SZA has had enough of taking it on the chin whenever her music is stolen and released without her approval. On Saturday (Jan. 6), she made it known that the latest leak of records, presumably for a deluxe album she has teased since December, was the last straw.
“Leaking my music is stealing. This is my job. This is my life and my intellectual property,” began her tweet addressing the offense. She continued, “You are a f**king thief, and I promise to put maximum energy into holding everyone accountable to the fullest extent of the law. I’m tired.”
Fans of the Grammy Award-winning artist have been anticipating the release of LANA, a deluxe LP with seven to 10 new tracks, to follow up on the success of her studio album SOS.
Last month, SZA shared six album covers but has yet to confirm a date for the project’s rollout. Now, scrapping the entire creative effort has become a real possibility. Top Dog Entertainment co-President Terrence “Punch” Henderson also spoke about the leak in a series of tweets. In one, he wrote, “When music leaks, it often leads to delays and/or canceling whole projects.”
In a follow-up response to someone inquiring about why the music would be shelved despite positive feedback from fans, Punch explained, “When artists work hard to get their music to a point where they’re comfortable sharing it, and then someone steals it and leaks it, it spoils the whole thing. Most of the songs leaked are incomplete and not how the artist wanted [people] to hear it.”
Subsequent tweets reveal the label executive has enlisted fans to narrow down who may be behind the recent act of sabotage. “Shout out to The Camp, man. Y’all coming [through] with the info. Appreciate y’all,” he wrote. The “Snooze” singer previously commented on the effects music leaks have played in the foiled release of her work.
In November, after being named Hitmaker of the Year, she told Variety, “When people leak my songs, they ruin them. Then it’s not mine anymore; it’s actually yours. It’s something unfinished that you decided was ready to be shared.” She would go on to note that the offense leaves her feeling embarrassed by the unfinished work and unwilling to move forward with planned releases.