Maps of Music

See.SZA.Run (2012)

Where the lyrics of See.SZA.Run take you, and where it was really made.

SZA's debut EP began as informal recording with beats taken from the Internet, and she kept going until it became a self-released record.

Place unknown

Do you know where this album was recorded, or where its cover was shot? Tell us and we will add it to the map.

See.SZA.Run: debut extended play (EP) by American singer SZA
Self-released on October 29, 2012
Alternative R&B and neo soul EP
Mixes soul, hip hop and minimalist R&B with cloud rap, ethereal R&B, witch house and chillwave elements
Production built over billowing synths, booming bass and crushed beats
The EP opens with "Bed" and "Once Upon a High" closes it

After college, SZA postponed graduate school in order to make money
Had studied marine biology, planning graduate school to become a scientist and travel; the plan never materialized
Took random jobs to earn money
Began recording music informally, then decided to continue
First met Top Dawg Entertainment members at CMJ 2011, when her boyfriend's clothing company sponsored a show featuring Kendrick Lamar
A friend showed early SZA songs to TDE president Terrence "Punch" Henderson, who liked the material and stayed in touch

Solána Imani Rowe was born November 8, 1989, in St. Louis, Missouri, and raised in Maplewood, New Jersey.
She attended Columbia High School and later Delaware State University before dropping out to pursue music.
Her stage name SZA was inspired by the Five Percent Nation and the Supreme Alphabet.

She self-released the EPs See.SZA.Run (2012) and S (2013) before signing with Top Dawg Entertainment in 2013.
Her debut album Ctrl (2017) was critically acclaimed and topped several year-end lists.
"All the Stars" (2018) with Kendrick Lamar earned Academy Award and Golden Globe nominations.
"Kiss Me More" with Doja Cat (2021) won her first Grammy Award.
Her second album SOS (2022) spent 100 weeks in the Billboard 200 top ten, and "Kill Bill" topped the Billboard Hot 100.
"Luther" with Kendrick Lamar became her longest-running US number-one song.
She has won seven Grammy Awards in total.

Music critics commended the album, its lyrical content and production
Some critics compared the album to the work of Drake, The Weeknd, Miguel and Frank Ocean
Complex noted the album as made for multiple listens and praised its production, saying each song flows together perfectly and succinctly
Paul Lester of The Guardian noted similarities between SZA and Drake, The Weeknd, Miguel and Frank Ocean, calling SZA the female version of the singers
Lester also praised the album's title, names and lyrical content, calling the lyrics inscrutable and adding to the atmosphere of pleasant torpor/stupor

The EP opens with "Bed", which was compared to the work of American singer Ciara.
"Advil" contains elements of "Hyyerr", a track by Kid Cudi and Chip tha Ripper.
The music video for "Country" was released on October 9, 2012 to promote the EP.