SZA might be the It Girl of alt-R&B now, but when she was a struggling artist in 2015 her independent label Top Dawg Entertainment decided to give nine-time Grammy winner Rihanna her favorite song Consideration.

‘I cared so much. I was so, like, just frustrated and I felt like, “I’ll never have anything this cool again. I’ll never make anything this cool again,”‘ the 34-year-old Grammy winner told Variety on Wednesday.

‘It was like the centerpiece to my [debut studio album Ctrl] at the time. And for her, it was just like part of her album [Anti]. And I was like, “Please no!” I had just shot a video for it and, like, I was about to drop it, like, in a couple of days.’

SZA (born Solána Imani Rowe) was ‘desperate’ at the time, working in a strip club and ‘wondering if I might have enough money to eat and borrowing studio time and being compared to other artists that I feel don’t represent me.’

The Missouri-born Jersey Girl admitted ‘it was so hard to’ accept that she didn’t have control over the situation, but the 35-year-old Bajan pop star kept some of her vocals on the track and gave her a ‘featuring’ credit.

SZA (L) might be the It Girl of alt-R&B now, but when she was a struggling artist in 2015 her independent label Top Dawg Entertainment decided to give nine-time Grammy winner Rihanna (R) her favorite song Consideration

Riri even invited SZA to perform Consideration with her onstage the O2 Arena in London during The Brit Awards in 2016, but she sang way in the background nearly in silhouette.

‘I was so crazy and so wrong,’ the Snooze singer – who gets 62.2M monthly listeners on Spotify – reflected.

‘I’m so glad that that happened, and that it didn’t cost me anything. If anything, I just, like, gained a bunch from it. And I thank God that I made cool music outside of that. I don’t know why I just really thought my creativity would just, like, stop and, like, this was the pinnacle of what I could make. If she has it, then I’ll just never be anything.’

Consideration – co-written by the Savage X Fenty founder and producer Tyran Donaldson – reached No. 38 on Billboard’s US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, but the subsequent 2017 remix record topped Billboard’s US Dance Club Songs.

SZA is next scheduled to perform at Z100 New York and iHeartRadio’s sold-out Jingle Ball happening December 8 at Madison Square Garden in Manhattan alongside Olivia Rodrigo, OneRepublic, Doechii, and more.

The Oscar-nominated songwriter will then compete for nine trophies – the most of any artist this year – at the 66th Annual Grammy Awards, which air February 4 on CBS/Paramount+.

‘I’ve lost enough times to know that investing in this moment is not wise,’ SZA cautioned.

‘And not because it’s not important — I’m so happy for it — but because you have to place your importance on who you are as an artist and as a person. It’s my first time being this popular, and I saw a huge uptick in negativity at the exact same time. But I guess it’s good that I don’t feel too beloved, because maybe I’d believe it!’

The 34-year-old Grammy winner told Variety on Wednesday: ‘I cared so much. I was so, like, just frustrated and I felt like, “I’ll never have anything this cool again. I’ll never make anything this cool again”‘

SZA (born Solána Imani Rowe) added: ‘It was like the centerpiece to my [debut studio album Ctrl] at the time. And for her, it was just like part of her album [Anti]. And I was like, “Please no!” I had just shot a video for it and, like, I was about to drop it, like, in a couple of days’

The Missouri-born Jersey Girl was ‘desperate’ at the time, working in a strip club and ‘wondering if I might have enough money to eat and borrowing studio time and being compared to other artists that I feel don’t represent me’ (pictured in 2015)

SZA admitted ‘it was so hard to’ accept that she didn’t have control over the situation, but the 35-year-old Bajan pop star kept some of her vocals on the track and gave her a ‘featuring’ credit

Riri (R) even invited the Snooze singer (L) to perform Consideration with her onstage the O2 Arena in London during The Brit Awards in 2016, but she sang way in the background nearly in silhouette

SZA reflected: ‘I was so crazy and so wrong…I’m so glad that that happened, and that it didn’t cost me anything. If anything, I just, like, gained a bunch from it. And I thank God that I made cool music outside of that. I don’t know why I just really thought my creativity would just, like, stop and, like, this was the pinnacle of what I could make. If she has it, then I’ll just never be anything’

The Oscar-nominated songwriter is next scheduled to perform at Z100 New York and iHeartRadio’s sold-out Jingle Ball happening December 8 at Madison Square Garden in Manhattan alongside Olivia Rodrigo, OneRepublic, Doechii, and more

SZA will then compete for nine trophies – the most of any artist this year – at the 66th Annual Grammy Awards, which air February 4 on CBS/Paramount+

The Delaware State University drop-out cautioned: ‘I’ve lost enough times to know that investing in this moment is not wise. And not because it’s not important — I’m so happy for it — but because you have to place your importance on who you are as an artist and as a person’

The Delaware State University drop-out scored three Grammy nods for her track Kill Bill, which only took 10 minutes to write and less than an hour to record.

‘I hated it. Well, I didn’t hate it,’ SZA – who doesn’t play an instrument – admitted.

‘I was really scared that people would harm each other, because some people are f***ing strange. But it was a joke…[while Nobody Gets Me made me feel like I accomplished something. I’d never made a ballad before, and that was so genuine to my spirit. I was sad as f*** about my ex, and that’s just what came out. But Kill Bill wasn’t a song that I cared so much about.’

The Nobody Gets Me singer said of her upcoming third studio album Lana: ‘I’m excited about the new music I have coming out because it’s, like, it’s not sad. But it is a lot of, like, also processing and, like, I’m happy to, like, move past the places where I am or where I’ve been.’