Like Joni Mitchell and Elliott Smith, SZA is a Los Angeles transplant, a California dreamer in the best of times and a stinging realist in the worst. On “Joni,” the raw standout among her recent trio of loosies, she strongly evokes both of these singer-songwriters. Previously teased as “a trap song from the perspective of Joni Mitchell” (there’s also a more produced version), the track is guided by SZA’s stream of consciousness. Deep in a morose fever dream, she mulls family, sex, money, moonlight, moving at your own pace, and striving for perfection while making your own. She coos lines like, “If the money right, is the pussy good?” over a sample of Elliott Smith’s Either/Or highlight “Angeles,” the charming squeak of his guitar strings still intact. It’s something that shouldn’t work but hits on such a sincere, off-the-cuff level that it draws you in.

Over a minute and a half, SZA moves quickly from one scene to the next, and there’s a crucial shift at the end—from “I got perfect timing” to “We got perfect timing,” followed by the moment when she cuts herself off with an unreal whistle note of bliss. SZA’s voice as well as her language always feel effortless but are clearly finely tuned to her frequency, and the way she says so much in just a few words (“Knowing the golden hour awaits for me”) is reminiscent of Frank Ocean. The album version of “Joni,” the singer has noted, features a guest; here’s hoping that whenever TDE lets SZA be free, it’ll be Frank alongside her on this classic in the making.