my skin.”  While we don’t wish her any of the love pain she’s experiencing, it’s sweet music to our ears.  So is the rhythmic production by 🎛 Rodney Jerkins and Freaky Rob, which gives her the perfect inspiration to perform, beyond the sus, seemingly unrequited love itself. All in all, she delivers the goods on.

“Open Arms”

🤩 🎵 “Open Arms,” the 20^th track, featuring 🎙 Travis Scott, marks another noteworthy moment. Scott provides a welcome contrast to SZA – quite the lit vibe – who sounds absolutely stunning here.  The big takeaway is devotion.  Meanwhile, “And if you wondered if I hate you (Fuck you).” Woo! 🤩 🎵 “I Hate U” marks another late, elite number from SOS.  It checks off all boxes: Epic vocals, lit production, and well-rounded, memorable songwriting. I don’t promote hate, but it never sounded so heavenly than on “I Hate U.”

“Good day in my mind, safe to take a step out / Get some air now, let yo edge out,” SZA sings on the opening lines of the first verse of 🤩 🎵 “Good Days”. Unfortunately, her ‘good day’ is derailed, as she goes on to state, “Too soon, I spoke / You be heavy in my mind, can you get the heck out?” SZA wrestles with moving past the past and embracing both now and the future.  “Gotta let go of the weight, can’t keep what’s holdin’ me,” she sings in the pre-chorus, continuing, “Choose to watch while the world break up in front of me.” “Good Days” is a delectable 4:40 in duration with solid production work courtesy of 🎛 Carter Long, Nascent, and Loshendrix, not to mention some guest vocals and songwriting by 🏆 Grammy-winner and virtuoso musician 🎙 Jacob Collier.  That personnel alone are enough to make a good day for SZA.  Of course, beyond the adversity, she keeps her head up and embraces those good days: “All the while, I’ll await my armored fate with a smile / I still wanna try, still believe in / Good days, god days, always.”

🎵 “Forgiveless” featuring 🎙 Ol’ Dirty Bastard concludes SOS with a bold, hip-hop aesthetic.  Naturally, ODB is sampled on the intro and outro, before SZA drops the verse and chorus. As she’s shown throughout the course of the album, she has no shortage of attitude as well as truly elite pipes.

Final Thoughts 💭 

To reiterate, SOS is a lengthy album. That said, the quality is undeniable – there are NO bad tracks. Furthermore, SZA sounds absolutely and utterly incredible. She’s potent whether rapping with bite or singing a vulnerable, introspective ballad.  It took five long years, but SOS was well worth the wait.

🤩 Gems 💎: “SOS,” “Kill Bill,” “Seek & Destroy,” “Low,” “Ghost in the Machine,” “F2F,” “Nobody Gets Me,” “Open Arms,” “I Hate U” & “Good Days”

🎙 SZA • 💿 SOS • 🏷 Top Dawg Entertainment / RCA • 🗓 2022

[📷: Top Dawg Entertainment / RCA]