SZA’s real name
SZA’s real name is Solána Imani Rowe. According to SheKnows, her first name derives from the Spanish word for sun. Her middle name Imani is of Arabic and Swahili origins and means belief or fate.
SZA’s Real Name: The Reason Why It Makes Her ‘Uncomfortable’
She doesn’t particulary like the name SZA either…
David Becker/Getty Images for The Recording Academy
How can I snooze when we’re trying to find out what SZA’s real name is? The critically acclaimed singer has been going under this alias for quite a while. So, it’s natural to be curious about what it means and what her birth name is.
SZA first came on the scene 2012 with her first EP, See.SZA.Run. She subsequently signed with Top Dawg Entertainment released her second EP, S, in 2013, followed by her third EP, Z, in 2014. Her big break came in 2017 when she released her debut studio album Ctrl. The album—which reached number three on the Billboard 200 chart—featured hit singles like “Love Galore” with Travis Scott and “The Weekend” with Calvin Harris.
That year, SZA had five nominations at the 2018 Grammy Awards, including Best New Artist and Best R&B Song. SZA’s success continued in 2018 with the song “All the Stars” featuring Kendrick Lamar from the Black Panther soundtrack. The album was nominated for four awards at the 2019 Grammys including Record of the Year and Song of the Year.
Her latest album SOS, is a testament to a new era for the singer. “I think this album was partially inspired by love lost, but mostly inspired by my departure from attempting to be a nice girl,” she told Rolling Stone. “I’ve tried to be a nice girl for so long and it’s just not who I am, inherently. And I think I’ve done nice things and I am a kind person, but I’m not a nice girl. And that’s okay. And I think coming to terms with that and really expanding upon that and exploring that is kind of like this new chapter in my life.” The album garnered 9 Grammy nominations including Album of the Year and Best Progressive R&B Album.
So what’s SZA’s real name and what does she prefer to be called? Read more to find out.
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Image Credit: Ilya S. Savenok/Getty Images for The Mark -
SZA’s stage name meaning
Image Credit: Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for WSJ. Magazine Innovators Awards SZA’s stage name derives from the same Five-Percent Nation Supreme Alphabet that RZA used when he came up with his stage name. In an interview with Complex, SZA explained in full detail what the name means. “SZA is from the supreme alphabet. Like, The RZA is Rulers, Zig-zag, Allah. You have rulers like sovereignty over one’s self and the world around you. S is the supreme alphabet stands for savior but that didn’t sit right with me so I switched it to either sovereign or savior however you feel.”
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SZA’s nickname
Image Credit: Matt Winkelmeyer/MG18/Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue. Despite having a stage name, SZA’s friends have a nickname for her—which her second album is named after. She told Glamour, “My friends call me Sos, and I’m cool with that. I prefer not to be called Solána because my mom doesn’t even call me that. It makes me feel like I’m in trouble and immediately uncomfortable. But SZA is not my favorite, either.”
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