SZA: Z

Z
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Artist: SZA
Genre: R&B / Soul
Label: Top Dawg

Solana Rowe's got soul. The New Jersey native may share a label with fellow Top Dawgs Kendrick Lamar, Schoolboy Q and Isaiah Rashad, but she's in a much different headspace than the rest of the roster. Z is a blissfully idiosyncratic set of sounds, an album rich in soulful grooves, r'n'b wigouts and electro fizz, all tied up in a wonderful freaky haze. Even with plenty of A-list guests and producers in the credits, Rowe herself is the tour guide you really must follow. You'll hear plenty of traces and riffs in the midst of the songs to remind you of other parties, but Sweet November, Julia and Shattered Ring beguile by dint of the force of their own personality. As insights into worlds in the making go, Z is well worth devoting time and attention to – especially as it provides one of the lines of the year on Ur: "Your skin tastes like Brussels' sprouts". twitter.com/justsza
Download: Sweet November, Shattered Ring