Pic: SZA and Karen Civil

Marketer/Blogger, Karen Civil (in red shirt) posted this pic on Twitter of her and TDE artist, SZA a couple of minutes ago. This is from the recently concluded Budweiser Mad In America concert. Now, keep your eyes on this lady called Karen Civil, cos she is one hard working mama, and she is about to blow up big time.

New Music: God's Reign (Ab-Soul feat. SZA)

Another one from Ab-Soul's new album, These Days. This one features fellow TDE artist, SZA. These Days...dropped today. Listen to the song below. Great production and flow on this one.

Download the song here- God's Reign

New Music: Babylon (SZA feat. Kendrick Lamar)

TDE singer, SZA released her debut album, Z yesterday. One of the tracks off it that everyone ran off to listen to was Babylon, which features Kendrick Lamar. Give it a listen below.

 


Download song here- Babylon

First Week Sales's Prediction of SZA's "Z" Album

Although she ain't a rapper, she is mighty connected to Hip Hop, so I decided to do this. TDE's first lady, SZA, is dropping her debut album, Z next week Tuesday, and i'm  predicting it will sell between 30-45k first week. She is a new artist and doesn't even have her own wikipedia page yet, but she is good at what she does, and a lot of people that like her brand of music have been waiting for someone like her for a while. Okay, maybe there is Jhene Aiko, but SZA has her own style, and there sure is a large market for their type of music out there.

Tracklist of SZA's "Z" Album

TDE's first lady, SZA is dropping her debut album, Z next week, and the tracklist just hit the internet. At the beginning of the year, TDE boss, Top Dawg said six albums will drop this year under his label. This is going to be the second from TDE this year after ScHoolboy's Oxymoron dropped in February, so maybe the guy wasn't bullshitting. 






Below is the tracklist for Z.



01. UR (Prod. by Mac Miller)
02. Childs Play (feat. Chance The Rapper) (Prod. by XXYYXX & Dae One)
03. Julia (Prod. by Felix Snow)
04. Warm Winds (feat. Isaiah Rashad) (Prod. by Mac Miller & Antydote)
05. Hi Jack (Prod. by Toro Y Moi)
06. Green Mile (Prod. by Emile)
07. Babylon (feat. Kendrick Lamar (Prod. by DJ Dahi)
08. Sweet November (Prod. by Marvin Gaye)
09. Shattered Ring (Prod. by Emile)
10. Omega (Prod. by Emile)








Nice guest appearances.

SZA Speaks On Being First Female Act Signed To TDE

In a recent MTV interview with up coming female musician, SZA, she spoke on being the first female act signed to TDE. In case you don't know what TDE means or what it is- TDE (Top Dawg Entertainment) is the record label that signed Kendrick Lamar in 2003 when he was just 16 years old. Yes, Kendrick has been on the scene since then. And yes, he is still on the label, along side his friends/label mates, Ab-Soul, School Boy Q, and Jay Rock. Actually, Jay Rock was the first to have a buzz on TDE in the late 2000s, that was before TDE signed a joint deal with Interscope Records in 2012. The label was formed by Anthony "Top Dawg" Tiffith back in 1997.


Although she has always been around the team, she officially signed with the label last month (August, 2013). Below is what she had to say about her deal with TDE.

"To be the first female on TDE is more...it's really just more important to me to be a part of TDE, rather than the first female. They've worked with girls in the past, incredible [artists] like Alori [Joh] and Jhene [Aiko]. So for me, it's just honestly being a part of a collective, such as TDE. That's what's more insane to me. They don't treat me like the girl, in the best ways though. No one tries to baby me or walk over me 'cause I'm a girl. They just let me fight for what I believe in and let me be as creative as I want to be and just give me free reign. So I love that." 

"The thing that made it the right fit for me with TDE was definitely more of a personal, emotional decision, knowing [Top Dawg Ent. President] Punch, for like two years prior, of like non music-related...like no pressure...or running into them beforehand, just in the streets. They've always been kind to me. They've never been Hollywood, or funny. I don't know. It's really just the talent level. They aren't the kind of label that will give you a bottle of champagne and a car when you sign, but they'll give you all the studio time you could ever ask for and every producer you could ever dream of and all the support you could ever want and that's real."

It's good to see TDE building a brand, Kendrick Lamar deserves all the shine he is currently getting, and it will help the rest of the label get more recognition in the music scene. I haven't heard much from SZA, but it seems Top Dawg always signs very dope and creative artists, so I am expecting her to be a creative musician. And for the record, Kendrick is the only artist on the label with a part signing with Aftermath Records, the rest are strictly TDE/Interscope.