SZA on her five Grammy nods, meteoric rise to fame and finding a fan a kidney
SZA was relatively unknown before her album, "CTRL," but the R&B singer/songwriter has had an explosive past year. She collaborated with Solange, got Drew Barrymore to star in a music video and recently announced her tour with Kendrick Lamar. She's also up for a whopping five Grammy Awards.
CBS News caught up with SZA at an event for Mastercard's Start Something Priceless campaign. Here's what the artist had to say about the Grammys, working with Kendrick Lamar and finding a kidney for a fan.
Walk me through the day you found out you were up for five Grammys.
"That was definitely a 'I can't believe this is the day' day, but more so, that literal moment was about the responsibility and what comes after people bestow that kind of trust in you or put you in that predicament. It's like, now you have a responsibility to say something, to be more intentful with what's coming out of your mouth, what's coming out of your mind. It made me feel really responsible really fast. I personally have no inherent responsibilities or discipline, so I just panicked but also got overwhelmed with gratitude."
"But I was still like, 'Is this really real?' because I was in London and I broke my phone, so I couldn't even prove that it was a real thing until 24 hours after. It was just my manager telling me I got nominated so I didn't even have anybody to corroborate that. I had no phone numbers because my iCloud got locked out. I was just mulling on what possibly could be the truth."
No one on the street congratulated you?
"No, I was in London. Nobody even cared if I farted there. It was crazy. It was interesting and beautiful to have that time to be by myself and kind of be lost."
You were just talking about feeling the responsibility to say something. What message are you trying to put out there?
"I guess it's not as much about trying to put anything out but more so just really making the decision to -- whenever you feel something -- to honestly speak, consciously and courageously, about whatever you're feeling. I think when there's more eyes and attention, it's really kind of scary to speak your truth and support the things you believe in."
"You can do something small, but do that one thing. I found a girl on kidney on Twitter. I like her. She's a fan. Her name is Leah. We couldn't figure out how to get her a kidney. We tweeted about it and a woman volunteered who ended up being a match and she's a donor. I don't know; I would be shy and nervous to do something like that before. Do I know enough people to find someone a kidney? I never would have believed it if someone told me that would happen. So it's about being courageous about your responsibility."
You've had a lot of big moments this past year, getting nominated for Grammys, working with Solange, finding someone a kidney -- what's been your most surreal moment?
"Probably this whole week. Definitely Grammys, definitely my tour [with Kendrick Lamar]. I've never even been on a tour before. I was at Coachella this past year and that was a blessing. It's been a very 'what's happening' kind of year, but in a positive way."
Are you ready for the Grammys?
"Definitely."
Who are you most excited to see?
"Definitely Dot [Kendrick Lamar]. Obviously, it's crazy. All the people I respect and love are nominated. Lorde is my homegirl. Uzi's my homeboy. My grandma and my mom are the people I'm most like, 'Are you making them proud?'"
You were just talking about being honest and your lyrics are very raw. You sing about feeling insecure or not confident. Do you think that honesty has helped you connect with fans?
"It's a human condition thing, more. I feel like people who resonated with that feeling ended up being my friends, being at my shows, ended up being at my meet and greets, talking to me online and being in group chats -- they're just like minded human beings."
You just announced your upcoming tour with Kendrick Lamar, who you've been working with for years. What is your working relationship like?
"I trust him with anything even if I haven't heard it. I didn't hear the latest single at first. We just did it."
