SZA is in CTRL. Before dropping her debut album, the Top Dawg songstress unveils “WHERE THE HELL HAVE YOU BEEN: road to Ctrl,” a video diary chronicling the LP’s creation.
With a running time of just over three minutes, “road” finds SZA brushing her teeth, hanging out with Kehlani and Tyler, the Creator, listening to Clipse, traveling to Tulum, and performing with Kendrick Lamar and Isaiah Rashad.
The clip features yet-to-be-named songs expected to appear on CTRL, including one about being 20-something. “Hoping my 20-somethings won’t end,” she sings. “Hoping to keep the rest of my friends / Praying the 20-somethings don’t kill me.”
Another track finds her in a romantic spirit. “I be looking for ya,” she sings. “I be looking forward to weekends.”
Candid moments shine in the mini-doc, which also shows SZA having fun in a pool, shooting a music video, and laughing with friends, as more new music gets teased. “Fuck Sephora,” she sings on another cut. “I love Sephora.”
So far, she’s unveiled CTRL’s first single, “Drew Barrymore,” which has already garnered praise from critics and Drew Barrymore herself.
The effort is set to feature some personal reflections from the 26-year-old star. “I [wrote about] my younger life, which was haphazard,” she recently revealed. “Being at sleepaway camp away from my parents, being the only black girl, not even noticing until I got older, dealing with boys, self-hate, growth, and God. It’s the first time I’m literally writing about my life instead of figuratively writing about it.”
In January, SZA promised that the album would drop on Feb. 3. Since then, no new date has been announced, but TDE CEO Anthony “Top Dawg” Tiffith has said it should be coming “real soon.”