SZA may be one of R&B’s biggest and brightest stars right now, but according to TDE president Terrence “Punch” Henderson, the singer is sitting on a project’s worth of material that showcases her rap skills.
The comments were made by Punch in an interview with the Rap Radar Podcast, during which he said that SZA is adapting much better to fame this time around than she was during her Ctrl era five years ago.
“I think she’s adjusting a lot better now,” he said. “I think it’s finally starting to set in as to what’s going on and who she is. Like, for the longest, I don’t feel she connected who SZA is to Solána. But I think now, she’s starting to see it, to understand.”
Punch also said that while fans may have been surprised to hear her drop bars on recent songs like “Forgiveless,” “SOS” and “Smoking On My Ex Pack,” rapping made sense for SZA considering how she’s always sought to push the boundaries of R&B.
“She’s always bended the genre, so it wasn’t nothing new, it was just going, pushing it further,” he said. “Like, she doing full rap records now … That’s all her, yeah, 100 percent. She got like an EP’s worth of full rap records, like all the way out, no singing.”
Watch Punch’s interview below:
Punch went on to say that the deluxe edition of SOS is coming soon. SZA previously told Billboard that the expanded version will contain 10 new songs.
“After I do the deluxe, I’m hoping to be able to accept that this chapter is done,” the singer said. “I’m looking forward to actually feeling proud of myself and not just smiling and nodding at accolades but really feeling it internally and knowing that I’m good enough.”
SOS has spent 10 non-consecutive weeks atop the Billboard 200 chart since it dropped in December. The New Jersey native was most recently named Billboard’s Woman of the Year for 2023, and during her acceptance speech spoke about how she’s managed to push through her feelings of self-doubt amidst her success.
“There’s so many women in this room right now that I respect so deeply,” SZA said after thanking her team. “This could have been any of us in this room and whether it’s Lana Del Rey or Olivia Rodrigo or Chlöe [Bailey] or Doechii who’s a fucking star or Latto or even Coi [Leray], my very own Jersey baby.
“I just, I really think sometimes there’s a misconception that like, everybody always feels like that girl. Like, ‘Oh I know I’m that bitch and I have a lot of confidence.’ And I feel like it’s okay to not be that person all the time.”
She continued: “And I used to feel like I didn’t belong because I don’t always feel like that but I realized that the key is to stay open and available for whatever the universe or God wants to do with your life. And it’s like even when you don’t know who you are or you may not see – I don’t know why I’m 10 weeks on Billboard. I’m grateful!”
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