BB/Ang3l (pronounced as "Baby Angel") is the sixth studio album by American singer Tinashe. It was released on September 8, 2023, by her independent label, Tinashe Music, and Nice Life Recording Company. Conceived as a concise, seven-track electronic R&B project, the album was described by Tinashe as highly personal, emphasizing raw emotion and a streamlined approach. It includes the singles "Talk to Me Nice" and "Needs", accompanied by several music videos and a visual project titled The BB/Ang3l Experience.
Following the album's release, Tinashe launched the BB/Ang3l Tour after the cancellation of her previously announced co-headlining tour with Shygirl. BB/Ang3l received positive critical reception, with reviewers highlighting its focus, intimacy, and Tinashe's creative control. Several songs from the album appeared on year-end lists by publications such as The Fader, i-D, Paper, and Pitchfork. In contrast, the album itself was featured on lists by outlets including The Forty-Five and The Needle Drop. BB/Ang3l also reached number 32 on the US Top Album Sales chart. A second installment of the project, titled Quantum Baby, was released in 2024.
Background
After featuring on Shygirl's song "Heaven",[1] Tinashe shared the album's tracklist on August 31, 2023.[2][3] In an interview with Nylon, Tinashe described the album contains "a very personal approach", noting that it strips away excess and focuses on "raw emotion".[4] On Good Morning America, Tinashe told host Michael Strahan that the album "represents who I am right now and everything I've been going through", calling her music "a melting pot of all things".[5] Tinashe explained that she intentionally kept BB/Ang3l to seven tracks, stating that "sometimes it's good to streamline [an album] and cut the fat", and that she wanted listeners "to appreciate every single one of those seven songs". She added that artists "spend so much time working on albums", noting that it can feel "crazy to just give it all away in one foul swoop", as she hoped fans would "sit with it and really let it sink in". Regarding the possibility of additional releases connected to the project, she responded only, "Maybe... we'll see."[6]
On April 8, 2024, the second part of the album was officially announced as Quantum Baby,[7] and it was released on August 16, 2024.[8]
Composition
I was really inspired by screen names and avatars, and how we're able to create our own personas online. We're able to name ourselves in that way and take control of our identity. I wanted to create something similar to a screen name, or some type of tag that I could put on this era that would represent the persona or the energy that I was embodying for this particular project.
— Tinashe discussing BB/Ang3l's title in Dazed magazine interview[9]
BB/Ang3l is an electronic-R&B album[6] which features seven tracks, with Tinashe performing all vocals herself.[10] About the album's title, she was inspired by "screen names and avatars", and how this enabled her to create her own persona online and took control over it.[9] According to Uproxx writer Aaron Williams, the 7-song tracklist highlights her individual contributions throughout the project.[10]
A 13-second sample from "Talk to Me Nice". It features its trap-based beat, woozy synths, and a portion of Tinashe's monotone hook alongside her more fluid vocal phrasing.[11]
"Treason" opens the album with a "jangly arrangement of synths" that gradually crescendos, as she admits "hate myself for treason" while returning to a previous partner for one night.[12] "Talk to Me Nice" is a "swaggy R&B" song,[13] described as "atmospheric" and built on vocal chops and a driving bassline.[12] It presents her as self-assured yet still open to intimacy.[12] "Needs" is a wavy song[14] that offers a flirty, contemporary R&B and trap fusion, incorporating food-related references inspired by a Samantha storyline in Sex and the City.[12] "Uh Huh", a slower track built around its onomatopoeic chorus, comments on a relationship that becomes deeper than she initially expected.[12] It is also a "slow-burning, velvet-sheeted sex jam that sounds airlifted from a mid-aughts Mariah Carey album", a mood that carries through even the album's more "livelier cuts".[14] "Gravity" uses an enigmatic vocal performance to reflect on indecision — "I've been drowning in my dreams again" — before ending in a hypnotic plea to be pulled back down to earth.[12] "None of My Business" frames Tinashe's "balladry" with bubbling synth arrangements.[14] "Tightrope" pairs her "whispered, airy vocals" with a frenetic breakbeat, recalling nights driving around Los Angeles before the relationship "turned sour".[12]
