SZA has teased that her upcoming album ‘Lana’ might arrive later this autumn.
The ‘Kill Bill’ singer had previously shared plans to release a deluxe edition to her 2022 record ‘SOS’ as well as a new album titled ‘Lana’, and posted potential cover art on social media for the two projects as recently as December 2023.
Although in the year since neither project has materialised, SZA has now told British Vogue that could change in the coming months. Fans can reportedly expect both the deluxe edition and her third album in autumn, with new track ‘PSA’ – which she premiered at her Hyde Park performance – supposedly appearing on ‘Lana’.
It comes after SZA recently confirmed that she’s taking a break from performing live “for a while”, which she addressed in the interview. “Every day I grapple with, ‘Am I done with music?’” she said. “Maybe I’m just not meant to be famous – I’m crashing and burning and behaving erratically. It’s not for me because I have so much anxiety.
“But why would God put me in this position if I wasn’t supposed to be doing this? So I just keep trying to rise to the occasion. But I’m also just like, ‘Please, the occasion is beating my ass.’”
Touching on creating new music for ‘Lana’, she said it came from a “more beautiful place” than previous efforts. “From a more possible place versus a more angsty place. I’m not identifying with my brokenness. It’s not my identity. It’s shit that happened to me. Yeah, I experienced cruelty. I have to put it down at some point. Piece by piece, my music is shifting because of that, the lighter I get.”
Elsewhere in the interview, she addressed her Glastonbury performance, where her set list was marred by numerous technical and audio difficulties. Taking to X/Twitter shortly afterwards, the singer wrote in defence of her performance: “The bravery required to be alive in public is remarkable. S/o everybody doing that shit.”
In our review of the singer’s headline set, NME wrote in a four-star review: “As disjointed as this show occasionally is, though, it’s hypnotic and potent. The turnout is noticeably small for a headliner, but the extra space on the ground allows young women to share smiles of recognition and understanding with strangers while singing along to songs centred on overcoming toxic romances and self-esteem battles.”
Reflecting on it, she told the publication she felt “like nothing I could do would be enough” for Glastonbury. “It scared me. I was like, well, I wish I wasn’t doing it, but I couldn’t walk away from it.
“I want to be the second Black woman in history, but then it’s such a fucking tall order. It’s like, no matter what you do here, you will be subject to criticism. Because of who you are. But that’s life. That’s life, you know?”
Elsewhere, SZA seemingly teased another project – a new Kendrick Lamar album that will be released soon.