Solána Imani Rowe (SZA)

Solána Imani Rowe, known professionally as SZA, was born on November 8, 1989, and was raised in Maplewood, New Jersey. Her father was an executive producer at CNN, while her mother was an executive at AT&T. Rowe has an older half-sister, Panya Jamila. Her mother is Christian, and her father is Muslim. She was raised as a Muslim and continues to follow Islam. She attended a Muslim prep school every day after her regular schooling, where she was forced by her father to wear a hijab. After the September 11 attacks, Rowe was subjected to bullying in 7th grade, leading her to stop wearing one. Rowe attended Columbia High School, where she was active in sports, including gymnastics and cheerleading. After graduating from high school in 2008, Rowe later went to three separate colleges, finally settling at Delaware State University to study marine biology. She eventually dropped out in her last semester, taking on a variety of jobs in order to make money.

Rowe formed her stage name from the Supreme Alphabet, taking influence from rapper RZA of the Wu-Tang Clan. The last two letters in her name stand for Zig-Zag and Allah, while the first letter S can mean either savior or sovereign. Clingy.