Tinashe – “Like I Used To”

Tinashe – “Like I Used To”

The road to Tinashe’s sophomore album Joyride was long and tortured, a years-long path strewn with single after false-start single, but she finally dropped the completed project in April. Three months later, she’s already back to releasing new tracks.

“Like I Used To,” her new song out today, is a breakup jam with a hook about lingering regret: “Never be the same, won’t trust you like I used to/ Wake up in the morning I can’t fuck you like I used to.” It arrives at a time when Tinashe is dealing with the fallout from a romance with NBA star Ben Simmons, who reportedly believes Tinashe has been following him and his new girlfriend, Kendall Jenner, showing up at most of the same locations when they go out.

The tabloid drama certainly informs lyrics like, “This shit too easy like a free-throw/ This shit might blow up like some C4.” (Also, a press release about the song notes that it “attacks the glass.”) But if the breakup has been messy, the tune it inspired is smooth, clean, and pretty. “Like I Used To” is expertly crafted pop-R&B that strikes an ideal balance between brisk and wistful. Check it out below.

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