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SZA’s Record Label Forced the Release of Her Iconic Debut Album Because She ‘Kept F***ing Everything Up’

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22.04.2026

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SZA’s Record Label Forced the Release of Her Iconic Debut Album Because She ‘Kept F***ing Everything Up’

SZA opens up about the creation of her debut album ‘Ctrl’ back in 2017, admitting her anxiety nearly caused her to scrap the whole record.

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Being a perfectionist can be complicated. On one hand, it’s great for an artist to be meticulous about details or making sure that a take comes out just right. However, it can also freeze someone from ever releasing anything.

They could have an abundance of great records that they can’t stop tinkering with. Leave them unsupervised, and they’ll edit and scrap songs forever. This is the case for SZA, who notably spent five years in between her debut album Ctrl and her follow-up, SOS.

TDE released ‘Ctrl’ After taking SZA’s recordings from her

Apparently, this perfectionism got so bad during the creation of her debut that her label essentially kicked her out of........

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