Wikipedia

BB/Ang3l

BB/Ang3l (pronounced "Baby Angel") is the sixth studio album by American singer Tinashe, released on September 8, 2023, by her independent label Tinashe Music and Nice Life Recording Company.[1] It serves as the follow up to her 2021 album, 333. A second part of the album, entitled Quantum Baby, was released on August 16, 2024.[2]

BB/Ang3l
Studio album by
Tinashe
ReleasedSeptember 8, 2023 (2023-09-08)
Genre
Length20:42
Label
Producer
Tinashe chronology
333
(2021) 		BB/Ang3l
(2023) 		Quantum Baby
(2024)
Singles from BB/Ang3l
  1. "Talk to Me Nice"
    Released: July 21, 2023
  2. "Needs"
    Released: August 18, 2023
  3. "Uh Huh"
    Released: September 8, 2023

Background and release

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The lead single, "Talk to Me Nice", was released on July 21, 2023. Gearing up to the release of the album, Tinashe revealed she worked a lot with American producer Machinedrum on the album.[3] The second single, "Needs", was released on August 18, 2023, alongside a music video filmed in a super market. On August 31, 2023, Tinashe shared the album's tracklist.[4]

In an interview with Nylon, Tinashe shared: "This album has a very personal approach. It doesn't feel performative or like there's a lot of extras. It's just really down to the raw emotion."[5] On Good Morning America, Tinashe told host Michael Strahan that she thinks the album "really represents who I am as a person right now, and everything I've been going through, and my life".[6]

Talking about the name of the album, Tinashe states that the she was inspired by screen names and avatars, and how this enables you to create your own persona online and take control over it.[7]

In an interview about the album and the BB/ANG3L era, Tinashe confirmed the second part of the album on November 26, 2023.[8] Talking about new things coming up, she says she is "really really excited about this, I have more things coming in the whole era, which is really exciting. And I think you know the part two is maybe coming in the spring". The second part of the album was officially announced as Quantum Baby on April 8, 2024.[2] It is slated to be released on August 16, 2024.[9]

Critical reception

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Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Euphoria Magazine     [10]
The Line of Best Fit8/10[11]
Pitchfork7.6/10[12]

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".[12] 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".[11] Talking about future projects of Tinashe, Franzini argues that "as R&B's most solid underground hitmaker, it's certain Tinashe will create something just as fun and down-to-earth soon to come".

Year-end lists

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BB/Ang3l and its songs on year-end lists
Publication Accolade Rank Ref.
The Forty-Five The Best Albums of 2023
32
 [13]
The Fader The 100 best songs of 2023 ("Needs")
10
 [14]
I-D Magazine The 100 best songs of 2023 ("Talk to Me Nice")
27
 [15]
The Needle Drop Top 50 Albums of 2023
39
 [16]
Paper Magazine Favorite Songs of 2023 ("Treason")
4
 [17]
Pitchfork The 100 best songs of 2023 ("Needs")
46
 [18]
The Best Pop Music of 2023 ("Needs")
4
 [19]

Promotion

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Singles

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"Talk to Me Nice" was released as the album's lead single on July 21, 2023.[20] Its music video, directed by Bradley J. Calder, premiered on the same day on Tinashe's YouTube account. The music video depicts Tinashe placed in a studio with a beige curtain background, focused on the concept of representing "shedding old layers, beginning anew, peeling back layers, intimacy, exploring distortions, perceptions, removing the masks, raw, skin, new era, fresh".[21]

The second single, "Needs", was released on August 18, 2023, and its music video on the same day, directed by Sammy Rawal.[22] The album's promotional single, "Uh Huh", and its accompanying music video were both released on September 8, 2023, alongside the album.[23] After the cancellation of her co-headlining tour with Shygirl due to an respiratory condition, Tinashe announced the first leg of the BB/ANG3L tour on November 14, 2023.[24]

Tour

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Tinashe announced the Tinashe & Shygirl Tour, co-headling together with Shygirl, on August 1, 2023, with UNIIQU3 as the supporting act.[25] 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".[26] In response to the cancellation of the tour, Tinashe announced that "THE SHOW MUST GO ON!" and that she and her team were putting together her own tour, leading to the announcement of the BB/ANG3L Tour on November 14, 2023.[24] The first leg covers nine different cities on the East Coast, United States and took place from January 31 until February 15, 2024. Tinashe confirmed the second leg of her tour to be held entirely in China from April 30 to May 5, 2024.

