Jump to content

Songs for You: Difference between revisions

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Browse history interactively
← Previous editNext edit →
Content deleted Content added
VisualWikitext
Tags: Mobile edit Mobile web edit
Line 96: Line 96:
| total_length = 51:49
| total_length = 51:49
| title1 = Feelings
| title1 = Feelings
| writer1 = {{hlist|[[Tinashe|Tinashe Kachingwe]]|[[Label No Genre|Jaucquez "London Jae" Lowe]]}}
| writer1 = {{hlist|[[Tinashe|Tinashe Kachingwe]]|[[Label No Genre#Artists|Jaucquez "London Jae" Lowe]]}}
| extra1 = {{hlist|[[Hitmaka]]|[[Hit-Boy]]}}
| extra1 = {{hlist|[[Hitmaka]]|[[Hit-Boy]]}}
| length1 = 3:05
| length1 = 3:05

Revision as of 19:10, 19 December 2019

For the James Morrison album, see Songs for You, Truths for Me.
Songs for You
Studio album by
Tinashe
ReleasedNovember 21, 2019 (2019-11-21)
Recorded2018–2019
StudioTinashe's home studio (Los Angeles)
Length51:49
LabelTinashe Music
Producer
  • Tinashe (exec.)
  • Hitmaka
  • Hit-Boy
  • KINGDOM
  • Killah B
  • Boston
  • Oliver Malcolm
  • Makj
  • Riley McDonough
  • Oz
  • Trackside
  • Styalz Fuego
  • Wax Motif
  • Go Grizzly
  • Poo Beatz
  • Turn Me Up Josh
  • Smash David
  • Bongo
  • Todd Prichard
  • Oliver Malcolm
  • Myles Morgan
  • Darion Javon
Tinashe chronology
Joyride
(2018) 		Songs for You
(2019)
Singles from Songs for You
  1. "Die a Little Bit"
    Released: October 24, 2019
  2. "Touch & Go"
    Released: November 7, 2019
  3. "So Much Better"
    Released: November 21, 2019

Songs for You is the fourth studio album and eighth overall project by American singer Tinashe, released independently through her own label Tinashe Music Inc. on November 21, 2019. It is first project since her departure from RCA Records in February 2019. The project features collaborations with MAKJ, Ms Banks, 6lack, and G-Eazy. The album has received positive reviews, with publications calling it her best work and praising her creativity, production and songwriting, as well as for releasing music independently.[1][2]

Background

After Tinashe's previous album Joyride was released, she started recording her follow-up mixtape. The mixtape was based on Tinashe's alter-ego, "Nashe". Both Tinashe and Hitmaka, an executive producer on the mixtape, promoted Nashe through snippets of songs from the track list.[3] Further promotion ensued with its singles, Like I Used To and Throw a Fit, both of which used the mixtape's artwork.[4][5] Promotion for Nashe ceased without reason;[6] however, speculation ensued after Tinashe posted a screenshot on Instagram of a page error from RCA's website with a broken heart as the caption to the post.[7] According to Hitmaka, the mixtape was shelved.[8] The cancellation of Nashe, described as a "failed course-correction" by PAPER, became a turning point in her decision to depart from RCA, among other reasons.[9] In February 2019, Tinashe's manager announced she had parted ways with RCA, citing: "We initiated for her to be released. It was a positive split for her. It's giving her back creative control." After her departure, HotNewHipHop published an article reporting that she was in the midst of a bidding war with multiple major labels. Tinashe would eventually sign a management deal with Roc Nation on November 7, 2019.[10]

Songs For You features three songs — "Link Up", "Feelings", and "Cash Race" — originally intended for Tinashe’s 2018 summer project Nashe, produced by Hitmaka. MadeinTYO was originally featured on the tracklist after it was teased throughout the listening parties, but the collaboration was scrapped after the producer gave the beat to another artist.[11]

Recording

The album was recorded in Tinashe's home studio in Los Angeles. She considered her home studio as the location for the album recording as "[bringing] people into my experience, my world," and added, "I think that already set the tone for [the album], like 'OK, this is gonna be really real. This is gonna be raw.' It was truly me and that was all I was bringing to the studio, my emotions."[12]

Singles

The first single, "Die a Little Bit" featuring Ms Banks, was released on October 24, 2019, with an accompanying music video. The second single "Touch & Go" featuring 6lack, was released on November 7, 2019.

