Kendrick Lamar says SZA has the “most beautiful” songs of her generation
As one of the biggest artists on the planet, Kendrick Lamar‘s opinion is up there with the best of them. The Compton rapper has heaped praise on SZA for a new British Vogue cover story, recognising her progression as an artist and crediting her with making the “most beautiful” songs of her generation.
Both a product of Top Dawg Entertainment, K.Dot and SZA have a long-standing connection both personally and musically. Over the years, the ‘Not Like Us’ hitmaker hasn’t shied away from supporting the St. Louis-born singer, and his latest comments are no different.
“Today, I recognise a more expressive SZA,” he said during the recent interview, reflecting on the version of her that he first met. “The shy shit is completely out the window – to a degree, at least. She has the answers to some of the things she was curious about and is willing to tell it all in the most disruptive yet beautiful compositions this generation has ever heard.”
He added, “Her vulnerability through her music is brave and inspiring. She’s a reminder of what the human experience looks like: a roller-coaster of emotions. And that’s OK. We are alive.”
Kendrick Lamar and SZA have collaborated a number of times over the years on songs such as ‘Babylon’ from 2014’s Z EP and ‘Doves in the Wind’ from 2017’s Grammy-nominated Ctrl album. The biggest of them all, though, is undoubtedly ‘All the Stars’. Released in 2018, the song appeared on the soundtrack for the Black Panther movie and peaked at number seven on the Billboard Hot 100.
This is the second time Kendrick Lamar has praised SZA this year. The latter interviewed K.Dot for Harper’s Bazaar in October, and he praised her fearlessness in navigating difficult times in life.
“I’m proud of you,” he told SZA. “I’m not only proud of your artistry, I’m proud of you in the sense of carrying and respecting who you are and being able to go through emotions and aware of it and say, ‘Okay, this is me. I can either grow from it or I can put it away and come back to it.’ That’s what I get from you. I think you got a good sense of it. Just knocking out the fear of it all.”