SZA & The Album That Never Was
For a glorious moment in 2016, SZA’s self-titled LP was available for streaming on Tidal and Spotify. Dropped without warning, the 15-track set relayed the first signs of life from the sleeper sensation since her debut EP Z. Songs like “Castles” and “Terror Dome” layered sultry bouts of introspection over new waves of glossy synths. “Ice Moon” grasped at something more than the familiar soundscapes of post-aughts R&B.
At the time, a modest but devoted circle of fans (myself included) became deeply invested in new music from a notoriously elusive artist. 2 weeks later, however, the tape was taken down without comment. Besides a handful of Tweets and the cult chattering of hip-hop subreddits, the internet has been scrubbed clean of any trace of SZA’s 2016 release. What, then, should fans make of this curious incident? And more importantly, do we have any chance of recovering this fleeting slice of synth wonder?
Below you’ll find a series of questions (some answered, some not) I’ve compiled in my 5 years of intense sleuthing.
You’re telling me no one batted an eye when the album of a multi-platinum artist vanished into thin air?
Yes and no. The SZA of 2016 was not yet the musical icon we know and love today. This was before CTRL, before Grammy nominations, top ten features, and unrivaled stardom in the R&B multi-verse. Like the Mahalia or Arlo Parks of 2021, SZA was a revered name in underground circles, respected enough to command features from Kendrick, but a long ways away from mainstream radio success. Relative anonymity is the most plausible reason for her surprise LP’s lack of press coverage. If this happened today, the internet would implode.
Can we still listen to the album tracks anywhere?
Fortunately, yes. What fans initially believed was new music from the R&B singer was actually an amalgamation of tracks from previously self-released EPs. Though the 15-track unit has been removed from streaming services, most of its demos can still be found on producer cuts of EPs S and See.SZA.Run uploaded to Soundcloud. Though it’s unconfirmed, these are likely the tracks that caught the attention of rap legend Terrence “Punch” Henderson, who secured SZA’s contract with Top Dawg Entertainment.
So…was this all just a really elaborate leak?
Definitely no. The set was released on SZA’s official streaming platforms and bore her trademark. She even expressed excitement about the LP a few days after the drop on her Twitter.
If this wasn’t a leak, why was the album pulled?
While no one really knows, speculation runs rampant. The songstress has never been shy about her struggles with anxiety or her tumultuous relationship with the music industry. In a 2017 interview with the Guardian, she revealed how her record label TDE forced her to hand over the hard drive for CTRL while she was still agonizing over song selection. “[If they gave] me another month, it would have been something completely different,” she claims. A similar battle with her record label or, perhaps, sampling disputes may be responsible for the LP’s sudden disappearance.
While this lost album remains somewhat of a mystery, fans can at least take comfort in its robust Soundcloud documentation and SZA’s promise of new music sometime in 2021.
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