SZA introduced on social media Monday that her long-delayed album “Lana” — a deluxe version of her Grammy-winning second full-length “SOS” — will likely be launched on Friday. The put up options actor Ben Stiller singing alongside passionately with what’s presumably the brand new single, “Drive,” whereas driving on a wet night time.
Whereas SZA’s forthcoming stadium tour with Kendrick Lamar presents an important alternative to launch new materials — she’s been touring behind “SOS” because it was launched two years in the past — followers may very well be forgiven for skepticism, as there have been many false alarms. Nevertheless, evidently this time “Lana” is coming for actual.
The most recent spherical of teasers started per week in the past, on the two-year anniversary of “SOS,” with a brief video trailer that included a snippet of one of many album’s tracks. The video depicts SZA in a nature setting, knocking down her saggy camo pants to pee by a creek. She appears to be like straight into the digital camera earlier than taking a tissue out of her pocket to wipe herself up because the phrases “Lana” seem throughout the display. She lyrics to the track go, “You already know we received an actual historical past/That’s the rationale I can’t select me/You already know that dick been good to me/You make it onerous for me to decide on me.”
Whereas SZA has been speaking a few deluxe version of “SOS” since that album’s launch, she defined the album and its to Selection in August of final yr: “[‘Lana’] is outtakes [from ‘SOS’] and new stuff, too — I added a few songs. It’s like a complete new undertaking. It’s known as ‘Lana’ — my title however, it’s the primary tattoo that I ever received, once I was 13. It was 10 bucks a letter and I solely had 40, in order that that turned my nickname for no purpose. ‘Lana’ is de facto simply the B-side of SOS.”
A month later, on Sept. 8, she carried out a free live performance on the Brooklyn Navy Yard the place she carried out three songs from “Lana” and mentioned, “The deluxe is a complete ’nother album, it’s seven to 10 songs and it’ll be out this fall.” The songs have been dubbed by followers “Boy From South Detroit,” “DTM” and “Saturn,” which was launched as a stand-alone single again in February, prompting one other wave of false alarms in regards to the album’s launch.
However just some weeks later, SZA turned pissed off by followers leaking songs and posted that she could be “beginning ‘Lana’ from scratch” as a result of “y’all leaked three songs from the deluxe.” She continued, “At this level, y’all can preserve the throwaways and leaks. I’ll be beginning ‘Lana’ from scratch. Don’t ask me about it once more,” including a couple of minutes later, “I’ll spherical up the leaks y’all already received and u can have these. Looks as if a good deal. ENJOY.” That tweet was deleted shortly afterward. In a subsequent sequence of tweets, she mentioned the deluxe version of SOS will now characteristic “the leaks and outtakes” and “Lana” will likely be its personal album. “Lana deserves extra time and music nobody’s ever heard earlier than,” she wrote. Nevertheless, she appears to have reverted to her earlier plan.
Will the long-delayed album lastly arrive on Friday? Because the lengthy saga of “Lana” exhibits, time will inform.