Ctrl is now five years old and SZA has made habit of turning the final months of the year since into her season, even if it lasts only as long as the foliage is in view. “Shirt” is her first single in about a year since last’s “I Hate U”, and even if it’s been in the conscious of the music world even longer when she debuted it on her socials back in 2020, it’s its own wonder of thirsty yet complicated love-and-lust-warped R&B that defies timelines in an oscillating over-thinking session with herself. From owning up to her desperation to fucking on exes for validation in its teaser outro, “Shirt” is bladed with admissions that color relationships a violent red with the kind of cool chaos SZA can only bleed into existence.

Directed by: Dave Meyers

SZA’s “Shirt” single is available now on RCA Records / Top Dawg Entertainment.