If you peel back all the layers of SZA, you’ll find a lyricist at the core. Her vulnerable tracks are often exercises in telling on herself — a brutally honest look at the extent to which a man had her fucked up, quiet admissions of insecurity, or just how many prisoners her pussy got. In her latest album, SOS, her second major project since the timeless classic Ctrl, SZA employs an arsenal of pop-culture references to add some spice to her already well-seasoned lyrics about growing up (“I’m so mature, I got me a therapist to tell me there’s other men / I don’t want none, I just want you,†she sings on “Kill Billâ€) and bitch-ass men (“Abracadabra, you niggas Sideshow,†raps SZA in “Smoking on My Ex Packâ€). Even the album cover harkens back to a famous image of Princess Diana perched mournfully atop the edge of a diving board, a symbol of her isolation.
The album references evoke images of a certain recently divorced quarterback clinging to his top spot in football, multiple canonical films (most notably Save the Last Dance), teachings from a controversial celebrity guru, and biblical tales of floods and resurrection. There’s even a little bit of Björk and Beyoncé, sampled and interpolated, respectively. Below, a song-by-song guide to all the key references in SOS.
“SOSâ€
SZA came on the album’s intro mad as hell (see lyrics like “Nah, li’l bitch, can’t let you finish†or “Yeah, that’s right, I need commissions on mine / All that sauce you got from meâ€). The sample, however, has slightly different vibes. Producer Jay Versace calls upon Gabriel Hardeman Delegation’s “Until I Found the Lord (My Soul Couldn’t Rest)†for the beat, giving her disses the weight of the gospel.
“Talkin’ I’m off the bench like Brady / I’m pressin’ niggas like KD, it’s up,†she sing-raps, referring to Tom Brady and Kevin Durant. Both veterans of their respective sports and some of the best players of their generations, she’s basically saying she’s doing what the other R&B girls simply can’t do. There are other icons used to underscore SZA’s star power. “Remind you of Della Reese,†a lyric goes, shouting out the jazz and gospel singer, actor, talk-show host, and minister with a half-century-long career.
Toward the end of track, SZA appears to interpolate Beyoncé’s song “Listen†from the film Dreamgirls, singing, “And I cried and cried / Said what’s on my mind.†In “Listen,†Bey sings, “And I’ve tried and tried / To say what’s on my mind.†An apt interpolation for a song about claiming what’s yours.
“Kill Billâ€
The song’s title takes from Quentin Tarantino’s assassin duology of the same name. “I might kill my ex, not the best idea,†the chorus begins. “His new girlfriend’s next, how’d I get here?†Quite similar to the plot of the movie.
“Seek and Destroyâ€
If Ctrl was SZA’s sad-girl soundtrack to her 20s, SOS is far angrier and happily unhinged about her relationships. The phrase “seek and destroy†at once recalls the hard-core Metallica song and the military strategy of dropping into hostile territory, eliminating the enemy, and immediately withdrawing. “You push me past my own capacity, boy / Permission to crash, collectin’ damages, boy,†SZA croons in the first verse. “Seek and destroy, oh, missiles deployed.†The line “no control’†nods to her last album, a work full of sentiments that she so clearly leaves behind in this new record. Now, it’s “hate,†not resignation, that provides the “fuel.â€
“Love Languageâ€
The outro to “Love Language†appears to interpolate Aaliyah’s “I Don’t Wanna.†The lyrics “I don’t wanna be, be without you / I don’t wanna live / I don’t wanna go, ooh, no†recall Aaliyah’s chorus: “I don’t wanna be / Be without you, be without you / I don’t wanna live / Live without you, live without you / I don’t wanna go.†But before that, SZA samples her own previous single “Hit Different,†which didn’t make it on the album.
“Blindâ€
Over soft guitars and strings, SZA wonders if she can ever escape her reputation or even grow some semblance of introspection. “Put the hood on, now they callin’ me Cassius / Raunchy like Bob Saget.†Comparing herself to the boxer Mohammad Ali and Full House star Bob Saget’s crude stand-up in the first verse, she sees her public perception as brash.
