Whoever was in the studio with Solána Rowe (SZA) the first time she hit the mic, should consider themselves exceptionally lucky.
The New Jersey raised songstress has a voice heaven sent. Godlike control with a unique tone that feels like lying down on soft sheets. There simply isn’t another voice like hers. Backing up her crazy choral ability comes a knack for writing emotionally complex lyrics that seem to heal her millions of fans.
For my mind, her magnum opus is ‘Good Days’ – a record released out of the blue on Christmas Day 2020. Built around an intriguing and hypnotic six-string hook thanks to producer Los Hendrix – ‘Good Days’ is an inner monologue of hope and encouragement, a reason to keep on, keeping on. A message to shed past and present negativities and focus on the light and love ahead of us.
SZA sings beautifully, her words tinged with the pain of a year that she’d rather forget. Not only did she lose her grandmother but three of her closest friends left the earth through illness, suicide and a drug overdose. As horrible as our lives can get sometimes, SZA clutches onto the belief that things will get better and does not let go. In her own words “You really have to choose to feel better. You have to. Have to. Because if you don’t, you just die.”
Throughout, SZA references the idea of a ‘good mind’ – highlighting how important it is to stay headstrong through bouts of darkness. As she cries, “Still wanna try, still believe in good days.”
Improve your mood. Strengthen your mind. Plunge into the mycologic psyche of one of America’s top tier artists’.
