Quantum Baby

Quantum Baby
Studio album by Tinashe
Released	August 16, 2024
Recorded	2023–2024
Studio	Tinashe Music Dream Asylum Elysian Park
Length	22:05
Label	Tinashe Music Nice Life
Producer	John Alexis Billy Lemos Liohn Nosaj Thing Jorgen Odegard Phoelix Ricky Reed sdtroy Zack Sekoff Z3N
Tinashe chronology
BB/Ang3l (2023) Quantum Baby (2024)
Singles from Quantum Baby
"Nasty" Released: April 12, 2024 "Getting No Sleep" Released: June 28, 2024 "No Broke Boys" Released: October 18, 2024 "Cross That Line" Released: December 20, 2024

Quantum Baby^[1] (also referred to as BB/Ang3l Pt. 2 – Quantum Baby) is the seventh studio album by American singer Tinashe and was released on August 16, 2024, via her independent label Tinashe Music and Nice Life Recording Company.^[2] Quantum Baby is the second installment of a planned album trilogy, following her 2023 album BB/Ang3l. It includes the hit single "Nasty".

Background

On April 3, 2024, it was announced Tinashe signed a worldwide publishing deal with Position Music, obtaining the publishing rights to her future releases from that point forward and her previous album BB/Ang3l.^[3] On April 8, Tinashe announced via her social media that the album was set to release soon, to which she would announce the album's lead single the next day. On June 28, hours after the release of her song "Getting No Sleep", Tinashe announced that the album would be released on August 16.^[2]

Promotion

Singles

"Nasty" serves as the lead single from the album and it was released on April 12, 2024. The release date coincided with her performance at the 2024 Coachella Music Festival. In late April, a Twitter user posted a video with the song behind a video of a man and woman dancing together. The video went viral across Twitter and TikTok, to which Tinashe herself recreated the video, causing the song to gain traction on both apps.^[4] The song's popularity gradually increased and resulted in the song entering the Billboard Hot 100 at number 90 on June 15, 2024. Three weeks later, the song peaked at number 61.^[5] The song has also since peaked at number 18 on the US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs,^[6] becoming Tinashe's first entry on the Hot 100 since her 2016 collaboration with Britney Spears on "Slumber Party". It also marked her fifth entry overall, and her first entry as an independent artist.

"Getting No Sleep" serves as the second single and was released on June 28, 2024. It was reviewed in Billboard's article, "Queer Jams of the Week". The article reads, "Over a skittering beat and cool synth chords, Tinashe confidently lets her lover know that after a long work week, she's ready to stay up 'til dawn with them. It's might be a long night, but don't worry, you'll have Tinashe's excellent new track to keep you company."^{[7] [8]}

"No Broke Boys" serves as the album's third single which was released October 18, 2024. Though the single did not reach the Billboard Hot 100, like its predecessor Nasty, it managed to reach Billboard's Hot R&B Songs chart, debuting and peaking at number 25^[9] as well as peaking at number 19 on the Rhythmic Airplay chart becoming her twelfth and eleventh entries on the charts respectively.^[10] In New Zealand, the song debuted and peaked at number 25 on the New Zealand Heatseekers chart.^[11] The song was described as "infectious" by Slant Magazine.

Tour

On August 6, 2024, Tinashe officially announced the Match My Freak: World Tour with the presale opening August 7 and general sale opening August 9. The tour is set to begin its North American leg in Anaheim, California on October 14 and conclude in Sacramento, California on November 25. As of August 8, the European, Australian, and Asian shows are yet to have dates confirmed. The venues for this tour are the biggest Tinashe has had as a main act in her career which contain a crowd as large as 6,000 people, which is likely attributed to the success of "Nasty". Raveena is set to be Tinashe's opening act.

Reception

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
AnyDecentMusic?	6.9/10[12]
Metacritic	77/100[13]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[14]
NME	[15]
The Observer	[16]
Pitchfork	7.9/10[17]
Rolling Stone	[18]
Slant Magazine	[19]
Spin Magazine	A-[20]
The Line of Best Fit	7/10[21]

Quantum Baby was received positively by critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted mean rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 77, based on twelve reviews.^[22] Steven J. Horowitz of Variety complimented the album's thematic versatility.^[23] The themes of the album led to comparisons to Christine McVie by Spin's Alfred Soto and to Janet Jackson by Pitchfork's Tarisai Ngangura.^[24][25] Reviewing the album for AllMusic, Andy Kellman described the album as, "providing another highly concentrated shot of material that shows her moving with ease -- sometimes blurring the line -- between sensual slow jams and pop-flavored dance tracks."^[14]

In a year-end, "10 best albums of 2024," Russell Falcon for KTLA in Los Angeles ranked "Quantum Baby," the 10th best album of the year, writing that the album "finds the R&B-pop master contemplating love in a softer and more vulnerable way that ever before," and praising the album's "spacey" instrumentation as "some of the best atmospheres heard across any of Tinashe's work."^[26]

