Solána Imani Rowe, aka SZA, is an American singer and songwriter.

SZA was born in Saint Louis, Missouri, and later relocated to Maplewood, New Jersey. In October 2012, SZA self-released her debut EP, See.SZA.Run, which she followed up with her second EP, S, in April 2013. In July 2013, it was revealed that she had signed to the hip-hop record label Top Dawg Entertainment, through which she released Z, her third EP, and first retail release, in April 2014.

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, while SZA was nominated for Best New Artist at the 60th annual ceremony. Ctrl was ranked as the best album of 2017 by Time.

SZA is a neo-soul singer whose music has been described as alternative R&B, with elements of soul, hip hop, minimalist R&B, cloud rap, witch house, and chillwave. SZA's lyrics are described as "unraveling," Her songs often revolve around sexuality, nostalgia, and abandonment themes. SZA cites various artists as influences, including Ella Fitzgerald, Meelah, Björk, Jamiroquai, and Lauryn Hill. SZA also takes effect from non-musical artists, including filmmaker Spike Lee.

Her father was an executive producer at CNN, while her mother was an executive at AT&T. Rowe was born to African American parents, a Christian mother, and a Muslim father. She was raised as an orthodox Muslim and had an older half-sister named Tiffany Daniels. She has said of her religious beliefs:

It’s like the belief in one God, all the pillars of Islam, et cetera, and I think those ideas will never leave me; those make sense in my spirit. It’s how I connect with God; it has always made sense. I would love to wear my hijab, but I feel like I don’t want to wear my hijab and talk crazy on stage and be in videos with Travis Scott. Like I don’t want to be disrespectful because I have too much love and respect for the religion, my father, and myself.

She attended a Muslim prep school every day after her regular schooling. Rowe attended Columbia High School, where she was active in sports, including gymnastics and cheerleading. However, due to the September 11 attacks, Rowe was subjected to bullying, leading her to stop wearing her hijab. As a high school sophomore, she was among the best United States gymnasts.

After graduating high school, Rowe went to Delaware State University to study marine biology. She eventually graduated but started taking random jobs immediately to make money. Rowe formed her stage name from the Supreme Alphabet, taking influence from rapper RZA; the last two letters in her name stand for Zig-Zag and Allah, while the first letter Rowe says can mean either savior or sovereign.

SZA first met members of Top Dawg Entertainment during the CMJ 2011, when her boyfriend's clothing company sponsored a show in which Kendrick Lamar was performing. Her early music was given to TDE president Terrence "Punch" Henderson, who liked the material and stayed in touch with her. SZA's early music was recorded with her friends and neighbors in which they "stole a bunch of beats off the Internet." On October 29, 2012, SZA self-released her debut EP, See.SZA.Run.

On April 10, 2013, SZA released her second EP, S, which was met with positive reviews from music critics. SZA promoted the extended play by releasing a music video for the song "Ice Moon," directed by Lemar & Daily. On July 14, 2013, it was announced that Top Dawg had signed SZA.

In October 2013, SZA went on a four-show tour with the Swedish band Little Dragon, starting on October 17 at the El Rey Theater in Los Angeles and ending on October 24 at the Music Hall of Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NY.

In December 2013, SZA released the song "Teen Spirit," followed by a remix featuring American rapper 50 Cent and a music video directed by APLUSFILMZ. In 2014, SZA featured on various songs from her label-mates albums, including two songs for Isaiah Rashad's debut EP, Cilvia Demo, and featuring on Schoolboy Q's debut studio album, Oxymoron.

On March 26, 2014, R&B artist SZA released the single "Child's Play" featuring Chance the Rapper, produced by Dae One & XXYYXX. Her debut studio EP, titled Z, was released on April 8, 2014, and was preceded by the release of the lead single, "Babylon," which was accompanied by a music video directed by APLUSFILMZ. SZA performed several performance showcases to promote Z at the SXSW Music Festival in Austin, Texas.

SZA made her chart debut in the UK, where Z charted at number thirty-two, on the R&B Charts, during the week ending April 19, 2014. Z debuted on the US Billboard 200 at number thirty-nine, selling 6,980 copies in its opening week; the album also peaked at number nine on the Billboard Hip-Hop/R&B chart.