Promotion
On February 23, 2024, Tinashe released a twenty-minute visual project, titled The BB/Ang3l Experience.[15] Tinashe served as creative director, with Mike Ho directing and choreographer Shay Latukolan coordinating the movements and performances.[16] The video opens with the definition of "stamina" and features choreography across several tracks, including "Treason" and "Talk to Me Nice".[16]
Singles
"Talk to Me Nice" was released as the album's lead single on July 21, 2023.[17] Its music video, directed by Bradley J. Calder,[18] premiered on the same day on Tinashe's YouTube account.[19] The music video shows Tinashe with honey-blonde hair peeling a layer of dead skin from her face before water begins to pour over her.[19] The second single, "Needs", was released on August 18, 2023,[20] along with the music video, directed by Sammy Rawal.[21] In the video, Tinashe is shown dancing through the aisles of a grocery store, accompanied by her friends.[22]
Other songs
The music video for the fourth track, "Uh Huh", was released on September 8, 2023, alongside the album's release.[23][24]
Tinashe announced the Tinashe & Shygirl Tour, co-headling together with Shygirl, on August 1, 2023, with Uniiqu3 as the supporting act.[3][25][26] However, due to a medical condition, Shygirl had to pull out of the shows on October 20, 2023, allowing her to get surgery for "an ongoing respiratory condition".[27][28][29] In response to the cancellation of the tour, Tinashe stated that "the show must go on!",[30][31] and announced that she and her team were putting together her own tour,[32][33] leading to the announcement of the BB/Ang3l Tour on November 14, 2023.[34]
BB/Ang3l received positive reviews. Dylan Green of Pitchfork described BB/Ang3l as "as stylish and focused as a runway walk", writing that its "sense of intimacy, combined with her thriving confidence [...] makes BB/Ang3l so potent".[14] Sam Franzini of The Line of Best Fit argued that BB/Ang3l might be her strongest work, stating that "even on tracks where she isn't necessarily inventing anything new, playing around in contemporary sets of R&B and trap, there's still a spark that makes them hard-to-miss".[12]HotNewHipHop praised BB/Ang3l as a project that may appeal to Tinashe's audience as well as R&B listeners.[37]
Year-end lists
BB/Ang3l appeared on several year-end lists that recognized both the album and its singles. The Forty-Five placed the project at number 32 on its list of The Best Albums of 2023.[38] Several tracks from the album also gained individual acclaim, The Fader ranked "Needs" at number 10 on its list of The 100 Best Songs of 2023,[39] while i-D placed "Talk to Me Nice" at number 27 on its corresponding year-end roundup.[40]The Needle Drop included the album at number 39 in its Top 50 Albums of 2023.[41] Additionally, Paper listed "Treason" at number 4 in its Favorite Songs of 2023.[42]Pitchfork featured "Needs" on two separate lists, placing it at number 46 on The 100 Best Songs of 2023[43] and number 4 on The Best Pop Music of 2023.[44]
↑Okechukwu, Nmesoma (September 12, 2023). "Tinashe – BB/Ang3l". Euphoria Magazine. Archived from the original on January 25, 2025. Retrieved October 10, 2023.
↑Helfand, Raphael; Ross, Alex Robert; Alex Robert Ross; Darville, Jordan; Renshaw, David; Siregar, Cady; Medithi, Vivian; Smith, Nadine; D'Souza, Shaad; Raw, Son; Joyce, Colin; Madden, Emma; Oloworekende, Wale; Pulgar, E. R.; Song, Sandra; Dubois, Lila; Green, Walden; Elder, Sajae; Verma, Millan; Brickner-Wood, Brady (December 14, 2023). "The 100 best songs of 2023". The Fader. Archived from the original on June 22, 2025. Retrieved December 14, 2023.
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