Queen SZA is back! Her debut album ‘CTRL’ was a special kind of record that took you on a journey into her unravelling vulnerability. While expressing a candid intimacy, she also delivered a raw seductiveness that oozed its way through her delivery.
It’s been three years in-between releases and the St Louis singer-songwriter is ready to finally give her fans what they’ve been patiently waiting for. ‘Hit Different’ is the first taste of what is to come, and it continues that seductive sonical exploration. With it’s rhythmic beat and soothing vocal tone driving your body to move in a seductive way, the polarising factor is that this song is lyrically about the emotional reality of a break-up.
Whilst knowing that it was for the best, SZA and Ty Dolla $ign explore the heartbreak that follows in being alone, and thinking of what they’re doing without you close by. “Hit different when I’m sittin’ here alone, all by myself. Hit different when I think you might be with somebody else” they sing during the chorus.
The slow burner grows on you with each listen, and does give you classic SZA vibes from the get go. However, this isn’t the strongest lead single that she could’ve delivered. With three years between solo releases, she needed to give us something immediately jarring. Whether it be down a banger path like ‘All The Stars’, or something emotionally driven like ’20 Something’ which has become a cult coming of age anthem.
‘Hit Different’ is a song that her fans will embrace with open arms, but it probably won’t go any further than that commercially right now which is a genuine shame.