The next bars call out Julia Stiles in Save the Last Dance: “I ain’t no Julia Stiles, this ain’t no last dance, way past it.†Her “pussy precedes†her, as she so clearly laid out in Ctrl’s “Doves in the Wind.†But no matter, even if she never learns, then “third day, pop out the tomb,†like Jesus did in the Bible.
“Usedâ€
The third movie reference goes to Star Wars. “Niggas tryna break my focus, bitch, I’m Obi Wan / You caught in the laser.â€
“Snoozeâ€
If SZA will do anything, it’s be a ride-or-die. “In a drop-top ride with you, I feel like Scarface (Scarface)/ Like that white bitch with the bob, I’ll be your main one (Your main one),†she sings, not quite putting respect on Michelle Pfeiffer in Scarface.
“Gone Girlâ€
The fifth movie reference of the album is Gone Girl, the heady David Fincher thriller about the myth of a perfect marriage, starring Ben Affleck and Rosamund Pike. “Inward I go when there’s no one around me / And memories drown me, the further I go,†she sings on the bridge, referencing Pike’s character in the film, who ran away from home after she discovered her husband (Affleck) cheated. “And ain’t nobody talkin’ ’bout the damage, pretendin’ like it’s all okay / I tried to erase, I live to escape.â€
“Smoking on My Ex Packâ€
SZA is a rap girl now. And she called up Kendrick and Baby Keem for a reference to their bop “family ties†off of Keem’s 2021 debut album. “Smokin’ on my ex pack tonight†is sister-song to the rap duo’s lyric “Smoking on yo’ top five tonight.†Elsewhere on the track — which unabashedly drags her exes through the mud — she says she “got your favorite rapper blocked,†stirring up memories of her long-over relationship with Drake. She compares her exes to The Simpsons weirdo Sideshow Bob — a conservative figure and tv clown (the profession) turned criminal in the long-running animated series: “Got you talkin’ crazy / Abracadabra, you niggas Sideshow / I’m Bobbin’ like Psycho.†Yikes.
“Ghost in the Machineâ€
With a Phoebe Bridgers assist, SZA marries another Bible reference to the image of the Ludlow Hotel, a Lower East Side haunt. “Can you lead me to the ark? What’s the password?†SZA asks. “Screaming at you in the Ludlow / I was yours for free / I don’t get existential,†Phoebe adds. The track is bound to be catnip to both of the artists’ fanbases, two groups that luxuriate in songs about desperate, tumultuous love.
Sadhguru, a celebrity Indian guru known for controversially supporting his country’s right-wing government, is quoted in the song’s outro (and also appears in the later track “Farâ€). “Those who have forsaken their humanity / They like to patch their life with morality,†he says. His part mirrors the chorus: “I need humanity / You’re like humanity, drowning in vanity / Craving humanity / You’re like humanity, I need humanity.â€
“Conceitedâ€
“All these bitches is minions, despicable like, ooh (Oh).†The sixth movie reference. But this one is sure to delight the teens who descended on theaters last summer to catch the latest installment, Minions: The Rise of Gru, complete with formal attire.
“Specialâ€
She pulls a Taylor Swift in “Special,†a pop track about a loser who made her feel like a loser. The first verse is reminiscent of “Drew Barrymore†era SZA, where she apologizes for being herself: “I’m sorry I’m not more attractive / I’m sorry I’m not more ladylike/ I’m sorry I don’t shave my legs at night.†In “Special,†she’s not apologizing anymore: “I got pimples where my beauty marks should be / I got dry skin on my elbows and knees.â€
“Forgivelessâ€
Björk and Ol’ Dirty Bastard enter the chat. An ODB freestyle, taken from archival footage shot by “Forgiveless†producer Rodney Jerkins, opens the track? She also samples Icelandic singer Björk, borrowing from the ambient electronic song “Hidden Place.†“I don’t care ’bout consequences, I want my lick back,†SZA raps over the trippy beat and old-school hip-hop sample. A wealth of eclectic references to undergird a lyrically — and sonically — eclectic album. Much to consider.