SZA is gearing up to give her fans what they’ve been waiting on for nearly five years, as the Top Dawg Entertainment singer posted an image on Instagram of the cover art for her upcoming sophomore studio album, S.O.S.
The cover art uploaded to the social media site Wednesday (Nov. 30) features the songstress sitting on a ledge, hovering over open waters while wearing a hockey jersey and Timberland boots. A parental advisory sticker all but confirmed fans’ suspicions that the aquatic pic was indeed S.O.S cover art, with the album slated to arrive in December.
SZA hasn’t released a full length project since her debut album Ctrl in 2017.
The “Broken Clocks” singer did not caption the image, leaving minds to wonder. Boldly, Top Dawg Entertainment president Terrance “Punch” Henderson left the comment, “What is this? Some sort of album?”
Pinning Punch’s comment to the top of her feedback, the Maplewood, NJ native responded to her “stage dad” with a simple, “[You’re] a menace.”
It’s no secret that SZA and Punch had a rocky relationship regarding the 33-year-old releasing the follow-up to her 3x-Platinum debut album.
In 2016, SZA publicly stated that she would be exiting the label home she shares with Kendrick Lamar and ScHoolboy Q due continued delays in releasing her music. In a tweet, SZA called out Punch specifically for the deferment.
“I actually quit,” SZA wrote six years ago. “@iamstillpunch can release my album if he ever feels like it . Y’aa be blessed.” Her tweet has since been deleted.
SZA continued to blame Punch earlier this year for not having dropped an album. In a response to a fan asking why she didn’t release an LP this year, she stated, “It’s 100% Punch and RCA on this one. I wanted the summer. They wanted more time. At this point, I’m just tryna have a good time stress free lol.”
The 40-year-old music executive did address SZA’s accusations during an interview on Math Hoffa’s My Expert Opinion podcast.
“You gotta understand the context, and you have to know the person,” Punch explained. “You have to know how something was said — if it was lighthearted, if it was serious — like what it was.”
He added, “If she’s [SZA] responding to somebody and saying, ‘You gotta ask Punch,’ you can take that a gang of different ways based on your disposition. You only get so many characters when you’re tweeting, and people get a whole story and run with it. What I always like to ask is ‘What do I gain from not putting the album out?’”
SZA’s Ctrl garnered the artist some of her biggest accomplisments in music. The 14-track project peaked at No. 3 on the Billboard 200 chart. It also boasted the 6x-Platinum single “Love Galore” with Travis Scott and the 5x-Platinum hit “The Weekend.”
The album marked SZA as a monumental R&B singer, earning her Grammy nominations for Best Urban Contemporary Album, Best New Artist, Best R&B Song (“Supermodel”), Best Rap/Sung Performance (“Love Galore”) and Best R&B Performance (“The Weekend”) in 2018.
Since Ctrl, SZA has teased fans with popular singles like “All The Stars,” “Hit Different” featuring Ty Dolla Sign, “Good Days,” “I Hate U” and “Shirt.”
Check out the cover art for S.O.S. above and take a look at SZA’s latest visual for “Shirt” below.