"How you want me when you got a girl ...”  (well, man — sometimes girl actually). A line I felt spiritually, emotionally, universally, — all that — when I first heard the lyrics from the infamous track 6, “The Weekend”, on SZA’s debut studio album, CTRL. Why did it resonate so much? Well to be honest, it felt like I wasn’t alone in feeling the rollercoaster effects of a guy running game on you. I finally was understood.

Being any of the three perspectives in the situation is no fun and I’ve been all three (embarrassingly enough — but oh well, I like to keep it real). I’ve been the main (boyfriend) who didn’t know their man was dipping toes in other’s honey. The scorching but yet numbing hurt you feel when you discover such betrayal that is cheating is something pretty hard to work through. Then I’ve been side piece #1, not even knowing he has a “main guy/chick”. So, I’m ignorant to what’s really going on and trying to build with someone who has already built up something with another person. The flip of this is side piece #2, knowing “[he] want me when [he] got a girl — [boy]”, sadly to admit I’ve been in this situation before. Of course, I wasn’t okay with being the side piece completely but after dealing with so much romantic turmoil you begin to be on what I like to call the “ain’t sh*t” phase. In this phase, you don’t care when you find out he has a main significant other, as long as you continue to get yours. It’s all VERY toxic, but with some self-love and growth it eventually fades away.

The infamous track 6, “The Weekend”, presents all these very realistic toxic emotions and wraps it up in very comforting bow. The minimalistic feel presented in the Official Music Video adds to this. The video features SZA, dancing around in various outfits (the three different girls) in wide open empty spaces. My takeaway from this is the feeling one feels in each of these perspectives of being played by a guy — the emotional emptiness. One girl, is dancing all cute and dolled up but alone trying to numb the pain by remaining all happy go lucky. The opening scene seems to be the main girl, who is in all black as she mourns the loving relationship she thought she had with her boyfriend. The girl in red, is bending over backwards to prove she is worth it (she does the most dramatic dance moves). The outfits are fun and sexy but, the venues don’t match which is how being played by a guy feels. You look all happy and feel like everything is great but in reality, the surrounding environment says otherwise. The venues are a parking garage, and other massive structures which seem to be a hint at the feeling of being a secret from the rest of the world. Very deep vibes, that I like to credit to the director, Solange Knowles. The collaboration of her and SZA is seen very clearly in the video and I personally love it. From the outfits to the underlying meanings in the music video. There is uproar on social media however, as many expected a music video where the whole situation was acted out and side piece #2 was deemed the bad guy in the situation for “stealing the main girl’s man” but that’s not what the song was ever meant to say. Actually, one thing I really find dope about the video is there are NO GUYS in the video it’s just SZA looking all beautiful, interpreting the emotions each girl feels from their perspective.

SZA is finally becoming the big household name that I knew she would be. She is racking up on some great universal karma of success. SZA is also up for FIVE 2018 Grammys nominations:

• Best New Artist

• Best Urban Contemporary Album (Ctrl)

• Best R&B Song ("Supermodel")

• Best Rap/Sung Performance ("Love Galore")

• Best R&B Performance ("The Weekend")

You can check out the Official “The Weekend” music video below: 

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