SZA’s Return
SZA - the popular black R&B artist released her debut studio album “CTRL,” June 9, 2017.
She released 14 songs with features from black male rappers like Travis Scott and Kendrick Lamar. Her raspy, sensual tone made her voice unique and captivated fans of R&B around the world. Hit songs like Love Galore, The Weekend, Garden(Say It Like Dat), and Broken Clocks “were hits of 2017.” CTRL was the album of the summer, allowing her to receive multiple Grammy nominations and winning an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding New Artist. After experiencing some problems with her voice, SZA tweeted she was quitting music and that CTRL would be her last album. When the world needed her most, she vanished….
Three years later, on September 4th, 2020, SZA released a music video for ‘Hit Different featuring Ty Dolla $ign. A few weeks prior to her music video release, SZA was on Twitter, speaking about her wanting to release music, but waiting on the green light from TDE’s President, Punch. On September 4th, fans got a single and visual from SZA, which was long overdue.
Her five-minute video, Hit Different, was directed by her and choreographed by Parris Goebel. Hit Different was produced by the Neptunes and composed by Pharrell and SZA, just to name a few credits. The music video starts with Pharrell’s signature four-count beat and a solo shot of SZA, an introduction performance featuring all Black/Brown-skinned dancers, and herself in an all-orange outfit with a crop tank top, cargo pants, and sneakers. Scenes in the video featured a junkyard, and a barn, with a country setting.The style of the video was very relaxed, looked natural, and free-spirited. The outfits were a combination of sexy and cool, featuring crop tops, oversized shirts, cargo pants, and bikinis.
When analyzing the song’s lyrics, like most of SZA’s songs, she speaks about her relationship/connection with a man.
Verse 1
- She expresses her attraction for a man, even though he is technically not her man. Their relationship is toxic in a sort of way, where she falls more in love with him in each argument. She is also aware of the unhealthy relationship with the lyrics, “Somethin’ wrong with me” and “You wrong, but I can’t get along without you.”
Pre-Chorus
- She states that mirrors inside her recognize him, showing that she is reflecting him. “The line is reminiscent of the quote from a famous Persian poet, Rumi: “This mirror inside me shows. I run from my body. I run from my spirit. I do not belong anywhere.” She also sings, “Please don’t deny me,” begging for his affirmation that they should be together.
Verse 2
- Her attitude then switches from passion to pain. He calls her up whenever he wants (booty call), and she’s feeling some type of way, “saying,” she’ll get a new man. She’ll still be around him even though he doesn’t want a real relationship with her. She “pretends” he is her man by giving him relationship benefits without the title. She doesn’t want him around her, for she makes bad decisions around him. She compares her attraction to him like the force of a wading river, remaining cool even when he glides along with another girl. “You a wild one, and I’m wading in you like it’s cool water. Like it’s cool when you pull up boo’d up with a new one and it’s not me.”
Chorus (SZA and Ty Dolla $ign)
- The chorus repeatedly repeats “hit different,” which is the song’s title and explains and describes the man she is into. Her feelings towards him are in a consuming way, where it’s constant and cannot be controlled. “Hit different when I’m sitting here alone all by myself. Hit different when I think you might be with somebody else.” She has feelings towards this man, whose feelings for her in return are not as strong. Her overwhelming feelings for him are hitting her in a different way she has never experienced or ever expected.
When first watching the music video, one aspect that really sold it for me was the Black backup dancers and SZA’s performance with them. The dancers were all Brown-skinned or dark-skinned with varying hairstyles, weaves, braids, natural hair, etc. SZA highlighting Black women and their talent was enlightening and made the music video more powerful. SZA doesn’t normally dance in her videos. She usually floats around angelic-like, capturing the camera’s attention. In Hit Different, SZA was giving a performance. With her dancing, I believe it took the video to another level and showed how much she is improving as an artist.
The last two minutes featured a different song and a different ambiance.. The song is called “Good Days,” featured and produced by Jacob Collier, which has yet to be released. The video switched to only SZA with mid-length braids, braided bangs, completed with orange, brown, and yellow beads while wearing a brown bikini. Her surroundings featured a backdrop of broken wooden chairs, tables, and more while leaning on a brown gymnastics pommel horse. The aesthetic was chill and lullaby-like. Only having us focus on the SZA and her voice alone.
The quick song, “Good Days,” connects with “Hit Different,” showing the aftermath of his destructive ways. “Good Days,” represents the man toiled with her mind, body, and soul.
Verse 1 (SZA and Jacob Collier)
- The day started good, referencing having a good mental day in her mind, but spoke too soon when she began thinking about him. He comes into her mind, unannounced and unwanted, which affects her attitude and mood. She sings, “I was on my empty mind shit.” Being empty-minded usually correlates with absent-minded and is defined as ‘inattentive to what claims or demands consideration.” “I try to keep from losing the rest of me. I worry that I wasted the best of me on you, baby you don’t care.” She tried to keep the remaining of herself distracted, so thoughts of him won’t take up her mind, her time, or her happiness. “Tryna make sense of loose change.” Uses a homophone: sense/cents and wordplay with cents and loose change. He has her fighting her mind when trying to erase him from her thoughts. Trying to let go of him is weighing her down mentally and physically. “All the while, I’ll await my armored fate with a smile.” Her fate is protected with armor. Regardless of what happens, everything happens for a reason. She will greet her destiny with a smile and warmth of positivity.
Chorus (SZA and Jacob Collier)
- She still wants to try living and believing in good days for good days, and positive visions remain in her mind.
Verse 2 (SZA and Jacob Collier)
- She denies her fears and limitations that are holding her back from living in good days. “Feeling like (Whoa), feeling like Jericho. Feeling Job when he lost his shit. Gotta hold my own. My own cross to bear alone.” She is referencing the bible. She compares herself to Jericho, like the Battle of Jericho, in the book of Joshua. In Jericho’s city, the walls fell. SZA feels like the walls that protect her are falling, making her vulnerable and losing control of herself. She compares herself to Job. Satan tests Job’s faith, and he loses his family, property, and health. SZA is losing control of her mind, letting happiness and peace become challenged by the thought of this man who causes her suffering. She speaks about bearing her cross alone, referring to Jesus’ cross. She must carry the burden and go through the pain alone like Jesus bearing the world’s sins, having to go through the crucifixion by himself. Then she repeats, “…heavy on my empty mind shit,” closing the song with her mind rid of the thought of man trying to gain the bliss recollection of peace, a remembrance of good days.
The music video ‘Hit Different,’ was the SZA’s return to music. After her phenomenal studio album debut, Hit Different only passed people’s expectations of her. Her creativity and range prove that her career in R&B has just begun. There is no doubt that SZA’s first single for her upcoming album was a success and more.
Additional sources:
