SZA had an amazing 2023, even though her studio album SOS was released in 2022. The R&B artist went on a world tour last year and is leading all artists with nine Grammy nominations this year.
Music changes with time, but that doesn’t stop people from comparing artists from different eras. On Jan. 22, a clip was posted of Charlamagne Tha God and DJ Envy discussing SZA and if she’s getting the proper flowers she deserves.
The Breakfast Club say they think SZA (our generation’s Mary J. Blige) is under appreciated and isn’t acknowledged as being on the same tier of artist like Rihanna and Beyoncé
🔗: https://t.co/yu4fOIlUrB pic.twitter.com/QPHtJrICjr— Glock Topickz (@Glock_Topickz) January 22, 2024
“Do we appreciate SZA as an artist the way we should,” Charlamagne said.
“We appreciate her music, but her and what she does and how she performs and the songs that she writes, no we don’t,” Envy said.
Charlamagne then went down a list of things that SZA has done to make her stand out.
“She still has an aura of mystery about her,” Charlamagne said. “She doesn’t do a lot of press; she doesn’t do a lot of interviews; she just gives you the music. She doesn’t flood you with music. You get an album, and then you get another album five years later. She just does things the right way.”
DJ Envy hesitated to compare SZA to a specific artist, but Charlamagne did it for him.
“We had our Mary J. Blige; we had our Beyonce. We’ve had our Rihanna. [SZA’s] on that top tier. She’s one of those,” Charlamagne said.
Social media users were quick to respond.
They talking bout Sza is this generations Mary…. SZA sings wayyyyyyy better than Mary 🙄 and I love Mary but CMON
— Randy Cash (@Kashius_Slay) January 23, 2024
calling sza the mary j. blige of this generation is a choice and very much the wrong one at that.
— chandler bing (@treveeaudriana) January 23, 2024
Sza is this generations Mary J Blige Vocals not the strongest but the emotion and relatability is what counts
— C. Sincere (@SincereInspo) January 22, 2024
They said SZA the next Mary j Blige and with that level of delusion, all you can do is laugh. If you think SZA is amazing, I’d hope you don’t even like mjb. Two different categories, levels, leagues. Tiers, if you will. So leave mjb out of it.
— Waiting To Outhale (@doubleglock29) January 23, 2024
Though SZA has enjoyed success over the past few years, it doesn’t stack up to what Mary J. Blige has been able to do in her career.
