SZA Talks Music and Eats Spicy Wings in Bug Prosthetics on “Hot Ones”

SZA is tired of not being a bug. While they can crawl around all day, she has to deal with toxic relationship breakups, the growing pressure to follow up on her two career-defining albums, and a song like “Kill Bill,” which she started as a joke, to garner more praise and success as “Nobody Gets Me,” the ballad she always wanted to write. The musician made this frustration clear in the latest episode of Hotwhere she threw back spicy wings and answered questions while dressed as a beetle.

“It's harder for me to enjoy something when I'm not suffering from it, that's why I wear this mask,” SZA said, acknowledging the prosthetic that covered her face with large alien eyes and antennae sticking out of her hair. She was as serious as she could be given the deeply frivolous conditions of her appearance and the premise of the show itself. “I feel like 'Nobody Gets Me' is my goal: 'Oh, I can do a ballad, I can do “It took seconds was like a joke to your engineer,'” she continued. “I don't know. Suffering adds value in every way.”

SZA isn't even a big fan of spicy food – she was only willing to suffer through the increasingly hot selection of wings because of her competitive edge. It also gave her the opportunity to question host Sean Evans about the origins of Hotespecially what he gets out of watching his guests suffer. “What is your moon in your rising sign? “I know you’re a Taurus,” she told him, digging through his astrological chart. “We're getting to the bottom of the matter. I have to. There's something behind why you're doing this.” Soon, SZA flips the script on Evans and starts questioning him about whether he likes doing a show Hot prevents him from finding exciting love relationships.

SZA's own line of questioning leads her to think more deeply about her own relationships, especially with music and her audience. “It’s just not honest enough for me. “I never know what’s going to happen,” she explained. “I thought, 'I thought you liked this?' And then they say, “No, stupid.” We hate that. We want more of it.' It's just so confusing. I'm just wondering what? Does my boyfriend love me? It's insulting, but also very fulfilling and validating.” She admits that she has a toxic relationship with music, but adds: “The toxic relationships are the most fun, and that's why I have a lot of fun.”

In her insect disguise, SZA doesn't feel as burdened by her public life as a musician. “It gives me so much peace of mind. It's so daunting being a human being, being in your own skin and all that,” she said. “For no other reason than I’m just tired of not being a bug. It's like, what the fuck. Wouldn’t you want to be a bug if you could be anything else?”