LEAKING MY MUSIC IS STEALING . THIS IS MY JOB . THIS IS MY LIFE AND MY INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY. YOU ARE A FUCKING THIEF AND I PROMISE TO PUT MAXIMUM ENERGY INTO HOLDING EVERYONE ACCOUNTABLE TO THE FULL EXTENT OF THE LAW . I AM TIRED .
SZA on the song’s leak, via Twitter[1]
"Work It" (also known by "Work" and "Was It Worth It?") is an unreleased hip-hop R&B song by American singer-songwriter SZA which was intended for her second studio album SOS. It is featured in a draft track listing seen on a whiteboard which the artist has posted to her Instagram story.
This song was leaked alongside low-quality versions of "Butterfly Garden" and "27 Hours", making "Work It" the only leaked song from that day to be available in high-quality.
The result of this song leaking on January 5, 2024, after a successful group-buy hosted in the "SZAHUB" Discord server, led to the permanent disbanding of the server to prevent any legal action from taking place, as well as SZA and her management at Top Dawg investigating further details about it.
Background[]
On June 27, 2023, three snippets were posted to SZAHUB, including: the first demo of "Work It", a throwaway titled "Trademark", and another throwaway titled "Deja Vu". The second demo of "Work It" ultimately leaked in high-quality on January 5, 2024, while "Trademark" and "Deja Vu" remain unleaked.
Initial controversy[]
On January 5, 2024, a demo of the song was leaked on Twitter by a now-deactivated account, in a tweet that contained a caption praising the singer for the song with the full music file attached to it. The leak allegedly originated in a now-defunct Discord server, known as "SolanaHub," in which the song was sold in a group-buy for $450 (USD).
On January 6, 2024, SZA acknowledged the post and made a tweet directed toward people who participated in leaking her music, igniting a Streisand effect.[2] This caused an upsurge in awareness of the leak, as well as induced many fans to reply to the leaker's post, in an attempt to get the leaker to delete the post. Replies were eventually disabled under the tweet to mitigate the growing commotion.
At 8:12 p.m. (EST), SZA replied to another reply under the main tweet, stating that she would no longer be privately messaging individuals who leak her music, and instead be taking legal action from that point forward. A short while after her reply, the tweet was deleted and the leaker's account was manually deactivated. The tweet's final statistics were ~400,000 views, ~4,500 likes, and ~1,000 retweets.
Top Dawg President's response[]
President of Top Dawg Entertainment, Terrence "Punch" Henderson, quote-retweeted the aforementioned post in response to the situation, stating, "when music leaks it often lead to delays and/or canceling whole projects."[3]
Punch then made a new quote-retweet to a post of a user alerting him of details in the situation. He asked the individual, and the community, to identify those who've participated in the leak, and possibly, the entire operation of "Solana Hub," likely to take action against those involved.[4]
Community response[]
Under the tweet sent by Punch, various fans criticized him, primarily the label, for the delayed release of songs and discarding tracks. Some replies even went as far as to say that SZA, and fellow Top Dawg signee Doechii, need to "get away" from him.[5]
When asked about the reason behind potentially delaying the album when a track leaks, even when "received positively,"[6] Punch explained:
"When artist work hard to get their music to a point where they’re comfortable sharing it, and then someone steal it and leak it it spoils the whole thing. Most of the songs leaked are incomplete and not how the artist wanted ppl to hear it."[7]
Controversy aftermath[]
In an interview with Billboard magazine, SZA brought out the situation and gave her thoughts about whenever a song of her’s leaks:
"[...] it’s not mine anymore; it’s actually yours. It’s something unfinished that you decided was ready to be shared. And it’s like, ‘F— you. Now I’m not releasing it.’ Play your leak, but you’re not gonna bully me into dropping music. I’m now embarrassed by this less-than-correct version that you put out. You’ve sent me into a weird space creatively when you could have just waited for me, but you’re selfish."[8]
Other Twitter users' accounts were manually deactivated due to alleged involvement with the leak.
Audios[]
Gallery[]
Lyrics[]
[Verse 1]
It ain't easy bein' so alone, so gone
I get on my 'motional, I get on my
(Man get the fuck out, get the fuck out)
It ain't easy thinkin' 'bout how I just fucked it up
Spin the block, I ruptured us, broke it off
It ain't easy thinkin' 'bout how I'm just sad around my dollie
Damn, I miss my rollie
I can't lie, really livin', do or die
Pushin' limits, suicide
See you on the other side, no lie
At n****s movin', switchin' sides
I can't trust nobody side
Need more Jesus in my life, this hard
[Pre-Chorus]
All that I've been feelin', got no focus lately
Hard to fight the feelin', got me chokin' baby
Caught up in my head, hopin' you could save me
All in my head, hopin' you gon' say
[Chorus]
Was it worth it? (Huh)
Put that work in (Yuh)
Got me nothin', feelin' like I'm
Feelin' worthless, put that work in
Got me nowhere, man, I'm feelin' so numb
So numb, I'm feelin' so numb
So numb, I'm feelin' so
[Verse 2]
Feelin' like I'm on air
Feelin' I might drug sumn
Feelin' like I don't care
Might catch my body on him
My CP time, I don't do no free time
I don't give no fucks, I'm so done playin' kosher with you
Cuckoo bitches Locas, I'm too independent
Got far too many options
Fuck him 'cause he my favorite
Hit me when you’re sure enough
I'll always be your baby
I got a million reasons, I can't wait around
But it's you I want
[Pre-Chorus]
All that I've been thinkin', got no focus lately
Hard to fight the feelin', I've been chokin' baby
Caught up in my head, hopin' you could save me
Caught up in my head, hopin' you gon' say
[Chorus]
Was it worth it? (Huh)
Put that work in (Yuh)
Got me nothin', feelin' I'm
Feelin' worthless, put that work in
Got me nowhere, man, I'm feelin' so numb
So numb, I'm feelin' so numb
So numb, I'm feelin' so
[Outro]
I think I'm feelin' so, feelin'
Feel like I'm feelin' somethin', ayy, ooh
Feelin' something, feelin' some, feel
References[]
- ↑ https://twitter.com/sza/status/1743769285284229529
- ↑ https://twitter.com/sza/status/1743769285284229529
- ↑ https://twitter.com/iamstillpunch/status/1743790986801893643
- ↑ https://twitter.com/iamstillpunch/status/1743799445572161775
- ↑ https://twitter.com/FelipeDaSilva__/status/1743818350474510390
- ↑ https://twitter.com/TB_REAL/status/1743795565500993717
- ↑ https://twitter.com/iamstillpunch/status/1743796735829492022
- ↑ https://www.billboard.com/music/rb-hip-hop/sza-talks-leaked-music-1235516088