Tinashe Shines Bright On ‘333’, Her Second Independent Record
333 thoroughly demonstrates what Tinashe can do.
2021 looks bright for Tinashe, especially with her new album, 333: a genre-disrupting, utopian fantasy. But we can’t forget it took her forever to get here.
After Tinashe’s girl group, the Stunners, disbanded in 2011, she released a series of singles that drew the attention of the record label RCA, which signed her in 2012. Her 2014 release, Aquarius, proved to be one of the best R&B debuts in years, showing her immense talent and versatility. The following three years, however, were a stalemate, leaving her fans wondering what had happened to the Tinashe they knew. During that time, subsequent albums felt like a departure from her previous artistic vision. Joyride and Nightride, her sophomore album and an unexpected mixtape, suffered a series of delays. Tinashe shamed her label in a Twitter group message with fans and privately refuted RCA’s suggestions.
Finally, in 2019, Tinashe’s contract with RCA Records ended. Later that year, she released Songs For You, her first album as an independent artist. That body of work reflected the positive outcome of attaining creative freedom. With 333, Tinashe’s songs continue to reflect her newfound stamina, spirituality, and daring personality. Even the album’s name hints at that spirituality; 333 is an angel number symbolizing you’re on the right path, despite your fears, anxieties, mislaid plans, or wrong turns.
Sonically, Tinashe is forging her own path on this album, refusing to limit herself to one genre. One of the best examples of this philosophy is the personal affirmation turned romantic quandary, “Small Reminders.” At first the song starts with sultry R&B aided by simplistic piano chords. Suddenly, Tinashe raps loudly about being “lit up/lit up, uh” and “dodgin’ police, gotta duck tonight/tonight,” over a 70s style guitar rift. Towards the end her voice gains a meditative ring with the sole soulful moment during the phrase, “when you look in the mirror.”
“Unconditional,” a saga about the struggles of unwavering love, carries the same concept at a much shorter pace. At the beginning, the song sounds more like contemporary alternative R&B, while the second half imitates a 2000s anthem with soft guitar riffs in the background. Both songs demonstrate Tinashe’s ability to effortlessly transition between multiple genres and styles she hasn’t displayed in the past. In the earlier half of Tinashe’s career, the people around her were more focused on creating hits than actually furthering her wild ideas.
Tinashe exhibits bountiful amounts of raw talent in this album. And other featured artists on 333 match her vibes. On the third track, “X,” Jeremih reciprocates Tinashe’s energy in this boastful R&B track, occasionally hitting some notes an octave higher than the melody. Kaash Paige, a rising R&B star from Dallas, Texas, manages to stand out on “Angels,” an unapologetic ballad enumerating an emotionally off-and-on situationship. Her voice is sweet and soft, complementing Tinashe’s lower melodic tone.
Besides the impeccable instrumentation, 333 has a tang of raunchiness. In the futuristic trap-like track, “I Can See The Future,” Tinashe brags about her wealth, style, and swagger while mentioning that her “kitty in your mouth, got your tongue-tongue” and boasts that “you know I’m one of a kind, got that one of on.” In “Bouncin,” an upbeat summer bop with hyperpop bleeps, Tinashe lightly sings in the chorus that “I been sending dirty pics/hope they make it to the cloud.” These moments don’t draw attention away from the overarching message. Instead, they reveal Tinashe’s multidimensionality. Sure, Tinashe is a very spiritual person, as the title of the album suggests, but that doesn’t mean she can’t also be in tune with her sexuality.
Being carefree is Tinashe’s greatest weapon in 333. Rather than confine herself to a specific genre, she opens herself up to new possibilities. She showcases her eclectic and eccentric sounds that are neither abrasive or repetitive, creating her best project yet in the process. The featured artists on this album add their own unique sound and perspective without overshadowing Tinashe and her objective. 333 is testament to how Tinashe can creatively flourish and express herself in multitudes without the restrictiveness of her label and the music industry as whole.
