Z (EP)

SZA first met members of Top Dawg Entertainment at the CMJ 2011, when her boyfriend's clothing company sponsored a show in which Kendrick Lamar was performing. A friend attending the show with her foisted early SZA songs onto TDE president Terrence "Punch" Henderson, who liked the material and stayed in touch. On October 29, 2012, SZA released her debut self-released extended play entitled See.SZA.Run, which featured production from brandUn DeShay and APSuperProducer, among others. In June 2013, Top Dawg Entertainment announced they were planning to sign two more artists. On July 14, it was revealed Top Dawg had signed the upcoming singer SZA to the label. SZA's intention was to release another EP, but she felt she owed "people more", leading her to release the full-length album. == Recording ==

SZA said the public could expect to hear a "completely different level of insight" into her life through this album. She described the recording process as not being "rushed or afraid", and that she had "vocal freedom" during the process. During the writing process SZA felt she "ran out of shit to say", which led her to force herself to "dig deeper... It's funny because I get to choose all these crazy producers who I never got to work with before, so I'm getting to know myself around some of the most creative minds ever." The majority of Z was recorded in Carson, California in the summer of 2013, in a "little club house" along with labelmate Isaiah Rashad. The experience gave SZA a crucial ally within the crew, and the two have since made a habit of collaborating. About recording the EP, SZA said, "Him and all his producers would kick open my door in the morning and jump on the bed and light blunts at 9 AM... Now we're each other's security blanket, in a way. We just get each other really well." SZA met producer Felix Snow via a mutual friend and they later began "hanging out". SZA described him as being "completely not the textbook producer". On working with Felix, SZA said, If you've ever seen him he wears sunglasses inside all day and sandals all year round. He's basically always in yacht mode. He has a Tamagachi and a Giga Pet, so he's a character-and-a-half. But we're like family. I went to his house in Connecticut and played with his menagerie of animals and met his parents and ate soup. == Composition ==

Z contains alternative, synth-pop, modern R&B style, neo soul, and hip hop genres; the album's instrumentals "vary in groove". The album's production is characterized as being "mainly synthetic" with guitar work scattered throughout. He described the album's genre as being "agnostic", noting that Z is not just one style of music and is versatile, with a musical style that is not just "R&B, pop, soul, or one thing at all". The musical style then moves into a more upbeat, energetic set of songs. "Julia" is an uptempo synth-pop song that contains a "danceable, energetic vibe" described as being built on a "glorious" and "glittering" production, with lyrics that revolve around romantic relationships. The album's fourth song, the two-part "Warm Winds", features rapper and labelmate Isaiah Rashad, whose vocals have been described as sounding like backing vocals. "Sweet November" is musically more upbeat than some of the EP's previous material. It contains "breathy" vocals and guitar riffs, while its lyrics are about "love and life lessons". The song contains guitar, piano and organ instruments and a sample of Marvin Gaye's "Mandota", which was originally featured on the deluxe edition of his 1973 album ''Let's Get It On''. "Shattered Ring" is a pop song that contains "haunting vocals" and "guitar tabs", as well as borrowing "songwriting and vocal cues from country and acoustic music." ==Marketing and sales==

After appearing on a variety of songs by her fellow Top Dawg Entertainment artists, SZA announced the title and release date of her next EP, and released a new video. It was announced that the EP titled Z would be released on April 8, 2014. The same company also placed the album on their "Most Anticipated Albums" of 2014. To promote the Z EP, SZA performed at several performance showcases at the SXSW Music Festival in Austin, Texas. On May 14, 2014, SZA released a music video for the song "Warm Winds", featuring Isaiah Rashad. The video was directed by APLUSFILMZ, and depicts SZA and Rashad running through a field and walking down a deserted path. On July 11, 2014, SZA released a video for "Julia" from the EP, which featured a snippet of a new song entitled "Tender". Z made its chart debut in the United Kingdom, where it charted at number 32 on the UK R&B Chart, the week ending April 19, 2014, and at number 197 on the UK Albums Chart. The album also debuted at number nine on the US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart and at number five on the US Top R&B Albums chart, where it charted for three weeks on the former and four weeks on the latter. To date, the EP has sold over 26,000 copies in the US. == Critical reception ==

At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted mean rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 66, based on 15 reviews, which indicates "generally favorable reviews". Z was thirty-four on Vibe Magazines end-of-year list, and number ten on Sweden's Nöjesguiden international list. == Track Listing ==