SZA Single-handedly Saved R&B

            Back in 2014-2015, R&B was a dying genre. No one – and I mean no one – was listening to urban radio for the actual music anymore. And the music they were spinning in their daily rotation was certainly not R&B. Or was it? Around this time, R&B was transforming into a new form that incorporated more hip-hop elements than actual singing. I call this the “Say It” era – back when Bryson Tiller and Tory Lanez were the hottest things on SoundCloud. This was one of the shortest-lived eras of R&B, and rightfully so.

            R&B dried out after this. Our favorite “traditional” R&B artists started trying to sing over trap beats, and it just wasn’t working. They were not selling like they used to, none of them had seen a top 50 chart position since Jesus went home. Pop artists were now being labeled as R&B simply because they were black and seeing enough commercial success for the white people to nominate them for R&B categories as a “here, damn”. Now this is not to discredit artists like Kehlani who were creating quality tracks, but they just weren’t getting the shine they deserved. To put it candidly, it was trash.

            And then came CTRL.

            In 2017, no one was really focused on R&B or checking for its’ artists and hadn’t been for a minute. By this point all hope was lost in radio as a platform for R&B music worth listening to. But the release of CTRL completely changed that. SZA’s new sound was immediately sold as “alternative R&B”, a new term that had only been used by R&B connoisseurs. With elements of vulnerable, emotion-evoking songwriting that we hadn’t heard since Keyshia Cole’s “I should’ve cheated” and mind-blowing production that we hadn’t heard since… well, ever. It was evident that SZA was different. Her label, Top Dawg Entertainment, did an outstanding job at promoting the album and her artistry while showing the true humility and authenticity in their brand. Ctrl was one of the bestselling albums of 2017, and 2018, and 2019. Today, it is considered a timeless classic that will live on for decades.

            Not only was she different sonically, her style and personality were different. She was a genuine, kindhearted girl who was simply expressing herself in the most honest and vulnerable way possible. She was herself without antics or daily drama on The Shade Room – something R&B hadn’t really seen. On top of that, her fashion sense was fire and was distinct to her, down to the hair. Branding her as R&B’s new it girl was the best decision (by who, I’m not really sure yet) for her career. She became the face of alternative R&B – this new wave that no one was really familiar with, but they liked it. Despite having multiple projects previously, she was a fresh face to the masses, and they were eating her up!

            Thus, revamping a dying genre into a thriving sound with unbelievable potential.

            Following Ctrl, artists like Summer Walker, H.E.R, Ella Mai, and Ari Lennox have been able to catapult into success as R&B artists. The general public is now open to listening to R&B, and these women were able to reap those benefits. Even Ari Lennox credits SZA as the reason why people give a fuck about her style in music. SZA helped broaden the audience to allow these women to create authentic music and tell stories that were true to them.

            SZA carried R&B on her back in 2017 and started a whole new wave that opened the door for so many others. Put some respect on her name.