SZA is a Doja Cat superfan. In a cover story interview for V magazine conducted by SZA, the 2018 Best New Artist Grammy nominee applauds Doja’s ability to create cross-genre material—a talent that has landed the “Say So” singer among this year’s Best New Artist nominees.
“I really feel like I relate the most to you because between the pre-TDE shit and crossing that path, I always felt like I couldn’t fit into anything. That my music isn’t ‘Black enough’ with ‘Drew Barrymore.’ Or I’m doing shit that’s strange. I never felt that as a Black girl, I could make music and be in these realms,” SZA said. “You make music in all these other realms and make it sound like it touched my inner mind and spirit.”
She continued, “It’s like, you’re exactly who I needed when I was in high school [and] college. I just wanted to feel like it’s OK to be an individual that isn’t really planted but is highly mutable and superfluid. Working with you was literally my dream.”
SZA went on to ask Doja if she feels pressured to make pure rap or pop music.
“I wanted to be a rapper before I was a singer at all. And I always wanted to sing because singing is amazing when you hit a note and you’re like, ‘Wow,’” Doja answered. “They’ve just melded together, and I’ve just been able to make those two come together. … I definitely get shit for making pop music and then rapping with it.”
Elsewhere in the interview, the pair talked about Doja’s collaborations for her forthcoming album Planet Her, including a collaboration called “Kiss Me More” between her and SZA that will apparently appear on the record.
“It’s people that I respect and I’m extremely excited about having on the album and it’s a full-circle moment for me, basically,” Doja said. “Just knowing that I have you on it is just sexy. It’s perfect. I feel confident. It doesn’t feel like something out of myself, you know? I feel like I’m doing what I want to do.” (Earlier in the conversation, SZA volunteered, “I know our little ditty ‘Kiss Me More’ is a different strut and I’m just excited.”)
V’s digital editor Dania Curvy moderated the interview, writing on Instagram that it “was the best experience of my life. I’ve never felt more comfortable and at home in an interview—it was giving divine feminine and black girl magic, indeed.”
Read the entire interview here.
