Tinashe
Quantum Baby
NICE LIFE
Tinashe returns to the stage less than a year after her monumental sixth album of alt-R&B, BB/Ang3l, to deliver her effervescent follow-up Quantum Baby. The multi-platinum-certified songwriter initially broke out in 2012 and 2013 with her first three mixtapes and an RCA-backed debut album Aquarius in 2014. She’d later depart the label following the mixed bag Joyride, going independent on both Songs for You and 333 to better reception from Tinashe Nation as she locked down her trap-soul sound and established a certain momentum she’s kept up with Quantum Baby.
Tinashe seemed reborn again for a whole new audience over the summer with the viral hit single (and meme) “Nasty,” which has become one of the inescapable Songs of the Summer frontrunners alongside Sabrina Carpenter and Chappell Roan’s respective pop takeovers. With the aid of pop superproducer Ricky Reed and Zack Sekoff (Vince Staples, Thundercat), the track has been streamed over 500 million times worldwide since release reached #1 on Spotify’s Global Viral 50 and US Viral 50 lists, and is currently sitting at #4 on the Billboard Hot R&B Songs list.
The old R&B heads naturally remember that the 31-year-old star had that nasty in her as far back as 2014 when she released the ScHoolboy Q featuring “2 On.” For Quantum Baby, Tinashe embraces the polar opposite of romance with relish, and the musical framework shifts just as much over these lean and mean eight tracks. She’s at times lustful (“When I Get You Alone,” “Thirsty,” and “Getting No Sleep”) and filled with regret or sadness (“Cross That Line” and “Red Flags”). The album opener “No Simulation” sets up the theme of discovering your truth wherever that search may take you. Over a roaming bass beat Tinashe sings, “We’re all looking for something / Where are we going? / What do we do?/ These days I wanna feel it / No simulation / It’s gonna be true.” The way to crack open that truth is by going a bit deeper, beyond the limits of your comfort zone.
Tinashe’s musical comfort zone gets stretched with Quantum Baby, but her soulful, smoldering, and beat-curious core remains true without outside tampering. She’s fully in her R&B pocket here, and still enjoying her musical freedom to search for the new or stick to the basics in equal measure.