Track listing

Quantum Baby track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"No Simulation"	Tinashe Kachingwe Jason W. Chung Darhyl Camper Jr.	Nosaj Thing Ricky Reed^[a]	1:48
2.	"Getting No Sleep"	Kachingwe Chung Billy Lemos	Nosaj Thing Lemos Reed^[a]	3:12
3.	"Thirsty"	Kachingwe Troy Artopoeus	sdtroy	3:40
4.	"Red Flags"	Kachingwe Eric Bellinger John Alexis Mendoza Richard Zastenker	John Alexis LIOHN	2:09
5.	"Cross That Line"	Kachingwe Charlotte "Charli" Spence Juan Guerrieri Mari Toian Keisha Gichie	Z3N	2:48
6.	"When I Get You Alone"	Kachingwe Spence Jordan Odegard Gichie Artopoeus	Odegard sdtroy	3:20
7.	"No Broke Boys"	Kachingwe Eric Frederic Michael Neil	Phoelix Reed Zack Sekoff	2:12
8.	"Nasty"	Kachingwe Frederic Sekoff	Reed Sekoff	2:56
Total length:				22:05

Notes

• ^{^[a]} signifies an additional producer

Personnel

• Tinashe – vocals
• Alicia Abboud – vocals (track 7)
• Nakisa Kachingwe – vocals (track 7)
• Phoelix – keyboards (track 7)
• Ricky Reed – programming, vocal production (tracks 7, 8)
• Zack Sekoff – programming (tracks 7, 8)
• Ike Schultz – mixing, engineering (all tracks); vocal production (tracks 1–7)
• Ethan Shumaker – engineering (tracks 7, 8)
• Shane Moloney – engineering assistance (track 7)
• Chris Gehringer – mastering

Charts

Chart performance for Quantum Baby

Chart (2024)	Peak position
UK Album Downloads (OCC)[27]	92
US Billboard 200[28]	199
US Top R&B Albums (Billboard)[29]	23

References

1. Olajide, Emmanuel (August 17, 2024). "Tinashe's "Quantum Baby" – A Journey Through Love, Lust, and Self-Discovery". 15seclyrics. Retrieved August 17, 2024.
2. Garcia, Thania (June 28, 2024). "Tinashe Reveals New 'Quantum Baby' Album Will Arrive in August". Variety. Retrieved June 29, 2024.
3. "Position Music Signs Tinashe to Worldwide Publishing Deal". Music Connection. April 2, 2024. Archived from the original on April 3, 2024. Retrieved August 21, 2024.
4. Horowitz, Steven J. (May 28, 2024). "Tinashe Reflects on the Runaway Viral Success of Summer Anthem 'Nasty': 'Ten Years Later, Who Would Have Thought?'". Variety. Retrieved June 29, 2024.
5. "Billboard Hot 100™". Billboard. January 2, 2013. Retrieved June 29, 2024.
6. "Tinashe | Biography, Music & News". Billboard. Retrieved June 29, 2024.
7. Daw, Stephen (June 28, 2024). "Queer Jams of the Week: New Music from Tinashe, Lil Nas X, Omar Apollo & More". Billboard. Retrieved July 1, 2024.
8. "Tinashe Quantum Baby Album Zip Download". Rawpraise. August 17, 2024.
9. "Tinashe | Biography, Music & News". Billboard. Retrieved November 1, 2024.
10. "Tinashe | Biography, Music & News". Billboard. Retrieved November 1, 2024.
11. "Explore our 50 year history". aotearoamusiccharts.co.nz. Retrieved November 1, 2024.
12. "Quantum Baby by Tinashe". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved August 29, 2024.
13. "Quantum Baby by Tinashe". Metacritic. Retrieved September 20, 2024.
14. Kellman, Andy (August 16, 2024). "'Quantum Baby' - Tinashe | Album | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved September 20, 2024.
15. Williams, Kyann-Sian (August 16, 2024). "Tinashe – 'Quantum Baby' review: a fun stepping stone". NME. Retrieved August 20, 2024.
16. Empire, Kitty (August 16, 2024). "Tinashe: Quantum Baby review – playful, featherlight 90s-trap fusion". The Observer. Retrieved August 20, 2024.
17. Ngangura, Tarisai. "Quantum Baby". Pitchfork. Retrieved August 20, 2024.
18. Sheffield, Rob (August 15, 2024). "Tinashe's Freak is Unmatchable on 'Quantum Baby'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved August 20, 2024.
19. Seip, Nick (August 19, 2024). "Tinashe 'Quantum Baby' Review: An Effortless Cool That Leaves You Begging for More". Slant Magazine. Retrieved August 20, 2024.
20. Soto, Alfred. "Tinashe Continues Her Winning Streak With 'Quantum Baby'". Slant Magazine. Retrieved August 20, 2024.
21. Franzini, Sam. "Tinashe tops off the summer of freak with the low-key Quantum Baby". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved August 20, 2024.
22. "Quantum Baby by Tinashe". Metacritic. Retrieved August 18, 2024.
23. Horowitz, Steven J. (August 16, 2024). "Tinashe Searches for Truth on the Brief Yet Satiating 'Quantum Baby': Album Review". Variety. Retrieved August 18, 2024.
24. Soto, Alfred (August 16, 2024). "Tinashe Continues Her Winning Streak With 'Quantum Baby'". Spin. Retrieved August 18, 2024.
25. "Quantum Baby". Pitchfork. August 16, 2024. Retrieved August 18, 2024.
26. Falcon, Russell (December 17, 2024). "The 10 best albums of 2024". KTLA.com.
27. "Official Album Downloads Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved August 24, 2024.
28. "Tinashe Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved August 27, 2024.
29. ""Tinashe Chart History (Top R&B Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved August 27, 2024.