It seems like we’ve been living in a SZA winter, and I’m not complaining. With the release of SOS Deluxe: LANA on Dec. 20 and SZA’s first major lead role in the studio film, One Of Them Days, we’ve been fed a ton of new content from the singer these past few months. And SZA isn’t showing any signs of slowing down in 2025, as she’s beginning to embark on what is to be her biggest tour yet, The Grand National Tour, alongside rapper Kendrick Lamar. Both SZA and Lamar have been two of people’s favorite musicians for years, and it feels like the stars have perfectly aligned for this collaboration.
Lamar and SZA have a long history in the music industry together, but it actually goes so much further than what fans may expect. With a decade-long friendship and a joint tour on the horizon, the pair have been life-long friends in the music industry, who’ve collaborated on more than one occasion.
In 2011, SZA was discovered by Punch — the president of TDE — at a Brooklyn event where Lamar was playing. SZA was working the show with her friend at the merchandise table and met Punch as he was looking to purchase merch for the event. After they didn’t have the size he was looking for at the venue, SZA and her friend agreed to meet up with Punch afterward to help him get the right size. After they met the next day, Punch noticed that SZA’s friend was listening to music and asked what they were listening to. Her friend revealed that they were listening to SZA’s music, and Punch began to listen.
In 2013, she got signed to TDE as the first female artist on their roster. Lamar had been signed to TDE since 2005, a few years before SZA joined.
2014: Lamar appears on SZA’s debut album, Z.
SZA and Lamar’s collaborations began in 2014 when SZA released her first full-length album, Z. Lamar was featured on the song “Babylon,” which he co-wrote with SZA and Dahl.
Though Lamar was featured on the track, he chose to not be in the music video. When asked about why Lamar wasn’t featured in the music video, SZA told Mass Appeal that Lamar expressed his “love for where [she] took the beat” in the song.
2017: SZA and Lamar collaborate on “All The Stars.”
Three years after their collaboration on Z, SZA and Lamar collaborated on “All The Stars”, the end credits song for Marvel’s Black Panther.
Not only did Lamar produce the song, but it was also revealed that he produced the entirety of the Black Panther soundtrack. “All The Stars” would go on to receive various accolades such as a Best Original Song nomination at the Academy Award, a Golden Globe nomination, and Grammy nominations in 2018.
November 2024: SZA interviews Lamar for his Harper’s Bazaar cover.
After Lamar released “Not Like Us,” he sat down with SZA to do his first interview about the song. The pair talked about Lamar writing “Not Like Us,” his songwriting process, and his thoughts on headlining the 2025 Super Bowl Halftime Show.
December 2024: SZA and Lamar announce The Grand National Tour.
A few days before the release of his sixth album, GNX, Lamar and SZA announced their joint tour, The Grand National Tour. The announcement came alongside the reveal that there would be two songs on GNX featuring SZA. The tour is set to kick off on April 19 in Minneapolis, making stops in 23 cities throughout the United States and Canada.
I don’t know about you, but I’ll be fighting the reseller bots to see both Lamar and SZA perform this summer.