SZA has released a second video from her sophomore album, adding “Nobody Gets Me” to a growing collection of stunning visuals in support of SOS.
The clip sees the St. Louis native dressed down in oversized pants and a New York Jets letterman’s jacket, standing on a rooftop with the New York City skyline as her backdrop
The striking simplicity of the black and white video reflects the mood of the melancholy, guitar-driven ballad, on which SZA attempts to salvage her relationship.
Check out the video in full below:
The new video, directed by Bradley Calder, stands in stark contrast with the other content SZA put out in the weeks leading up to the release of SOS.
After teasing the release for months, she kicked off her promotional campaign with the elaborate video for “Shirt,” featuring Lakeith Stanfield in a crime drama-themed video harkening movies like Belly and Queen & Slim.
SZA followed the October release with a sexy, enigmatic teaser trailer titled “PSA” that saw the singer posing in what appeared to be an alleyway, with a chemical fire serving as one of the few other visual elements in the short video.
She offered fans a similar trailer on December 3, when she announced SOS would arrive on December 9, just hours after making an appearance on Saturday Night Live. The second trailer featured live action footage from the photo shoot during which the album’s cover was shot.
Just ahead of the album’s release, SZA confirmed a growing fan theory that the artwork was inspired by Princess Diana, who posed for a similar shot in 1997 during a trip to Portofino, Italy.
“Originally I was supposed to be on top of a shipping barge, but in the references that I pulled for that, I pulled the Diana reference,” SZA told Hot 97. “Because I just loved how isolated she felt, and that was what I wanted to convey the most.”
SZA’s eagerly anticipated sophomore album clocks in at a sprawling 23 tracks and boasts guest appearances from Travis Scott, Don Toliver, the late Ol’ Dirty Bastard and Phoebe Bridgers, as well as uncredited vocals from Lizzo.
However during the same Hot 97 interview with radio personality Nessa, the Top Dawg Entertainment singer revealed that she hit up other artists about appearing on the project, but they never sent their vocals.
“[Collaborations happen] in the DMs and begging people,” she said. “Sometimes people turn in their verses and sometimes they don’t. A lot of people just like, did not turn in their verses — but I’m grateful for who did.”
SZA admitted that she’s guilty of ignoring feature requests from many of the same artists she reached out to in the past so she “can’t be too mad,” but that doesn’t mean she isn’t still disappointed.
A lot of these people, I didn’t turn in my verse, so I can’t be too mad,” she added. “But also, at the same token it’s like, ‘Damn, this sucks. I really needed you. I wish you showed up for me.’ But I’m sure they felt the same way for me.”
