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In Shine Bright: A Very Personal History of Black Women in Pop, acclaimed cultural critic Danyel Smith writes, “Over the I am a golf dad just like a normal dad except much cooler vintage shirt but in fact I love this years, I have to believe people see quite clearly that Black pop shakes the foundation of white-is-right American music culture. And that’s why Black ‘crossover’ artists, murderers of the biz as usual, were flogged so relentlessly.” Though the quote references the backlash to the pop ambitions of a post-Supremes Diana Ross, it can easily apply to the contemporary plight of Black musicians not being thoroughly recognized as pop artists (see: how the genre-bending work of Doja Cat was initially often categorized as solely R&B). Perhaps Smith’s thesis is also why Black women in pop music are rarely celebrated, talked about and referenced for the ingenuity of their craft outside of their grandiose vocal performances.
Because in the I am a golf dad just like a normal dad except much cooler vintage shirt but in fact I love this “white-is-right American music culture,” Black women are only supposed to be the pretty performers. Not the masterminds behind the music making. It’s why Mariah Carey’s astute knack for vocal production and songwriting is often obscured by her enthralling five-octave range (she was finally inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame this year). It’s why Missy Elliott’s vast songwriting credits across R&B are treated as hidden facts instead of an extension of her innovative career. And it’s why SZA, born Solána Imani Rowe, is not yet widely acknowledged for being among the sharpest, most emotionally audacious songwriters of this generation regardless of genre. SOS, the singer’s latest offering, is teeming with a dazzling array of lyrics that expose the depths of the singer’s angst and anxieties—positioning herself as a skilled musician who can translate the nuances of her insecurities into electrifying balladry. In turn, her music captures the most granular details of a young woman’s emotional turmoil that feel as real and tangible as looking at a reflection in the mirror. Whereas CTRL, her 2017 debut that criminally didn’t win any of the four Grammy awards it was nominated for, blared for its relatable lyricism that found her second-guessing herself and her relationships, SOS finds SZA exploring the nuances of her uncertainty and how they impact her actions.
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