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Life for artists can be incredibly taxing. You spend a great deal of time on the road, in the studio, being critiqued about the music you make, the clothes you wear, the things you say and do. And while some people have much thicker skin than others, for many, being in the public eye requires a great deal of self-care to remain centered (and in one piece).
In a cover story for V Magazine, and in a conversation with Jada Pinkett Smith (the singer and Willow Smith are close so that’s the connection), SZA was asked what she does to maintain a sense of peace when she’s away from the things and people that keep her grounded. For the 27-year-old, she counts on meditation.
“Meditation is the easiest way to re-center and ground yourself,” she said, “Sometimes, I get really tired; I feel like I’m hitting a wall I’m about to break through. I just know I have to keep going because there’s about to be some sort of weird endurance experience after. I’d never been on tour before; I never did 40 or 50 cities. I just had to build calmness.”
It also helps to be in touch with her mother, who she’s said in the past helps her to find balance when juggling too many things at once.
“I talk to my mom a lot. If I feel super chaotic, she usually calls me first,” she said. “She always knows.”
The pair are closer than close.
“She is just amazing,” SZA added. “She can find joy in anything. She’s incredibly nonreactive; there’s so much love emanating from her presence. She walks in a room, and it just lights up. She used to be a pathologist, so her voice is super-soothing; her diction is amazing. I love her.”
