Amid growing anticipation for LANA, SZA graced her followers with a soulful take of Eminem’s 2002 anthem, “Lose Yourself,” on Friday (May 31).
Shared via Instagram, the TDE songstress emphasized that the rendition was a personal project, not tied to any upcoming release. “[You] ever just cover Eminem on some tender s**t for feels?” she captioned the post. The artist further noted the performance was “just for mental health.”
In her interpretation of the record, SZA transformed the originally intense rap song into a softer, melodic piece with piano accompaniment. The audio clip quickly caught the attention of fans and celebrities alike, including the Detroit rapper, who responded with a wide-eyed emoji in the comments section.
“I’ma need an entire album of tender rap covers, STAT,” read one reply with over 3,000 likes. Camila Cabello added, “Holy s**t.” Questlove, DRAM, Buddy and Andrea Vallé also showed the post some much-deserved love.
“Lose Yourself” was released by Eminem over two decades ago as part of the 8 Mile soundtrack and marked his first Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 single. It even won an Academy Award for Best Original Song, along with Grammy Awards for Best Rap Song and Best Rap Solo Performance.
The timing of SZA’s cover coincided with the release of Eminem’s new single, “Houdini,” which is expected to appear on his upcoming album, The Death of Slim Shady (Coup de Grace).
On the other hand, fans haven’t gotten an update on the “Good Days” singer’s LANA in quite some time. In March, the 34-year-old said that she was starting the project over due to unauthorized music surfacing online.
“So, we’ll make this really simple. Y’all leaked three songs from the deluxe. At this point, y’all can keep the throwaways and leaks,” SZA tweeted. “I’ll be starting LANA from scratch. Do not ask me about it again. Thank you.”