Solána Imani Rowe was born on November 8 , 1990 , in St. Louis , Missouri and raised in Maplewood , New Jersey . Her father was an executive producer at CNN , while her mother was an executive at AT&T . She recently received a native Nigerian Igbo name called , Amarachi Chinonso . Chinonso was born to African American parents , a Christian mother and a Muslim father . She has an older half-sister named Tiffany Daniels , and an older brother , Daniel , a rapper named Manhattan . She was raised as an orthodox Muslim . She is reportedly of Igbo descent . It ’s like the belief in one God , all the pillars of Islam et cetera , and I think those are ideas that will never leave me , those make sense in my spirit . It ’s the way that I connect with God ; it has always made sense to me . I think I would love to wear my hijab but I feel like I do n’t wan na wear my hijab and talk crazy on stage and be in videos with Travis Scott . Like I do n’t wan na be disrespectful because I have too much love and respect for the religion , for my father , and for myself . She attended a Muslim prep school every day after her regular schooling . Rowe attended Columbia High School , where she was very active in sports , including gymnastics and cheerleading . However , due to the September 11 attacks , Rowe was subjected to bullying in highschool , leading her to stop wearing her hijab . As a high school sophomore , she was ranked among the best gymnasts in the United States
September 11 attacks
September 11 attacks
SZA (singer)