As modern R&B superstar SZA prepares to release Lana, the long-awaited deluxe edition of her acclaimed 2022 LP, SOS, she has shared a pair of clips from her forthcoming “Drive” music video (out Friday) starring an entertainer she truly admires: actor/director Ben Stiller.
That sentence may sound surprising at face value, but SZA has been vocal in her praise of Stiller in recent months, particularly in regard to the Apple TV+ series Severance, which Stiller directs alongside Aoife McArdle. During a recent appearance by Ben Stiller on The Tonight Show, host Jimmy Fallon called attention to a humorous exchange between the SOS artist and the Severance director on X back in May of 2024.
In an initial post, SZA had written, “Was tryna be polite but I really need a new season of severance right the [expletive] now.” As Stiller posted in a reply to SZA, “Ok ok got it.” To that, a seemingly surprised SZA responded, “Omg please accept my humble apology … lmao whenever ur ready is fine … just dying of thirst it’s the best show ever! ur a madman … THANK U mr stiller king sir !” Stiller was nearly as amused by the interaction as Fallon: “Whatever SZA wants, SZA gets,” he said.
In a comment on that Tonight Show clip, which SZA cross-posted to her own feed, she commented, “BEN IS A KING AND SEVERANCE BOUT TO EAAAATT AAHHHHH.”
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Cut to a few weeks later and it seems that what SZA wanted was to get Ben Stiller in her new music video. In a pair of clips posted to the singer’s Instagram, viewers get their first tastes of Stiller lip-syncing along as he drives through a rain storm in the Bradley J. Cadler-directed visuals for Lana track “Drive”. Even with her own new project coming up, her love for Severance gets prominent billing in the posts: While the first clip arrived with a caption about her SOS deluxe release this Friday, the caption for the second clip was dedicated to plugging the debut of Severance season 2 on January 17th, 2025.
Related: If You’ve Ever Wanted To Hear Ben Stiller’s High School Punk Band, We Have Great News
SZA is set to team up with longtime friend and collaborator Kendrick Lamar for a national stadium trek in 2025 billed as the Grand National Tour. The tour takes its name from the Compton rapper’s recent album, GNX (short for Grand National Experiment, a special model of Buick from 1987), which includes two separate featured guest appearances by SZA.
Revisit Live For Live Music‘s review of SZA’s SOS. here. Find tickets to the upcoming SZA/Kendrick Lamar Grand National Tour here. Watch the new SZA “Drive” video starring Ben Stiller below.
SZA – “Drive” (Official Music Video)
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[Originally published 12/17/24]