SZA opened up on Instagram about the creative slump she fell into after SOS – and how Steve Lacy snapped her out of it.
The R&B superstar posted a candid message crediting the Compton-raised multi-instrumentalist for reviving her spark. That revival produced “IS IT COOL OUT NOW,” their collab track on Steve Lacy‘s upcoming project.
“After SOS, Lana and tour I was feeling weird,” SZA wrote. “Nothing inspired me.”
That’s a real admission from someone who just wrapped one of the biggest album cycles in recent R&B history. SOS dropped in December 2022 and spent close to 10 weeks at the top of the Billboard 200. It’s one of the best-selling R&B records in years. Running that whole campaign – the press, the promos, the touring – takes everything out of you. Feeling flat on the other side is completely understandable.
Enter a mutual friend named Michael. He linked SZA up with Steve Lacy and apparently changed the whole trajectory.
Lacy pulled up with what SZA called “a CRAZY pack of beats,” and something clicked immediately. She didn’t take the beats home to sit on them. She recorded right there, in front of him.
The music wasn’t the only thing that hit, though. Being around Steve Lacy himself – his voice, his laugh, his whole vibe – is what SZA says actually brought her back creatively.
“Being around Steve, experiencing the deep raw resonance of his voice, his laughter, his Spicy Aries Venus: literally revived me,” she wrote.
Then Lacy played her demos from his upcoming album. SZA cried.
Not politely moved. Cried. That’s the kind of creative energy that changes the temperature of a session. SZA clearly wasn’t going through the motions on this feature. She was genuinely locked in.
“I really admire his energy,” she added. “So honored to be a tiny part of this GORGEOUS project by this gorgeous human.”
Steve Lacy’s got the credentials to earn that kind of respect. His 2022 single “Bad Habit” hit number one on the Hot 100 and introduced his sound to a massive new audience. Before that, he’d already built real credibility working with artists like Kendrick Lamar and Frank Ocean. His sound sits at the crossroads of funk, soul, and indie-rock. That effortless quality clearly showed up in the room with SZA.
“IS IT COOL OUT NOW” is out now as part of Lacy’s upcoming project. SZA left no ambiguity for anyone dragging their feet: “If u haven’t listened to our song yet i hate you,” she posted. The emoji she added made it clear she was kidding around. Mostly.
The Instagram post has over 544,000 likes. The people are tuned in.
This whole thing is a reminder that creative blocks don’t discriminate. Even artists putting up Billboard 200 numbers can hit a wall. Sometimes the move is letting the right producer walk in the room with the right pack. Steve Lacy walked in. “IS IT COOL OUT NOW” is the result.
This story originally appeared on Celebrityinsider
