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SZA Opens Up About Relationship With Drake, Grammys, And 'Lana' Album In New Interview
In a Rolling Stone cover story published today (Oct. 3), SZA opened up about everything from her past relationship with Drake and the Grammys to her upcoming deluxe album.
The pair reportedly dated in 2009 when both of them were in the early stages of their careers. “It wasn’t hot and heavy or anything,” she told the publication. “We were really young. It was like youth vibes. It was so childish.”
Drake previously touched on the brief liaison in the lyrics of 2020’s “Mr. Right Now,” which appeared on 21 Savage and Metro Boomin’s joint LP. In the track, the Toronto native rapped, “Yeah, said she wanna f**k to some SZA, wait. ‘Cause I used to date SZA back in ’08.”
However, the TDE songstress subsequently set the record straight. Following the single’s release, she took to Twitter to clarify the timeline. She wrote, “So it was actually 2009… In this case, a year of poetic rap license mattered. I think he just innocently rhymed ‘08 [with] wait. Anybody who really knows me and was around during this time can confirm… It’s all love, all peace.”
.@sza talks to Rolling Stone about her competitive spirit.
"I really am coming into this era of…I’m OK with not being a nice girl. I’m OK with people knowing that I’m competitive."
Interview: https://t.co/XKRqDdeVr0 pic.twitter.com/iu3JSCdlvw
— Rolling Stone (@RollingStone) October 3, 2023
Since their short-lived fling, SZA and Drake have maintained a friendly relationship. In September, the two collaborated for the first time on “Slime You Out,” which is slated to appear on the latter’s forthcoming album For All the Dogs. The single debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, marking the singer’s second chart-topping song following “Kill Bill” earlier this year.
Meanwhile, the first round of voting for the 66th annual Grammy Awards is slated to take place on Oct. 13. Regarding the ceremony, SZA shared, “The Grammy room is one of the weirdest rooms ever. There is so much wanting in there. Wanting to be noticed, wanting to be, like, acknowledged, to win, wanting to just be amongst n**gas in the room, wanting to feel valuable or validated.”
She continued, “All of us are in there striving for something. It means something, even though, like, this isn’t everything. But it’s kind of important that I’m here. It kind of matters.”
Elsewhere in the cover story, SZA also dropped hints about an upcoming deluxe version of her latest album, SOS, named Lana. The singer noted that the extended release will feature 10 additional tracks and could hit the shelves as early as this fall.