As expected, Tinashe is officially taking off.
After dropping her bangin’ major label debut “2 On” at the start of the year (MUSTARD ON THE BEAT), the song’s been climbing slow and steady — to the point where even Drake ended up putting his own spin on the track in the past few weeks. (It’s currently sitting at #74 on the Hot 100, up from last week. Go girl, go!)
Naturally, the über-talented 21-year-old alt-R&B-pop temptress has decided to return the favor, in the form of a reworked cover of Drizzy’s “Days In The East,” a moody late night ode — and it’s surely the best Drake cover since JoJo‘s immaculate reinterpretation of “Marvin’s Room.”
“Spending all my days on the west side/It don’t feel the same on the other side,” she cries above the A.Mo-re-swizzled instrumental. Unlike Drake’s dedication to a special lady in his life, Tinashe puts an autobiographical spin on her remix, focusing on her self-made grind to the top: “Tired of y’all not doing your research, look me up,” she shuns, hitting hard at naysayers, Internet commenters and those trying to tag along for the ride: “Where the fuck was you when I was broke and I needed help?/Ain’t nobody out here put me on,” she scowls at one point, referencing her mixtapes and hinting at new music to come: “You know I’m due for Mixtape #4 already.” (Bring it on!)
As with her past mixtapes, the cover’s hypnotic midnight vibez provide the perfect accompaniment to Tinashe’s heavenly coos and chill-inducing whispers. She’s simply too good (and 2 On) — it’s only a matter of time before she’s all the way at the top.
“2 On” was released on January 21. (iTunes)