The Genre Bending of LANA
It’s been over a month since Grammy-winning singer and songwriter SZA dropped LANA, the 15-track deluxe to SOS, and this project only proves her inability to stick to one genre – despite the music industry’s attempts to fit her into a box.
With the music industry welcoming new and diverse talent came the creation of unique music genres. These days, it’s extremely difficult to categorize any musical artist into one singular genre; artists have become more comfortable combining elements from different genres to create a whole new sound, otherwise known as genre-bending. However, with genres such as R&B and Hip Hop becoming the common descriptors to categorize any type of music Black artists create, only white artists have been afforded the luxury of dabbling into multiple genres at once without being labeled a certain way.
SZA expressed her views on the matter in an interview with Dazed, when asked about how she defines her sound. “The only reason I’m defined as an R&B artist is because I’m Black,” the “Kill Bill” artist said. “It’s almost a little reductive because it doesn’t allow space to be anything else or try anything else.”
SOS, SZA’s second studio album, has already set the stage as the artists’ most musically diverse body of work. From tracks such as “F2F” incorporating elements of rock n’ roll, to the emotionally charged ballad that is “Nobody Gets Me”, SZA is the epitome of what it means to be a genre-bending artist. And although LANA is an extension of SOS, it establishes itself as a separate project through a sonic shift towards a dreamy pop sound—which is cohesive throughout the project— all while preserving the raw and emotionally lyrical content that makes her discography so relatable.
While the whole project is worth listening to, a couple tracks stood out to me. LANA starts off strong with No More Hiding, a track declaring SZA’s decision to no longer hide from facing her emotions and accepting the nonlinear journey that is healing and self-acceptance. With a plucked guitar instrumental to accompany the affirming lyrics, SZA has demonstrated that she is truly in her healing era by embracing all that comes along with it, even if it may be discomforting.
The outstanding rapper-singer duo that is Kendrick Lamar and SZA teamed up for their 8th joint collaboration song on the deluxe album as well: 30 for 30. Featuring a production sample from Switch’s “I Call Your Name”, the track is a testament to how well the two artists’ musical styles blend well together. The aggressive tone present in the song shines through some of the lyrics of the chorus, such as “Only want the love if it’s solid, But it it’s f*ck me, then f*ck you, And that’s the way I like it” – overall it’s a nice tone switch from the previous songs on the deluxe.
No SZA project is complete without an upbeat pop song to balance out the emotional heaviness often present in her work. This is the role “BMF” plays in this deluxe album; SZA combines a smooth interpolation of “The Girl From Ipanema” to tell a heartfelt story about her love interest, a boy from South Detroit. This is the type of song one could play on a breezy summer afternoon, or even as a way to express their appreciation and liking for their partner or significant other. A few lyrics from the track even went viral on TikTok, as users lip synced to the lyrics “You and he fine and he tall and he handsome, talking to fine I might hold him for ransom” to show off their boyfriends.
But the track that really spoke to me was “Another Life”. In a world where everyone desires to experience some form of romantic love, SZA reflects on a relationship that didn’t work out the way she wanted it to, and imagines a different outcome on the relationship where things worked out in her favor.
“In another life, I know we could ride out boy
If the time is right, I know we could ride out boy”
The lyrics tie perfectly with the dreamy and melancholic vibe the song’s production provides, allowing the listener to participate in their own introspection based on the themes of love and longing in the track.
SZA’s artistry - particularly the magic she made in LANA – is a testament to the versatility many Black artists possess when it comes to their music. While labels in the music industry can serve as guidance for a direction an artist can take, they ultimately pose a threat to any path the artist may want to pursue that is different from their usual sound.
American music award shows in particular are responsible for contributing to a culture where Black musicians' wide range of talent can only be labelled under the R&B genre. The GRAMMY Awards, for example, recently only did away with their “best urban contemporary” album, which sought to lump genres such as R&B, Hip Hop and Jazz into one award category. Although this former category has been changed to categorize R&B, Hip-Hop and other genres created by Black Americans separately, Black artists are still underrepresented in both nominations and wins in the other award categories such as pop, electronic, country, and even rock music. This was evident during the 66th Annual GRAMMY awards ceremony, where SOS – the longest running number one female album of the decade — primarily received nominations and wins in categories such as “Best Progressive R&B Album”, “Best Melodic Rap Performance” and “Best Traditional R&B Performance.”
Allowing Black artists the space to create outside of the confines of R&B is allowing them the freedom of expression they so rightly deserve. LANA shows us that when given the creative control to experiment with different genres, something beautiful will always come out of it.