Longtime buddies, former collaborators and one time lovers.
Drake and SZA’s relationship is underneath the microscope as soon as once more because the “Kill Bill” singer, 35, performs on the 2025 Tremendous Bowl Halftime Present — and later goes on tour with Drake’s rival, Kendrick Lamar.
Probably a good nearer pal of SZA’s, Lamar, 37, walked onto the sector on the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans for the Kansas Metropolis Chiefs’ face-off with the Philadelphia Eagles simply days after his Drake diss monitor “Not Like Us” earned him 5 Grammys.
Right here’s a timeline of what that you must learn about SZA’s relationship with 38-year-old Drake.
2008 – 2009: Drake and SZA share a “childish” fling
Drake and the R&B singer — whose actual title is Solána Imani Rowe — dated for an unknown time frame both in 2008 or 2009. It wasn’t till a decade later that Drake revealed the pair had a romance. SZA then confirmed the fling, which she would later dub “childish,” however disagreed about after they dated. Drake stated it went down in 2008, whereas SZA stated it occurred in 2009.
October 2020: Drake reveals he and SZA dated
On Oct. 2, Drizzy releases “Mr. Right Now” with Metro Boomin and 21 Savage, which incorporates a line revealing that he and SZA was an merchandise. Referring to an unnamed girl, Drake sings, “Yeah, said she wanna f–k to some SZA, wait / ‘Cause I used to date SZA back in ’08.”
October 2020: SZA confirms previous relationship with Drake, corrects his time stamp
The “Normal Girl” singer posts on X (previously often known as Twitter) on Oct. 4, confirming the pair dated.
“So It was actually 2009 lol,” she wrote. “In this case a year of poetic rap license mattered. Lol I think he just innocently rhymed 08 w wait. Anybody who really knows me and was around during this time can confirm.”
She added, “it’s all love all peace.”
The now 35-year-old siren went on to elucidate that she weighed in as a result of she needed individuals to know she was not underage after they dated.
“I just didn’t want anybody thinking anything underage or creepy was happening,” she posted. “Completely innocent. Lifetimes ago.”
December 2022: SZA compares Drake to Regina George from “Mean Girls”
After showing because the musical visitor on an episode of “Saturday Night Live” that additionally featured a sketch lampooning Drake as a womanizer, SZA in contrast the “Hotline Bling” hitmaker to Regina George from the film “Mean Girls.”
“In a strange way, I was like, ‘Did they know?’” she instructed Audacy, recalling how she puzzled whether or not “SNL” writers knew she and Drake dated. “But they didn’t ask me to be in it. Nobody said anything.”
She added, “I feel like Drake has a Regina George quality to him where it’s just kind of like, ‘Have you or anyone you know been personally victimized?’ He’s like a cool kid, you know. When you’re the popular kid in school, it’s entertaining. It’s entertaining, but you sometimes are taking losses in the midst of that entertainment. The honesty, I respect that. But I definitely laughed real hard…I cackled.”
Of her friendship with Drake, SZA stated, “We’re cool. And we’ve always been cool. It’s never been weird.”
The “Nobody Gets Me” singer additionally revealed that Drake gave her a heads up that he was mentioning their previous relationship in “Mr. Right Now.”
“It didn’t come completely out of the blue when he let me know,” she defined. “I didn’t know it was a song with 21 [Savage] or anything like that. But anytime he’s ever mentioned me, it’s always been positive. He’s never said anything negative about me. I’m grateful for that. I think highly of him … He’s King Drake.”
September 2023: SZA featured on 2 Drake tracks
Drake and SZA joined forces for his or her first ever collab in 2023, working collectively on two tracks off his “For All The Dogs” album, “Slime You Out” and “Rich Baby Daddy.”
October 2023: SZA says Drake fling wasn’t “hot and heavy”
SZA downplayed her and the “God’s Plan” rapper’s romance in an interview with Rolling Stone.
“We were really young,” she stated of her and Drake’s fling. “It wasn’t hot and heavy or anything. It was like youth vibes. It was so childish.”
October 2023: SZA says she thought Drake tried to sabotage her
In an Oct. 30 interview with The Wall Avenue Journal, SZA stated she thought Drake was attempting to “sabotage” her through the use of the primary draft she despatched him of her characteristic for “Slime You Out.”
“I just handed in the first draft to Drake, and he’s putting it on his album,” she instructed the paper. “I’m scared because I handed in second vocals and he didn’t use that. And now I’m like, ‘Are you trying to sabotage me?’”
“I know that’s not true. I literally know that’s not true, but that’s how bad I feel about my first draft. When things come from an effortless space, I almost can’t enjoy it.”
April 2024: SZA will get drawn into Drake and Kendrick Lamar’s beef
Simply as Drake’s feud with Kendrick Lamar was heating up, SZA received embroiled within the beef. On Apr. 13, a leaked demo of Drizzy’s Okay-Dot diss “Push Ups” circulated on-line. On it, the Canadian hitmaker asserts that SZA is extra deserving of being in rap’s “Big 3” than Lamar.
“Pipsqueak, pipe down / You ain’t in no big three, SZA got you wiped down,” Drake spits. “Travis [Scott] got you wiped down, [21] Savage got you wiped down / Like your label, boy, you in a scope right now.”
Inside lower than 24 hours, SZA responded on her Instagram Story, posting a clip of NeNe Leakes at one of many “Real Housewives of Atlanta” reunions, asking in exasperation, “Now why am I in this? You see how I get thrown into it? I ain’t even did nothing.”
November 2024: SZA featured on two tracks from Kendrick’s “GNX” album
Months after the Kendrick-Drake feud reached its zenith with Lamar releasing “Not Like Us,” SZA featured on two tracks off Okay-Dot’s new album, “GNX,” “Gloria” and “Luther.” Although they collaborated way back to 2014, that is the primary time they labored collectively since Kendrick and Drake’s feud reached a boil.
December 2024: SZA revealed as Kendrick’s tour opener
On Dec. 3, SZA was introduced as Kendrick Lamar’s opener for his upcoming Grand Nationwide Tour, which kicks off its 19-city, three-month run in April.
January 2025: SZA gained’t say whether or not Drake is an efficient kisser
Whereas showing on an episode of “Hot Ones Versus” to advertise her new film “One of Them Days” alongside producer Issa Rae and costar Keke Palmer, Palmer requested the “Kill Bill” singer whether or not Drak was a superb kisser.
“That’s why I said f–k you in advance,” SZA instructed the “Nope” star, refusing to reply the query.
“We were children!” she exclaimed. “We were children. 2009? We were children.”
Palmer prodded her, saying the query was a “simple good or not good,” with Rae including it was “really easy.” The “Insecure” creator continued, “And the fact that you don’t want to say one is very telling.”
“Y’all trying to double-team me into guilt ‘cause you know I’m affected by it? F–k y’all,” SZA replied.
January 2025: Kendrick Lamar declares SZA will carry out at his Tremendous Bowl halftime present
On Jan. 23, Kendrick Lamar revealed that SZA can be becoming a member of him on the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans for the Apple Music Tremendous Bowl Halftime Present.
The pair shared a teaser to their respective Instagram accounts exhibiting Lamar on a soccer subject speaking with somebody on his cell, saying that he’s “been thinking about a guest performer” for his set.
SZA then sneaks up behind him and douses him with what appears to be blue gatorade.
