Deen has never worn a backwards snapback.
Last time I got around to typing stuff for y’all, I kinda lamented the absence of TDE voices over DJ Mustard/IamSu/League of Starz beats. I figured a fella like Schoolboy Q could use the boost that comes from rapping over a DJ Mustard beat over the last few years, which in turn would aid his attempts to secure a release date for Oxymoron.
So I was delighted to see and hear him guesting on Tinashe’s new single over a damn DJ Mustard beat. Oh? I have to talk about Tinashe a bit? Aight. I don’t mind, since she’s cute and sorta African and all. She’s an LA based vocalist that released a pretty good project last year called Black Water. When I heard the first song on that mixtape, I feared that she was about to erase my current/reigning boo, Rochelle Jordan, on some “there can only be one – Highlander” shit, but it never quite came to that. Black Water had its moments, but not enough of them for me to consider writing about it in this space.
Nonetheless, Tinashe is really talented and she’s probably about to go places if this latest single is anything to go by. It’s the perfect distillation of her classy and muted sounding aesthetic over that West Coast ratchet shit, which in this instance actually sounds more complex than DJ Mustard beats tend to sound. As for the homie Q, he just sounds natural over this shit in the way that Kendrick wouldn’t. That’s not necessarily a stick to beat Kendrick with, but if you wanna be THAT nigga, you gotta be capable of breezing through R&B features without over-complicating shit and sounding as if you’re tryna battle bitches. Schoolboy Q already has that figured out and Tinashe more than carries her weight on this one. Super assured and breezy delivery, even when the ghosts of Sean Paul past decide to escape her throat. If there’s any justice in the world, this song should go places, but that shitty Trey Songz shit that bites that dope ass Fugees song will probably preempt it. Then again, if we haven’t reached the over-saturation point with Mike Will Made It, then I suppose we’re still here for Dijon. Which reminds me, can we get Future Sinatra has a cold over a DJ Mustard beat before we decide that shit is played out? Or did Rich Homie Quan kill that possibility already?
