Tinashe Teams With A$AP Rocky For "Pretend"

With a Top 25 hit already under her belt, R&B and pop's latest sweetheart Tinashe keeps the momentum going with a cinematic video for her Detail-produced effort, "Pretend," featuring a guest verse from Harlem based rapper A$AP Rocky. Serves as the second single from Tinashe's upcoming long-awaited debut album, "Aquarius," out next Tuesday, The track is a much warmer ballad, a bit of a departure from the her earlier club-oriented single, and more in line with her mixtape work.
In an interview with Rap-Up, Tinashe talked about the concept behind the song, "The song with Rocky is definitely kind of a contemporary-sounding song, it doesn't really sound like a lot of other songs on the radio, but it's a midtempo feel and it's kinda minimalistic in the track." And when speaking about the songs meaning, she said "'Pretend' is basically about when you're in a relationship and instead of dealing with the stuff that you deal with in a relationship, you don't want to do that. You're just going to pretend that everything is fine. I think a lot of people can relate."
Directed by Jodeb and shot in Los Angeles, the dark and mysterious video bringing to light experiences the average person can relate to in relationships, but often ignore the real issues of why strenuous problems are occurring or pretending. The clip follows Tinashe going through the motions and living an unhappy life with her boyfriend who is cheating on her at a strip club. She still thinks about her high-school crush, Rocky and she randomly sees him after a long time, Tinashe finally realizes it's time to stop "pretending" and abandon the man that doesn't really make her happy.
Picturesque landscapes serve as the backdrop for Tinashe's beautiful, though kind of emo, as she sets out to exact her revenge with some help from Rocky, who pulls out the classic Lincoln Continental with the suicide doors to "rescue" the 21-year-old chanteuse from her pretend relationship. Tinashe's voice builds up to an emotional cry in the chorus, which finds her praising the concept of a love that never ends while Rocky raps after confronting her cheating lover. Both artists giving each other deep, longing stares as they navigate their relationship with one another, and provides some breath-taking sweeping landscapes.

Tinashe brings the sultry turn-up to life in '2 On'

Since dropping her 13-track mixtape "Black Water" last year, Tinashe has been one to watch. Now the Los Angeles R&B singer-actress, formerly of girl group The Stunners, makes some major moves and gets her two-step on in the Hannah Lux Davis-directed video for her DJ Mustard-produced single "2 On" featuring ScHoolboy Q. The R&B newcomer has been in the studio working on her RCA Records debut, "Aquarius," which will feature more up-tempo and rhythmic cuts than her mixtape.
With its West Coast hip hop producer DJ Mustard beat and its Q guest verse, "2 On," as Tinashe's commercial debut single, is a song that aims for Tumblr cool and down-the-middle pop appeal at the same damn time. "'2 On' is meant to be fun. It's about celebrating being young, going out, being with your friends, and living it up. That was my inspiration," said Tinashe. "It's got a West Coast vibe with Q and DJ Mustard, but it has my spin too. I wanted the visuals for the song to capture that mood."
Similarly, the song's new energetic video, recreates some of the tropes of the late-'90s/early-'00s teenpop/R&B crossover era, but it does it within quotes. The backlit scenes, in particular, feel like tributes to Aaliyah. There's something special about witnessing the emergence of a new artist. She's one of music's fresh faces, but Tinashe struts with the confidence of a veteran throughout the clip, in which the RCA signee shows off her dance moves and celebrates in style. Pairing seamlessly with the beat by DJ Mustard, the visual features bright lights and bold colors, with Tinashe dominating the video before Q steps in at around 2:30.
If you didn't realize the 21-year-old songstress could bust some moves, this dance-heavy clip showcases her fancy footwork, as Tinashe rehearsing with her girls at a dance studio before heading off to an abandoned underground club for a big night out and performance. Dressed to impress, the Kentucky native sways her hips to the beat - serving fresh choreography - and coos over the track. Later, the Oxymoron rapper slides in and delivering an X-rated verse. "Man, I love to get on / I love to get 2 on / When the drink be too strong / When the tree be way too strong / Get faded, turn up, bruh," she sings. Watch Tinashe turn up with Q below.