SZA revealed on Twitter Tuesday that an unnamed magazine turned down her request to shoot with a Black photographer for a proposed photoshoot, so she turned them down. The singer also shouted out publications like Rolling Stone and Wonderland for honoring the request in recent cover shoots, saying, “gotta celebrate when it’s RIGHT too!” Amid the outpouring of support on Twitter, she also slammed her record label on Instagram, writing: “I really hate my label.”
SZA also quietly diverted fans away from her manager, Punch, after a similar comment on Instagram sparked a flurry of tweets directed towards him and her record label RCA Records. Complex has a screenshot of her comment, which read: “I really hate my label. So much.” She was reacting to the news that her latest single “Good Days” had dropped out of the Hot 100. In a tweet after the comment went viral, she wrote:
This wouldn’t be the first time she’s publicly railed against her record deal, calling her relationship with RCA “hostile” in 2020. SZA is also not the first Black artist to have behind-the-scenes issues with RCA’s supposed contract management. In 2016, Tinashe parted ways with RCA over creative differences, after her career seemingly stalled following the success of singles like “2 On” and “All Hands on Deck.”
The time is right for another SZA smash hit, considering the success of her last album CTRL, and the popularity of “Kiss Me More,” her collaboration with Doja Cat, currently at No. 10 on the Billboard Hot 100. Everyone’s outside for the summer and horny, both excellent vibes for her music, and RCA would be a fool not to jump on the opportunity.