Release and promotion

On September 30, 2019, Tinashe announced the project along with a trailer on YouTube. Between October and November 2019, she held listening parties for her project in London, Los Angeles and New York, and stated during the parties that Songs For You is her most vulnerable project to date. In an interview with Hip Hop Mike, she stated her direction for the album as, "a real experience that they could really sink their teeth into. There are a few moments that are in your feels. I had to really open myself up. It’s the most vulnerable project I’ve ever put out."[12]

The album was released on November 21, 2019 on a Thursday instead of the music industry's customary releases of Friday. Tinashe stated in an interview with Billboard that she wanted to emphasize her stance in the music industry as "not part of the system".[11] The album topped the iTunes Albums chart on the night of its release; the album reached the number 1 spot in multiple countries including the US, making her the first independent artist to do so since Frank Ocean's 2016 album Blonde topped the chart.[13][9]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic76/100[14]
Review scores
SourceRating
HotNewHipHop81%[15]
The Line of Best Fit8/10[16]
NME[17]
Paste7.9/10[18]
Pitchfork7.7/10[19]

Songs for You received positive reviews from critics, generally praising her songwriting skills as well as her vocals. Stereogum's Chris DeVille regarded the album as sonically "[feeling] like freedom. Liberated from label meddling, she has assembled a fine reminder of what made her to likable [sic] in the first place," and compares the overall sound for the album as "the vibe is that of an extremely talented R&B artist getting back to cooking after a deep, cleansing exhale."[20]

Madeline Roth from MTV describes Songs for You as "Tinashe taking full creative control over her work; something she was finally able to do [...] The result, it seems, is music that comes straight from the soul."[21]

Nylon's Allison Stubblebine said that "Tinashe is the R&B superstar we've been looking for, and now that her first-ever independent album Songs For You has dropped, it's time to throw it on repeat and give her the praise she deserves. There's not a single bad song on the record: Concluding at 51 minutes, the 15-track release showcases everything Tinashe does best."[22]

Track listing

Credits adapted from Apple Music and Tidal.[23][24]

No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Feelings"
3:05
2."Life's Too Short"KachingweKingdom3:11
3."Hopscotch"
  • Kachingwe
  • Alec King
  • Killah B
  • Boston
3:11
4."Stormy Weather"KachingweOliver Malcolm3:10
5."Save Room for Us" (featuring MAKJ)
  • Kachingwe
  • Max Levin
  • Riley McDonough
2:44
6."Story of Us"
  • Kachingwe
  • DeLaney Harter
Oz2:45
7."Die a Little Bit" (featuring Ms Banks)
  • Kachingwe
  • Ms Banks
  • Rook Monroe
Trackside2:45
8."Perfect Crime"
2:56
9."Cash Race"
  • Kachingwe
  • Maylia Jones
  • Lorenzo Chatmon
  • Lowe
  • Hitmaka
  • Go Grizzly
  • Poo Beatz
  • Turn Me Up Josh
4:34
10."Link Up"
  • Kachingwe
  • Lowe
3:28
11."Touch & Go" (with 6lack)
Killah B4:15
12."Know Better"
  • Killah B
  • Bongo
6:57
13."You"KachingweTinashe0:06
14."So Much Better" (with G-Eazy)
  • Kachingwe
  • G-Eazy
  • Todd Prichard
  • Oliver Malcolm
  • Myles Morgan
4:50
15."Remember When"KachingweDarion Javon3:50
Total length:51:49

Notes

Charts

Chart (2019) Peak
position
US Billboard 200[26] 147
US Top R&B Albums (Billboard)[27] 20

