SZA Opens Up About Songwriting Process for Upcoming Album ‘LANA’

SZA’s highly anticipated third studio album, LANA, is on the horizon, and fans are eager for its release. Though the Top Dawg Entertainment artist hasn’t revealed much since confirming the album back in September, she shared insight into her creative process during an October 21 chat with Kendrick Lamar for Harper’s Bazaar.

While the conversation largely focused on Lamar’s monumental year and his reflective single “Not Like Us,” it shifted toward SZA’s own journey. The Ctrl singer opened up about her struggles with vulnerability in songwriting, reflecting on a track she wrote in summer 2023 that she ultimately couldn’t release due to its raw honesty.

“When I’m in the studio, it hurts too much sometimes. Maybe that’s why I tap in and pretend to be other people,” SZA revealed. “It’s easier to be me through their eyes than it is to sit with some of the really harsh things that I say about myself to myself.”

She elaborated on how embodying other artists like Frank Ocean or Future helps her confront personal truths in a less painful way. “I guess I want to say nicer things about myself. So, I’m like, I guess I shouldn’t look through my eyes. I should look through somebody else’s.”

SZA also reflected on Kendrick Lamar’s Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers, stating that the album inspired her to “strip the ego from the bottom” of her own work. Though SZA and Ocean have yet to collaborate officially, she noted their artistic connection, and she has worked with Future on tracks like DJ Khaled’s “BEAUTIFUL” and Travis Scott’s “TELEKINESIS.”

Earlier this year, SZA released “Saturn” in various formats, but it’s unclear whether the track will be featured on LANA. While no release date has been confirmed, the project has already generated buzz following a leak.

Fans can expect more introspective and emotionally charged music from SZA when LANA finally drops.