The Real Reason Drake & SZA Broke Up: ‘It Was So Childish’
Super Bowl LIX has come and gone—and yet we’re still talking about the Super Bowl Halftime Show, where rapper Kendrick Lamar was joined on stage by singer-songwriter Solána Imani Rowe, known professionally as SZA. But SZA wasn’t the only person who joined Lamar on stage as he took the opportunity to blast Drake. Instead, another one of Drake’s exes, Serena Williams, also appeared.
The appearance of two of Drake’s exes wasn’t the only highlight of the performance but certainly helped take the feud between the two mainstream, just as Lamar is set to go on tour alongside SZA. The two are set to head out on the Grand National Tour together, starting in April 2025 and ending in June. The tour will kick off at US Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and cover the United States and Canada with multiple shows.
Related: Take a look at SZA’s dating history.
It’s easy to see why Lamar brought two of Drake’s exes to the stage. Drake has spoken about his relationship with Serena Williams before, confirming the tennis star was the inspiration for his 2016 hit, “Too Good.” But what about his relationship with SZA? Why did Drake and SZA break up? How long did they date?
Why did Drake and SZA break up?
It’s been over a decade since Drake and SZA dated—though when exactly they dated seems to depend on who you ask. SZA finally confirmed the relationship in 2020 after Drake brought it up during the lyrics for his guest appearance on 21 Savage and Metro Boomin’s “Mr. Right Now.” The lyrics said: “Yeah, said she wanna fuck to some SZA, wait / ’Cause I used to date SZA back in ’08 / If you cool with it, baby, she can still play.”
According to SZA, however, “So It was actually 2009 lol 🙃.. in this case a year of poetic rap license mattered 🥴 lol I think he jus innocently rhymed 08 w wait . Anybody who really knows me and was around during this time can confirm.. it’s all love all peace 🤝💎💫”
Related: Take a look at Drake’s dating history.
She also added, “I just didn’t want anybody thinking anything underage or creepy was happening. Completely innocent. Lifetimes ago.”
Doesn’t seem like the two ended on bad terms, with SZA later telling Rolling Stone, the two “were really young” when they dated, and adding, “It wasn’t hot and heavy or anything. It was like youth vibes. It was so childish.”
So, even though neither of the two has ever given a reason for their relationship ending, it seems like the two were just too young—Drake was 23 and SZA was 20— and the relationship ran its course. SZA recently reinforced the idea during a Hot Ones Versus episode as she was promoting the movie One of Them Days alongside costars Keke Palmer and Issa Rae. During the episode, Palmer asks SZA if Drake is a good kisser. “We were children!” she exclaimed. “We were children. 2009? We were children.”
Neither Palmer nor Rae took that as an answer, with Rae even telling SZA that confirming one way or another was “really easy,” and adding. “And the fact that you don’t want to say one is very telling.”
Hard to say what the relationship between SZA and Drake is now, but in a 2022 interview with Audacy, SZA said. “We’re cool, we’ve always been cool,” adding, “It’s never been weird. It’s never come completely out of the blue.”