In May 2014, SZA announced she was planning to embark on a local tour and also began recording her third EP, A. In July 2014, SZA featured on Kitty Cash's single "Moodring." Later that month, SZA released a collaboration with Jill Scott called "Divinity." On July 11, 2014, SZA released a video for her song "Julia" from Z. In early October, Jhene Aiko tweeted SZA, which led to speculation that the two would be working together; however, on October 23, 2014, Aiko announced that she would be headlining a tour entitled "Enter The Void tour" which would be supported by SZA and The Internet. The time began on December 12 at Club Nokia in Los Angeles, California. On November 18, 2014, SZA released a song called "Sobriety."

In September 2014, SZA revealed that A, initially planned as a third EP, would be released as her debut studio instead. While working on her debut album, SZA began writing songs for other artists, including Beyoncé, Nicki Minaj, and Rihanna. Along with Rihanna and Tyran Donaldson, SZA co-wrote a piece entitled "Consideration," which was featured on Rihanna's eighth studio album Anti (2016); besides writing, SZA was also featured on the track. SZA later performed "Consideration" with Rihanna live for the first time at the 2016 Brit Awards on February 24, 2016.

In January 2017, SZA announced her debut album would be titled Ctrl instead of A. Also that month, she performed the lead single from Ctrl, "Drew Barrymore," on Jimmy Kimmel Live!

On April 28, 2017, SZA announced that she had signed her first major-label recording contract with RCA Records. On June 9, 2017, SZA released her debut album, Ctrl, to universal acclaim from music critics, scoring an 86 out of 100 rating on Metacritic. Ctrl debuted at number three on the US Billboard 200, with 60,000 album-equivalent units, of which 25,000 were pure album sales; the album was supported by several singles, including "Love Galore," which peaked in the top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100 chart and was later certified platinum. Ctrl was ranked as the best album of 2017 by Time.

On July 5, 2017, SZA announced an official North American headlining concert tour titled Ctrl the Tour to promote the album further. The time began on August 20, 2017, in Providence, Rhode Island, at Fête Music Hall and is scheduled to conclude on December 22, 2017, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, at The Fillmore Philadelphia. De

In August 2017, SZA collaborated with American pop-rock band Maroon 5 on their single "What Lovers Do" from their sixth studio album. The single reached number 9 on the Billboard Hot 100. This marked SZA's first top 10 hits as a featured artist on the hot 100. The following month SZA released a song entitled "Quicksand," which appeared on the soundtrack for HBO's Insecure, and, alongside Khalid and Post Malone, was featured on the remix version of Lorde's single "Homemade Dynamite," from her second studio album Melodrama. Also, in 2017, SZA announced that she had been working on a joint album with Mark Ronson and Tame Impala.

On November 28, 2017, SZA received five Grammy nominations, including one for Best New Artist. She received the most nominations of any female artist for the 2018 Awards and was the fourth most nominated artist. Despite this, she did not win any of the nominated awards.

In January 2018, SZA featured Kendrick Lamar on the track "All the Stars," released as the lead single to the Marvel Studios superhero film Black Panther soundtrack album. The single peaked at number 7 on the Billboard Hot 100, making SZA's second top 10 hit on the chart, after Maroon 5 "What Lovers Do," which peaked at number 9. SZA collaborated with Cardi B on the track "I Do" for the album Invasion of Privacy.

SZA's vocal style has been described as taking on the "lilt" of a jazz singer. SZA is known as TDE's first female signee and first singer, which also drew attention during the early stages of her career. According to Marissa G. Muller of Rolling Stone magazine, Rowe's vocals alternate between a "vapory husk and a sky-high falsetto." Jordan Sargent of Pitchfork magazine labeled Rowe's vocals "chillwave" and "ethereal." SZA disputes her music being labeled as hip-hop, R&B, and pop, stating she often listens to music, including Stevie Nicks, classical jazz, folk, and rap. Further, she said: "when you try to label it [her music], you remove the option for it to be limitless. It diminishes the music.” SZA began writing songs due to being "passionate" about writing and enjoying poetry; when writing lyrics, SZA "freestyles" them to express whatever comes to her "mind," noting that it does not always make sense to herself. Thematically, SZA's work contains "unraveling lyrics" that touch upon sexuality, nostalgia, and abandonment themes.

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