Songfacts®:

• This song finds SZA caught in a toxic relationship with an unworthy lover. It's a classic can't live with him, can't live without him scenario in which the singer is caught in an emotional tug-of-war. Though worn out by the way he treats her, SZA still misses her man when he's away and can't shake him off.
• SZA originally posted "I Hate U" as an experiment alongside "Nightbird" and "Joni" on her secret Soundcloud account in August 2021. After a snippet went viral on TikTok, SZA officially released the full song on December 3, 2021. "Honestly this started out as an exercise," she said, "I just wanted somewhere to dump my thoughts without out pressure."
• SZA wrote the song with its four producers. They are:
  
  ThankGod4Cody, who co-produced four tracks on SZA's CTRL album, including her singles "Broken Clocks," "Love Galore," and "The Weekend."
  
  Chicago multi-instrumentalist Carter Lang. He co-produced eight CTRL tracks and her "Good Days" single.
  
  Los Angeles-based producer Rob Bisel. He previously worked with SZA on her "Hit Different" single.
  
  Dylan "Sir Dylan" Wiggins, who also has writing credits on tracks by Solange ("Mad") and Calvin Harris ("Over Now").
• Upon its release, "I Hate U" debuted at #1 on the US Apple Music streaming songs chart, breaking the record for the most-streamed R&B song by a female artist on Apple Music in its first week. It also topped the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, becoming SZA's first #1 on that tally.
• The Jack Begert-directed video centers on a man (played by Atlanta's Lakeith Stanfield) in a heated argument with SZA on the phone. Afterwards, he gets a text from SZA that reads "i hate u," prompting him to hurl his phone in the ocean.
• The song earned SZA her first #1 on R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay. The singer's previous best ranking on the chart was the #3 that "Good Days" reached.
• The song originated with Rob Bisel's darkly groovy keyboard loop. ThankGod4Cody added drums and came up with a structure. The day after, SZA wrote over their instrumentation and crafted "I Hate U" in less than two hours. "Everything about it felt supernatural, from start to finish," Bisel marveled to Billboard.