SZA is opening up about what it like her growing up Muslim.
In a recent interview, Sza was asked what was it like growing up with a Muslim father. She went on to explain that she attended a Muslim prep school and went to the mosque regularly.
She detailed her experience as “very microcosmic, very insulated, very much like you don’t know that no one else is practicing the same thing if you’re Black and in the suburbs because you’re kind of in your bubble. I guess I didn’t realize that things were weird and awkward until I got a lot older.”
The singer went on to explain why she was afraid to wear her hijab after September 11th, 2001. She recalls being 11-years-old at the time and afraid because of the attacks that were taking place against the Muslim community.
“I regret so much, like being afraid or caring what people said about me, or in high school feeling like if I didn’t cover all the time that I can’t start covering some of the time. And I did start covering again in high school, and then they were like, ‘What is this? You don’t live your life properly. You’re not really Muslim. Shut up.” I always let somebody dictate how I was.”
Although she hasn’t worn her hijab in a while, the New Jersey native did reveal to her manager that she would like to start again.
“I remember the other day even talking to Punch, my manager, and being like ‘Oh, I want to wear a hijab. I wonder if I could,’ played Malaysia and Indonesia, and it was really comforting to be able to cover up for those shows. I didn’t feel like anybody would judge me or was going to say that I was being fake. It was just part of the custom, where I’m amongst my own people, and they just accepted me as whatever.”