SZA Explains How Rihanna & Rick Rubin Influenced Her Debut LP

Carl Williott | January 23, 2017 12:20 pm

Finally, SZA‘s debut album is arriving. The TDE singer threatened to retire from music at the end of last year, but now her first LP, CTRL, is set for February 3. And first single “Drew Barrymore” illustrates why there’s been so much anticipation about it for so long, and why she landed spots on Rihanna‘s ANTI and Kendrick Lamar‘s Untitled Unmastered.

Speaking of that Rihanna collab, SZA told Billboard, “Rihanna doesn’t give a fuck about anyone around her. She’s in her own space at all times. But she’s not rude — she’s comfortable. As a shy person, that was something cool to witness.”

She also explained how Rick Rubin‘s signature “reducer” instincts rubbed off on her. “I played him a bunch of songs, and he would tell me, ‘The more you take away from any piece, the more room you create for everything else to be beautiful and grow.’ I never felt that before, the editing urge. Once you strip everything down, you’re forced to say something.”

Read the full interview here.

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