Track listing

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BB/Ang3l track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Treason"
Machinedrum2:46
2."Talk to Me Nice"
3:49
3."Needs"
2:26
4."Uh Huh"
  • Kachingwe
  • Oladatun Oyebadejo Jr.
Kurzweil3:02
5."Gravity"
3:02
6."None of My Business"
  • Kachingwe
  • Pearson
  • John Walsh Homen
  • Oscar Michel Leo-Christensen
  • David
  • Platinum Libraries
2:31
7."Tightrope"
  • Kachingwe
  • Stewart
Machinedrum3:06
Total length:20:42

Personnel

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  • Tinashe – vocals
  • Ike Schultz – mixing, engineering (all tracks), vocal production (tracks 1, 2, 4–7), additional vocal production, vocal engineering (3)
  • Chris Gehringer – mastering
  • Ricky Reed – vocal production (3)
  • Chloe Scheffe & Natalie Shields — album art, packaging designers

Charts

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Chart performance for BB/Ang3l
Chart (2024) Peak
position
US Top Album Sales (Billboard)[27] 32

References

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  1. ^ "Tinashe Reveals BB/Ang3l Album Cover & Track List: Here's When It Arrives". Billboard. Retrieved August 18, 2023.
  2. ^ a b Williams, Aaron (April 8, 2024). "Tinashe Announced Her Second 'BB/ANG3L' EP, 'Quantum Baby,' Is 'Coming Soon'". UPROXX. Retrieved April 8, 2024.
  3. ^ Sam (July 3, 2023). "Exclusive: Tinashe Talks New Music, Success, & Being Inspired by Janet Jackson & Beyonce". That Grape Juice. Retrieved October 10, 2023.
  4. ^ Folk, Antwane (August 31, 2023). "Tinashe Shares 'BB/ANG3L' Album Tracklist". Rated R&B. Retrieved September 9, 2023.
  5. ^ Pitcher, Laura (September 8, 2023). "With BB/ANG3L, Tinashe Wants You to Know the Real Her". Nylon. Retrieved September 9, 2023.
  6. ^ Dickson, EJ (September 4, 2023). "Watch Tinashe Perform New Single 'Tightrope' On 'Good Morning America'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved October 10, 2023.
  7. ^ Hoste, Elliot (August 18, 2023). "Tinashe is done making compromises". Dazed. Retrieved October 10, 2023.
  8. ^ @TinasheUp (November 26, 2023). "Tinashe says in a new interview that new things are coming for the BB/ANG3L era. 👼🏽" (Tweet). Retrieved December 28, 2023 – via Twitter.
  9. ^ Gonzalez, Alex (June 28, 2024). "Tinashe Shares 'Getting No Sleep' Video, Reveals 'Quantum Baby' Date". UPROXX. Retrieved June 28, 2024.
  10. ^ Okechukwu, Nmesoma (September 12, 2023). "Tinashe – BB/ANG3L". Euphoria Magazine. Retrieved October 10, 2023.
  11. ^ a b Franzini, Sam (September 11, 2023). "Tinashe's BB/ANG3L is an exciting new step for the cult R&B star". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved September 12, 2023.
  12. ^ a b Green, Dylan (September 14, 2023). "Tinashe: BB/ANG3L Album Review". Pitchfork. Retrieved September 14, 2023.
  13. ^ "The 45 Best Albums of 2023". Forty-Five Magazine. December 10, 2023. Retrieved December 12, 2023.
  14. ^ "The 100 best songs of 2023". The Fader. December 14, 2023. Retrieved December 14, 2023.
  15. ^ "The 100 best songs of 2023". i-D Magazine. December 5, 2023. Retrieved December 14, 2023.
  16. ^ "The Needle Drop's Top 50 Albums of 2023". Album of the Year. December 24, 2023. Retrieved December 28, 2023.
  17. ^ "PAPER's Favorite Songs of 2023". i-D Magazine. December 27, 2023. Retrieved December 28, 2023.
  18. ^ "The 100 best songs of 2023". Pitchfork. December 4, 2023. Retrieved December 14, 2023.
  19. ^ "The Best Pop Music of 2023". Pitchfork. December 12, 2023. Retrieved December 14, 2023.
  20. ^ "Tinashe Is Starting A New Era With Her Sultry Song 'Talk To Me Nice'". Uproxx. July 21, 2023. Retrieved December 28, 2023.
  21. ^ @Tinashe (July 22, 2023). "shedding old layers, beginning anew, peeling back layers, intimacy, exploring distortions, perceptions, removing the masks, raw, skin, new era, fresh" (Tweet). Retrieved September 2, 2023 – via Twitter.
  22. ^ Breihan, Tom (August 18, 2023). "Tinashe – "Needs"". Stereogum. Retrieved December 28, 2023.
  23. ^ Folk, Antwane (September 8, 2023). "Tinashe Shares New Album 'BB/ANG3L". Rated R&B. Retrieved December 28, 2023.
  24. ^ a b Powell, John. "Tinashe announces East Coast leg of "BB/ANG3L Tour"". Revolt. Retrieved December 28, 2023.
  25. ^ "Shygirl and Tinashe Announce Co-Headlining Tour". Pitchfork. August 1, 2023. Retrieved December 28, 2023.
  26. ^ Strauss, Matthew (October 20, 2023). "Shygirl and Tinashe Cancel Co-Headlining Tour". Pitchfork. Retrieved December 28, 2023.
  27. ^ "Tinashe Chart History (Top Album Sales)". Billboard. Retrieved February 27, 2024.
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