SZA’s newly added tracks to her album
SOS, now SOS Deluxe: LANA, show her newfound
growth and maturity. The lyrics in each of her songs
reveal that SZA has gathered an understanding of her
feelings and emotions, while she looks ahead to better
handle experiences that come along.
The first track to her new album is called,
“No More Hiding.” SZA sings about wanting to be her
true self through experiencing what’s real in life. SZA
expresses that she just wants to be herself, feel her
feelings, and not worry about the opinions of others.
She’s done putting up a fake facade.
In “No More Hiding”, SZA sings a repetitive
verse where she makes a plea for “anything real.” In
this verse, she adds different examples of all the parts
of life she wants to experience. “Searching for real,
trying for real, familying for real, lost in the real,
hurting for real, chasing a real, anything real.” Her
maturity and introspection is shown through the
lyrics, “Cut myself open to see what I’m made of.”
The second track is “What Do I Do.” Though
this song is on the more repetitive side, its beat is

strong and likeable. “What Do I Do” could be relat-
able to many, as SZA sings about her relationship

with someone she had romantic feelings for, and how
it has made her feel “so screwed up.” She sings about
getting emotional and having difficulty letting go, but
her maturity shines as she understands that, “it’s too
late, it’ll never be the same again.”
SZA says, “and I can’t let down my guard –
told you I need honesty, but you want that old me,”
which implies that she will no longer be blinded by
her romantic feelings. Instead, she reason what is best

for her, more than following her emotions of attrac-
tion.

The third track in the album is called “30 for
30”, and features Kendrick Lamar. The track features

a catchy beat, along with a compelling vocal perfor-
mance from both Kendrick and SZA; this is the kind

of song one could be productive to.
It seems that SZA is all about putting 100%
into a relationship, but dipping if the other person is
not reciprocating as much love. She sings, “Only want
your love if it’s solid – and that’s the way I like it.” Her
growth is shown in this song, as she literally says in

the beginning of the song, “I used to think about im-
mature things.” She then goes on to say that dwelling

on the thought of whether someone wants you or not
is immature.

The tenth track in the album is called “Cry-
baby.” This song has a slower beat compared to other

songs, but it sounds lovely with the dynamics of her
voice. SZA sings about her mistakes, and the issues
she has caused.
She shows her maturity through the lyrics,
“If I stopped blaming the world for my faults, maybe
I could evolve.” After listening and reading the lyrics
in this track, it’s very clear that SZA is understanding
how her bad habits and past mistakes have made a
long lasting and repetitive impact on her life.
While the original SOS album is relatable
and catchy, SOS Deluxe: LANA expresses a stronger
message to young people. The newly added tracks,
filled with beautiful melodies and lyricism show the
artist’s growth as a singer, and as a songwriter.