In the bloated world of singer-songwriters, cialis ZZ Ward is going for something different. Drawing on her childhood love of both blues and hip-hop, click ZZ (short for Zsuzsanna) has become well known for combining the two, matching a sing-songey flow with killer riffs and soulful melody. It’s a concept that, on paper, sounds like the fodder of a Starbucks point-of-purchase album, but her raw energy and startlingly forthright lyrics make her a commanding, original voice. Her 2012 debut Til the Casket Drops caught the attention of those in both the pop and rap worlds (the latter helped along by standout collaborations with Kendrick Lamar and Freddie Gibbs).

ZZ’s highly anticipated second album, This Means War, was recently delayed until next March, but she has decided to release four of the album tracks as a preview EP, entitled Love and War. The tracks show a progression of her songwriting capabilities, nailing both sweet love songs (on “Love 3x”) and gritty independence anthems (“Marry Well”).

ZZ is touring the new EP this fall, including a stop at Royale this Sunday. We chatted with her ahead of the show about the album delay, her trip to the Allston Goodwill and her thoughts (or lack thereof) on the Drake/ Meek Mill feud.

Allston Pudding: How’s the tour going so far?

ZZ Ward: It’s going amazingly. Better than I had ever expected, really! I’ve definitely put a lot of energy and creative thought into planning the whole thing, even the visuals. I just really want people to have an experience when they come to my show. To walk into the world of ZZ Ward and remember it forever.

So yeah, I put a lot of energy into planning the show but I would have never expected so many people to come to these shows. The turnout has been unreal. The love that I’ve been feeling from all of my fans has been really out of this world.

AP: So This Means War was recently delayed to next year. Why was the decision made to release some of the tracks as Love and War?

ZW: It was just moving really fast for me. I wrote the album in six or seven months and it seemed like the release date was coming up too soon. I hadn’t even had time to let the record sit in and in many ways figure out what the record was about to me.

So I pushed it back, but I wanted to ease my fans into the new music. I wanted to put out an EP with four songs and give them a taste of what’s to come. I feel a lot better now that it’s slowed down, because it was happening just a little too quickly for me.

AP: Where did the title This Means War come from?

ZW: This Means War is really just about the war that I fight within myself. When I wrote this album I realized that you would know I was in a new situation in my life, but I was still the same person with the same fuel for writing music.

Also, while I was writing this album, I found myself in a relationship that I thought was going to fix ALL of my problems within myself. (laughs) I very quickly realized that it only added more fuel to my fire!

AP: Would you say your approach to songwriting changed at all between the two albums?

ZW: No. Not at all. I think if anything, coming off of the first album gave me the confidence to dive deeper into my artistry. Feeling so much love and support from my fans on my first album really made me want to go even further into hip hop, further into blues. It made me feel very comfortable being an open book to my fans and telling my stories. The only way that I know to get through situations in my life is to write about them. That’s what makes me feel better; it’s my way of expressing myself.

AP: When I caught you live last year I was really impressed by the chemistry you had with your band. As a solo artist, what goes into choosing musicians to tour live with?

ZW: Really it’s finding people who are not only really talented but also that you can live with. We’re on a bus together here, so I really take the time to find good-hearted people that really love the music. They bring the energy to the stage, too, and my fans feel that. The wonderful thing about my band is that they love playing live. They really love connecting with the fans. There’s a lot of love on this tour, I’ll say that!

AP: Have you had to had to change anything in your stage setup to accommodate the new songs?

ZW: No, not really! It’s amazing because a lot of the songs on the new album were written in the same way which I wrote the last album, which is starting on guitar or piano and writing it in an organic way, and then bringing the songs to life with production. I think when it came to putting some of those new songs into the set, they fit naturally.

AP: You’ve had a pretty aggressive touring schedule over the past few years. Do you have any tricks to keep yourself sane on the road?

ZW: Hehe, so many. I’m learning as I go. One of my new things is, coming to the bus after the high of being on stage can be daunting. You come back and it’s silent after the euphoric feeling onstage. So one thing I’ve been doing lately is putting on the blues, so when I come to the bus I’m hearing Muddy Waters and I can calm down listening to that.

AP: Has there been one song in particular that you’ve seen gets the biggest reaction live?

ZW: It’s different in every city. I think that’s amazing. I’ve never had the experience of having, you know, one song that everyone connected with and then just a bunch of others. I’m very fortunate in that I feel that my fans memorize the lyrics to every song on the album. Even on this tour, I’m playing stuff from my mixtape and people up in Charleston were singing every word!

AP: You’ve been through Boston before. Do you have any fond memories of the city?

ZW: Yeah, there was a second hand store that I ended up going to before the Paradise show. The Goodwill, actually. I got some great finds there! Mainly just the people, though. That’s the thing about a city- it all comes down to the energy and that love. I definitely feel a lot of love from the people in Boston.

AP: Are there any other artists you’ve really been digging lately?

ZW: Yeah, actually I just met Rachel Platten the other day. She was so sweet! So humble. She came over to meet me on my bus, which was great because I’m such a fan of hers. I have such respect for other women out here hustling and touring, because I know how hard people work on the road. It was all love when I met her.

AP: As a hip-hop lover, do you have anything to weigh in on the Drake/ Meet Mill feud?

ZW: (Chuckles) No… Save your drama for your mama, I don’t play!!!

ZZ Ward will be playing at the Royale this Sunday (9/13) with opening performances from Marc Scibilia and The Young Wild. Tickets are still available here.