"Scorsese Baby Daddy" is a song by American singer-songwriter SZA from Lana (2024), the reissue of her second studio album SOS (2022). The title references Martin Scorsese, a director of several drama and crime films. In the lyrics, SZA expresses her desire to find a boyfriend who reminds her of the characters from Scorsese's filmography, who tend to be violent criminals. Backed prominently by an electric guitar, the song has elements of rock and punk music. SZA has teased a music video for "Scorsese Baby Daddy".
Background
SZA first teased a deluxe version of her second studio album, SOS (2022), on an Instagram post shared immediately after the album's release.[1] In a 2023 invite-only concert, she announced that the deluxe edition had expanded into a bigger project akin to a "whole 'nother" album. SZA named it Lana.[2]
On December 6, 2024, SZA shared a picture of a whiteboard that contained titles of possible tracks from the reissue. All names were obscured, except for the already-released lead single "Saturn".[3] The full track list was revealed two weeks later, upon Lana's release.[4] One of the songs is named "Scorsese Baby Daddy", a reference to filmmaker and director Martin Scorsese.[5]
"Scorsese Baby Daddy" is a song that features rock and punk elements alongside influences of soul. The rhythm contains a groove, and the composition is built mainly on rock guitars.[6][7]Rob Sheffield of Rolling Stone described the musical style as "steamy Eighties-style cheese-rock".[5] The song was written by SZA alongside its producers Tyler Johnson, Tyler Page, Owen Stoutt, and Michael Uzowuru.[8]
In the lyrics, SZA uses the Martin Scorsese reference to portray herself as a woman who loves danger and drama.[9] She alludes to his propensity for directing high-stakes crime films, which often have emotionally unstable or violent protagonists.[7][10] The line "Scorsese baby daddy" refers to her desire to find a boyfriend who reminds her of those characters.[5][10] Later in the song, she sings about wanting to have his children: "I would pretend to do my favorite man, he’d call me tasty ... Furious lady, then I wonder if I could do, baby."[10][11]
The song also has lyrics about self-reflection. Some lines explore how her love has worsened her emotional instability. She addresses it by telling the song's subject to let her be:[7][12] "got a brand new reason to spiral out/ Bad mood, baby, come work me out/ Oh, I'ma crash out, baby, don't slow me down."[13] In others, she considers changing her possibly self-destructive behavior: "One day, I'll understand all that it takes to be a lady."[7][14]
Release and reception
"Scorsese Baby Daddy" is the sixth track of Lana, released on December 20, 2024.[15] Some hours later, Scorsese's daughter Francesca used the song's audio on a video she posted on Instagram. In the video was Scorsese himself. Upon learning that he knew about the song, SZA reposted the video and said "the fact that this isn't AI", with a sobbing emoji.[9][16] SZA has teased a music video for the track.[17]
Some reviewers wrote positively about "Scorsese Baby Daddy". Among those was Sheffield, who called the song an album highlight.[5] Zachary Horvath of HotNewHipHop praised the composition, writing that "Scorsese Baby Daddy" improved upon the conventional "angsty teen pop" sound.[7] Horvath also liked the lyrics' humor,[7] an opinion that Elle's DeAsia Paige shared.[18] Meanwhile, Mackenzie Cummings-Grady of Billboard and Jem Aswad of Variety were more critical. The former, who ranked "Scorsese Baby Daddy" the 12th-best track out of Lana's 15, thought that its length was too short.[14] For Aswad, the song did not feel "fully realized".[19]
