- When Rihanna told me that she liked Songs for You,
I was literally speechless.
I was just like...
Thank you!
I died.
Hey, what's up?
I'm Tinashe and today I'm gonna be painting
my album, Songs for You.
So, all the different colors represent
how I was feeling at different times
when I created the album and what I saw
when I made the music.
During the process of creating Songs for You,
I actually did a lot of painting.
I set up an easel in the studio.
When we were just like listening,
or coming up with melodies,
I would just kinda throw colors on a canvas,
and see however I felt the mood of the song
kind of translated into that art.
When I think of "Feelings,"
I think it starts off with like a strong blue,
even though it has this confident
and cocky exterior coming at the beginning.
I feel like that character is just
really kind of overcompensating
for a pain that will get involved more in the album itself.
♪ Who gon' hold you down ♪
♪ When you really going through it like me? ♪
♪ Who gon' see your face in the crowd ♪
♪ Pick you out like me? ♪
So, with "Hopscotch,"
I really just wanted to do
a real LA song.
I was like, "I wanna do a song"
"that's about my city that just feels real LA."
Feels sunny,
feels bright,
feels fun.
Lighthearted.
So I gotta do yellow and purple for the Lakers!
Gotta do it.
♪ Hopscotch, block's hot, pop rocks ♪
♪ you feel me, seems like ♪
♪ You a nice guy, oh ♪
We had a really fun time creating "Stormy Weather."
I feel like it was actually my favorite
studio session that we had.
Just in terms of,
it was the most fun.
We were just, again, really playful.
Just, you know, playing around.
At one point,
we were just making the beat,
and we were actually creating sounds
using the elements in the room.
So we were drumming on the tables,
and recording it on iPhones
and importing it into ProTools and using that.
So it was a really fun session overall.
Very playful.
The song itself is kind of about
a tumultuous,
back and forth,
ever-changing,
young mind.
So the song itself I'm gonna say is black.
♪ Just save room for us ♪
♪ Somewhere ♪
♪ Just save room for us ♪
Save Room for Us.
Another blue one.
There's definitely still hope,
which is why it's not black or gray.
I think it's definitely blue.
But maybe a little red, too,
because there's a lot of angst.
♪ Now I'm dancing solo ♪
Story of Us!
"Story of Us" may be my favorite song.
It didn't used to be, but I think it is now.
I think it became my favorite song
as I sat with the album more and then I realized
that one was really special.
It's about when you fall in love
and you get involved
and that whole journey that it takes you on.
♪ Dance, vibe a little bit ♪
♪ change ♪
Okay, so there was this video
that my brother made on my laptop
when he was like nine years old.
And I'm pretty sure nobody was in the house,
and he was just in his element,
teaching this dance tutorial.
And, it always to me was so funny
that I just had to reference it someday.
- You just get to be free.
♪ Perfect crime, crime, crime ♪
♪ Quick, what's better than me? ♪
♪ But I don't give a what you're sayin' to me ♪
♪ It's a cash race ♪
I'mma say this song is pink and orange.
This is, I think, the funnest song on the record.
Starts off real pink,
just in your face,
I'm that bitch.
And then as it goes along,
it gets even more confident and then it's like,
"What, I'm orange."
♪ I just pulled up in a Brink's truck ♪
♪ Bad bitches link up ♪
♪ Hmm, touch and go ♪
♪ I love you but I know better ♪
I loved making this song.
'Cause, yeah, it was just real sexy.
I was in that whole mind state
when I made it.
Kinda came to me really quickly,
the concept, the melody,
the whole thing.
Sometimes it's harder,
sometimes you have a melody
and you have to go back and figure out a lyric,
but everything came to me at once.
So it felt really natural.
And then it was also really fun
because I actually was there when G-Easy
recorded his verse,
and that's rare.
It was good.
It was a lot of sexual tension in the room.
So this song is definitely red.
♪ I just wanna kiss ya I just wanna hold ya ♪
♪ I just wanna touch you ♪
♪ Need you inside of me ♪
Okay, I'm putting on the final touches, guys.
Takes this serious.
Now I got this side.
♪ And I told you how I felt? ♪
♪ I'll never forget ♪
♪ I hope you know I meant ♪
Yeah, it looks nice. That looks real nice.
All right, guys,
well this is Songs for You,
this is what the inside of my brain looks like,
and make sure that you guys stream it.
♪ Picking up the pieces of a mess ♪
♪ But I feel like myself again, oh ♪