As of September 2024, SZA is 34 years old. SZA is an American pop singer who took the hip-hop industry by storm out of nowhere. What’s interesting is that her early childhood had no signs that her life would turn up like that. Yet, with a little twist of fate and a lot of hard work, she became a singer and songwriter with millions worth of fortune. Let’s get to know her story from the beginning.
SZA’s Early Life
SZA was born on November 8, 1990, in St. Louis, Missouri. Her birth name is Solána Imani Rowe, and she was born in a mixed-religion household. Her father is a CNN executive named Abdul-Alim Mubarak-Rowe. You guessed it right, her father is a Muslim. On the other hand, her mother is an AT&T executive whose name is Audrey Rowe, a Christian.
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Because of the mixed religious background, Solána grew up wearing a hijab, which is the traditional Muslim hair coverage, sometimes known as a burka. However, Solána was verbally abused as one of the few Muslims in Maplewood after the dreadful attack of September 11 on the World Trade Center. Eventually, she took off her hijab at school in an attempt to blend in as much as she could. She even became a cheerleader at Columbia High School, wearing a dress code that was against all her religious beliefs. So, how did she manage to get into music despite all of this?
Image source: Instagram
SZA’s Attraction to Music
Solána’s early musical influences came from her father’s jazz collection, which included legends like Billie Holiday and Miles Davis. Her exposure to contemporary music expanded when Panya came to live with them, introducing her to artists like Lil Jon and Wu-Tang Clan. Panya is SZA’s half-sister. They share the same father but have different mothers. SZA has often spoken about her close relationship with Panya and how she has influenced her life. Back to the topic, SZA’s musical interests further developed through a gymnastics teammate’s iPod, which exposed her to artists like Björk.
SZA’s Early Career
Before we get into this one, here’s a fun fact. We need to address how Solána Imani Rowe somehow became SZA. Some sources mention that the S stands for Solána, Z stands for Zig-Zag, and A stands for “Allah,” which is the name of God in Islam. However, this information is highly incorrect. SZA is the abbreviation of “Solána Zaheera Amin,” which combines her first and middle names. That being said, let’s get back to her career, whose early beginnings were in 2011.
Image source: Instagram
At the time, SZA was at the clothing label 10 Deep at a Kendrick Lamar concert. She was responsible for handing out merchandise. While she wasn’t doing something major at the time, she was still creating some music. Lucky for her, a friend was listening to her mixtapes, which caught the attention of Terrence “Punch” Henderson, who was Top Dawg Entertainment’s co-president at the time. While that didn’t “slingshot” her career, it became the first major networking opportunity for her, as they maintained contact after this initial encounter.
SZA’s Career Progression
Image source: Genius
SZA’s long-term career began with a bold move: She dropped out of college and decided to focus solely on music. Then, she kicked things off by releasing two EPs (an EP or Extended Play is a recording that contains fewer tracks than an album but more tracks than a single). The first EP, See.SZA.Run, came out in 2012. You’d think that someone’s first EP might not be that popular or even a flop, but not this one. The Guardian actually compared her to R&B pioneers like The Weeknd and Frank Ocean.
Her second EP, S (yes, it’s literally named just S), was released in 2013, featuring the celestial “Ice Moon” and included unusual touches like a few samples of the horror film Rosemary’s Baby. Both of these EPs caused a buzz that refreshed that old encounter with Terrence Henderson. She had a deal with Top Dawg Entertainment (TDE) in 2013, making SZA the label’s first female artist.
Brace. More is coming.
Image source: Google
SZA’s vocal abilities soon became highly sought after by other artists. In 2014, she collaborated with Jill Scott on the track “Divinity.” In 2016, she co-wrote and performed on Rihanna’s “Consideration.”
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In 2017, SZA had a deal with RCA and TDE Records. That same year, she released her first full-length album, Ctrl. She also collaborated with Maroon 5 on the song “What Lovers Do.”
The list goes on!
SZA collaborated with Kendrick Lamar on his 2018 single named “All the Stars,” which was featured in the Black Panther movie soundtrack. She also collaborated with Justin Timberlake on “The Other Side” and with Drake on the 2023 “Slime You Out.” Okay, her career boomed. We get it. Let’s fast forward a bit. In 2023, SZA took part in the SOS Tour, her first concert series in arenas, visiting cities across Europe, the United States, and Canada. You know how this goes: once an artist starts touring, they’re well on their way to global fame. We’ll leave it at that.
Image source: Instagram
SZA’s Net Worth
As of September 2024, SZA’s net worth is estimated to be around $6 million. This juicy net worth primarily comes from her successful music career, including album sales, touring, and collaborations with other artists. She earned it. What can we say?
Final Words
Solána’s childhood may have been a little rough, but she managed to single-handedly boost her career by attracting the right people and with her voice that was described as “dripping with honey.” The 34-year-old doesn’t seem to be slowing down, and her fans are all for it. So we can only wish her the best for the future.
Featured image source: Instagram
