Having previously aligned musical forces in 2023 on the remix of ‘Special,’ Lizzo and SZA have been teasing clips from the studio as they work on something for the former musician’s forthcoming “mixtape”.
“Working on a guest star for bookie Lizzo’s new mixtape [heart emoji],’ captioned one of SZA’s Instagram Story posts.
In a 2023 UPROXX interview, about their friendship, the artist (born Solána Imani Rowe) stated:
“Me and Lizzo, we’ve been friends since, like, 2013, but it was very organic and very random. One day we were on the same tour, and I was like, ‘We’re about to drive out to Lake Michigan, do you want to come?’ And she was like, ‘Yeah, let’s go.’ And then we just got drunk and hung out, and we kept doing that, and then our lives and careers progressed, and we kept talking and hanging out. The other day, I went over to her house. My tummy was hurting because I ate too much, and she gave me a muumuu, and we just laid in the yard and did nothing, and I was like, ‘Yeah, this is what the f*** friendship is about.’”
In March, Lizzo confirmed the completion of her new album Love in Real Life, and the singer/songwriter took to Instagram about her productive day, after she “finished” her forthcoming fifth studio LP, writing “ALBUM IS DONE YALL! ASTROLOGY EXPERTS Do my mercury got micro braids? Cus I got an emergency root canal, announced SNL finished my album all in one day today (sic)”
The now 37-year old artist (born Melissa Viviane Jefferson) recently took to X about the negative reviews of her song ‘Still Bad,’ writing:
“Saying my brand of ‘poptimism’ doesn’t work in a ‘post Covid world’ is a lazy take … As if I didn’t release ‘about damn time’ post pandemic …” “As if I didn’t write [her song] ‘About Damn Time’ to be a post lockdown anthem to inspire us to get outside and together again. And was successful at it btw … ” “Same people saying my music is ‘too optimistic’ would’ve been real mad in the 60s at James Brown and Motown … “Still Bad is a break-up song with the world. It literally starts with me saying: ‘I’m bouta throw my phone away’ it’s a call to action for the negativity we experience on our phones and how we need to disengage and recenter. The girls that get it, get it …” “In the music video I’m literally taking my power back from the ‘birds’ (tweets) that tried to keep me down with negativity …” “I think seeing and hearing a black woman make real music with radical joy triggers miserable people … but I follow in the footsteps of Janet [Jackson], of Funkadelic, of Earth Wind and Fire … nobody’s doing it like me for Us. And I stand on that.” “Imagine listening to ‘say it loud I’m black and I’m proud’ and saying it’s too optimistic … Imagine listening to [OutKast song] ‘Hey Yah’ and saying it’s too poppy… what Andre [Andre 3000] say? Yall don’t wanna listen ya just wanna hate …” “Aretha [Franklin] and Whitney [Houston] got backlash for being ‘too pop’ and they kept going… and so will I …” “I’m out here reclaiming rock n roll for US … (sic)”
Keep up with the latest trending music news by following us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram
Author: Al Denté
Photo: Raph_PH