Something you may not know about Paramore is that they have a significant Black fanbase, a cultural phenomenon Sequoia Holmes named her podcast — "about the seemingly random, underrepresented interests of different niches of Black people" — after. Now, Hayley Williams herself has appeared on an episode of Black People Love Paramore and revealed that she's been playing the long game for a SZA collab.
When Holmes inquired about what Black artists Williams would jump at the chance to collaborate with, the Paramore frontwoman hand an immediate answer: "It's been SZA for a long time, because I love her voice," she said, adding, "But also — ah man, there's too many, to be honest with you.
Williams explained, "I was saying recently to someone, because we grew up in the scene we grew up in, I rarely get asked to do features for things that I feel like really get down to my core. So I'm still keeping my eye out for whether that be new artists, or maybe it's older, established artists — but probably people who do groovier shit; something that I can sink down into a little bit, instead of having to just be, I guess, the 'Misery Business' version of myself."
Let a historian fill you in on Williams's history of incredible features, okay? There was the forever-meme that is B.o.B.'s "Airplanes" — which, yes, is over a decade old now. Let that sink in. And that same year, she sang on a Zedd banger called "Stay the Night." More recently, Williams has teamed up with American Football for "Uncomfortably Numb" in 2019 and Taylor Swift for "Castles Crumbling" — a From the Vault track on Speak Now (Taylor's Version).
But SZA remains the singer-songwriter's (understandably) coveted collaboration. "SZA has, for about six years now, been the one. I'm sending the text weekly at this point," Williams laughed.
"I think 'Garden' is my favourite song by SZA," she answered, citing the cut from 2017's CTRL, when Holmes asked what her favourite SZA track was. "But also, all of her records, they're records you can put on and [have] no skips for me."
The pair also discussed a range of interesting topics — from Williams's upbringing in Mississippi gospel churches to her love for breakout sensations Flyana Boss — over the course of the brief episode. Give it a listen below.
When Holmes inquired about what Black artists Williams would jump at the chance to collaborate with, the Paramore frontwoman hand an immediate answer: "It's been SZA for a long time, because I love her voice," she said, adding, "But also — ah man, there's too many, to be honest with you.
Williams explained, "I was saying recently to someone, because we grew up in the scene we grew up in, I rarely get asked to do features for things that I feel like really get down to my core. So I'm still keeping my eye out for whether that be new artists, or maybe it's older, established artists — but probably people who do groovier shit; something that I can sink down into a little bit, instead of having to just be, I guess, the 'Misery Business' version of myself."
Let a historian fill you in on Williams's history of incredible features, okay? There was the forever-meme that is B.o.B.'s "Airplanes" — which, yes, is over a decade old now. Let that sink in. And that same year, she sang on a Zedd banger called "Stay the Night." More recently, Williams has teamed up with American Football for "Uncomfortably Numb" in 2019 and Taylor Swift for "Castles Crumbling" — a From the Vault track on Speak Now (Taylor's Version).
But SZA remains the singer-songwriter's (understandably) coveted collaboration. "SZA has, for about six years now, been the one. I'm sending the text weekly at this point," Williams laughed.
"I think 'Garden' is my favourite song by SZA," she answered, citing the cut from 2017's CTRL, when Holmes asked what her favourite SZA track was. "But also, all of her records, they're records you can put on and [have] no skips for me."
The pair also discussed a range of interesting topics — from Williams's upbringing in Mississippi gospel churches to her love for breakout sensations Flyana Boss — over the course of the brief episode. Give it a listen below.