References

  1. ^ Roth, Madeline. "Tinashe Takes Control On Her Genre-Hopping New Album Songs For You". MTV News. Retrieved 2019-11-23.
  2. ^ "Tinashe's 'Songs For You' Is Your Next Favorite Album". NYLON. 2019-11-21. Retrieved 2019-11-23.
  3. ^ Kreps, Daniel (July 13, 2018). "Hear Tinashe Unload on Ex on New Single 'Like I Used To'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 22 November 2019.
  4. ^ Rincón, Alessandra (July 13, 2018). "Tinashe Is 'On a Wave' With Surprise Track 'Like I Used To': Listen". Billboard. Retrieved 22 November 2019.
  5. ^ Pimentel, Julia (July 27, 2018). "Tinashe Brings Out Her Spicy Alter Ego on 'Throw A Fit'". Complex. Retrieved 22 November 2019.
  6. ^ Renshaw, David (21 November 2019). "Tinashe shares Songs For You". The FADER. Retrieved 23 November 2019.
  7. ^ "Tinashe's Trials And Tribulations In The Music Industry". Lindah Kiyeng Communications. August 9, 2018. Retrieved 22 November 2019.
  8. ^ Caraan, Sophie (21 November 2019). "Tinashe Is Creatively Rejuvenated in New Album 'Songs for You'". HYPEBEAST. Retrieved 21 November 2019.
  9. ^ a b x Michael, Michael (22 November 2019). "Tinashe Is Under New Management: Her Own". PAPER. Retrieved 23 November 2019.
  10. ^ "Tinashe Signs With Roc Nation Management". Vibe. 7 November 2019. Retrieved 21 November 2019.
  11. ^ a b Saponara, Michael (21 November 2019). "Finally Free: Tinashe is Leaving Her Label Issues in the Past & Making the Music She Loves". Billboard. Retrieved 23 November 2019.
  12. ^ a b "Stream Tinashe's New Album 'Songs for You'". Rap-Up. 21 November 2019. Retrieved 21 November 2019.
  13. ^ "#SONGSFORYOU by @Tinashe reaches #1 on iTunes USA!". MusicNewsFact. 21 November 2019. Retrieved 24 November 2019.
  14. ^ "Songs For You by Tinashe review". MetaCritic. November 22, 2019. Retrieved December 7, 2019.
  15. ^ Lyons, Patrick (November 26, 2019). "Tinashe "Songs for You" (Review)". HotNewHipHop. Retrieved November 26, 2019.
  16. ^ Taylor, Chris (November 28, 2019). "Tinashe's Songs For You is infectious, supremely confident R&B". The Line Of Best Fit. Retrieved November 29, 2019.
  17. ^ Hobbs, Thomas (November 29, 2019). "Tinashe – 'Songs For You' review: underrated pop star hopscotches from one sound to the next". NME. Retrieved November 29, 2019.
  18. ^ Bote, Joshua (November 26, 2019). "Tinashe Finds Success on Her Own Terms on Songs For You". Paste Magazine. Retrieved November 26, 2019.
  19. ^ "Tinashe, Songs for You". Pitchfork. December 4, 2019. Retrieved December 4, 2019.
  20. ^ DeVille, Chris (November 21, 2019). "Tinashe Takes Matters Into Her Own Hands". Stereogum. Retrieved November 23, 2019.
  21. ^ Roth, Madeline (November 21, 2019). "Tinashe Takes Control On Her Genre-Hopping New Album Songs For You". MTV News. Retrieved November 23, 2019.
  22. ^ Stubblebine, Allison (November 21, 2019). "Tinashe's 'Songs For You' Is Your Next Favorite Album". Nylon Magazine. Retrieved November 24, 2019.
  23. ^ "Songs for You by Tinashe on Apple Music". Apple Music. Retrieved November 13, 2019.
  24. ^ "Try the TIDAL Web Player". listen.tidal.com. Retrieved November 22, 2019.
  25. ^ Malone, Chris. "Tinashe's Independent 'Songs For You' Album Proves That Creative Control Is Best Left To The Artists". Forbes. Retrieved 2019-11-28.
  26. ^ "Tinashe Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved December 3, 2019.
  27. ^ ""Tinashe Chart History (Top R&B Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved December 3, 2019.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Songs_for_You&oldid=931575224"