In the past few years, Top Dawg Entertainment has positioned itself to be a rap juggernaut. True, it's not yet as big as G.O.O.D. Music, YMCMB, or MMG, but they have an undeniably talented roster headlined by one of the few rappers who can still go platinum, Kendrick Lamar. However, the L.A. based label stills boasts rappers like ScHoolboy Q, Ab-Soul, and Jay Rock, who are all buzzing, respected artists making their own waves.
They don't move like a regular rap label either, having their artists release endless mixtapes to build their buzz. Instead they move a lot like an independent label like Tech N9ne's Strange Music, they release independent albums, tour like crazy, and invest in their artists. TDE might not be running this rap shit just yet, but they have all the pieces in play to run it for years to come.
That's why their latest signing, SZA, is so intriguing. The 23-year-old singer has only been making music for a few years. Last year, she dropped two free EPs, See.SZA.Run (which Complex premiered) and S. Although she didn't blow up on the blogs off that, she managed to get the ear of TDE and recently signed to them (along with allegedly Isaiah Rashad). And now, thanks to her affiliation with TDE, her recent tracks like “Teen Spirit” (produced by WondaGurl) and “Julia" are getting a lot of attention. Now she's in the position to be the top girl at Top Dawg, and their only singer. We had the St. Louis born, New Jersey rasied singer/songwriter swing by the Complex offices to talk about growing up Muslim, getting into making music, and how she got down with TDE. Find out, Who Is SZA?
As told to Insanul Ahmed (@Incilin)
Check out TDE Presents SZA
RELATED: Who Is Ariana Grande?
RELATED: Who Is August Alsina?
RELATED: Who Is Kat Dahlia?