The evil truths behind record labels and corporate music ownership took center stage this week as Taylor Swift publicly struggled—and triumphed—to be allowed to perform her old songs at the American Music Awards this weekend. The kerfuffle highlighted a large problem for many artists in the industry: despite their success being built on the songs they perform (and in many cases, write and/or produce themselves), they legally have no ownership or say in what actually is allowed to be done with their music, and are often pushed in different musical directions depending on labels’ sales and trend projections.
This was certainly the case for triple-threat performer Tinashe when she was signed to RCA Records. When she was finally released from her contract at the top of this year, it was clear that she was gearing up to release music that aligned more with the sounds of her independently created mixtapes than with the countless pop&B singles that she released throughout the decade.
Songs For You, Tinashe’s fourth studio album and eighth project overall, is the culmination of a years-long saga that her fans have been waiting for. With Nashe now having full creative control over her work, a masterpiece that combined the best elements of her dreamy R&B mixtapes and her scattered pop records was only inevitable for so long.
The album’s release was preceded by two contrasting singles: “Die A Little Bit” with British rapper Ms Banks and “Touch & Go” with 2019 Grammy nominee 6LACK. With Tinashe now in charge of writing, producing, and releasing all her music—something she thankfully has lots of experience doing with her independently released mixtapes—she’s able to fully do what she wants to do and create music that comes completely from her soul. “None of my older music has ever affected me like this new music has,” she even says about the creative process behind Songs For You. “This shit really cracked me open.”
The 15-song tracklist spans many of the sounds that Nashe has dabbled in on previous projects: hip hop, crunk&B, neo-soul, sophisti-pop, and at times, just good old fashioned R&B. Songs like “Life’s Too Short” and “Stormy Weather” will recall memories of her Reverie mixtape for longtime fans, while attitude-filled uptempo tracks like “Perfect Crime” and MAKJ collab “Save Room For Us” pull the best pop, R&B, and hip hop sensibilities from her acclaimed debut LP Aquarius. She even samples herself on “So Much Better” with G-Eazy, reworking “Midnight Sun” from her Black Water mixtape into a trip hop delight.
There’s something for everyone on Songs For You, which speaks more to Tinashe’s artistry than it does her intent: her sound refuses to be defined by traditional definitions, and she’s musically creating a lane that has desperately needed to be paved in the 2010s. It’s a shame that most outlets have already published their best albums of the decade lists, because Tinashe squeaked in at the last minute with an undeniably strong contender.
This was certainly the case for triple-threat performer Tinashe when she was signed to RCA Records. When she was finally released from her contract at the top of this year, it was clear that she was gearing up to release music that aligned more with the sounds of her independently created mixtapes than with the countless pop&B singles that she released throughout the decade.
Songs For You, Tinashe’s fourth studio album and eighth project overall, is the culmination of a years-long saga that her fans have been waiting for. With Nashe now having full creative control over her work, a masterpiece that combined the best elements of her dreamy R&B mixtapes and her scattered pop records was only inevitable for so long.
The album’s release was preceded by two contrasting singles: “Die A Little Bit” with British rapper Ms Banks and “Touch & Go” with 2019 Grammy nominee 6LACK. With Tinashe now in charge of writing, producing, and releasing all her music—something she thankfully has lots of experience doing with her independently released mixtapes—she’s able to fully do what she wants to do and create music that comes completely from her soul. “None of my older music has ever affected me like this new music has,” she even says about the creative process behind Songs For You. “This shit really cracked me open.”
The 15-song tracklist spans many of the sounds that Nashe has dabbled in on previous projects: hip hop, crunk&B, neo-soul, sophisti-pop, and at times, just good old fashioned R&B. Songs like “Life’s Too Short” and “Stormy Weather” will recall memories of her Reverie mixtape for longtime fans, while attitude-filled uptempo tracks like “Perfect Crime” and MAKJ collab “Save Room For Us” pull the best pop, R&B, and hip hop sensibilities from her acclaimed debut LP Aquarius. She even samples herself on “So Much Better” with G-Eazy, reworking “Midnight Sun” from her Black Water mixtape into a trip hop delight.
There’s something for everyone on Songs For You, which speaks more to Tinashe’s artistry than it does her intent: her sound refuses to be defined by traditional definitions, and she’s musically creating a lane that has desperately needed to be paved in the 2010s. It’s a shame that most outlets have already published their best albums of the decade lists, because Tinashe squeaked in at the last minute with an undeniably strong contender.
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