BB/Ang3l by Tinashe
For every crossover smash in Tinashe’s catalogue (like 2014’s massive “2 On”), there’s a dozen slinky experiments that are way too weird for pop airwaves. In the decade since her breakthrough mixtape, 2013’s murky <i>Black Water</i>, the former teen actor and girl-group member has resisted the path to rote R&B stardom and opted for the road less travelled, dabbling in moody downtempo or twitchy breakbeats when she pleases. On <i>BB/ANG3L</i>, her third release since going independent in 2019, the singer counters the fun, flirty “Needs” (as in, those things that turn humans into simps) with left-field tracks like “Tightrope”, which could be a long-lost deep cut from Janet Jackson’s <i>The Velvet Rope</i>.
