Let Time Do Its Thing: How Tinashe, Kehlani & Jhené Aiko Are Redefining R&B’s Long Game
Categoria: Musica
Some of R&B’s 2010s favorites are reaching new heights more than a decade later, proving why talent like theirs is always worth the wait.
Por Billboard | 05/10/2026
American culture has always loved an underdog. Whether it’s Rocky Balboa walking through scorched earth to beat Soviet juggernaut Ivan Drago or LeBron’s 2016 Cavs delivering an emphatic 3-1 comeback against the once-unflappable Warriors, the unexpected late rally gets us talking. Same in music. In between hip-hop icons Juvenile and T.I. scoring major Hot 100 hits this year and in R&B, the 2010s wunderkinds who we placed big bets on are making our gambles look genius. But calling these moments comebacks is kind of lazy. This is what happens when preparation finally meets opportunity, with golden results that remind us why playing the long game will always be the way to go. These artists weren’t short on talent; if anything, they were early with it. Now the numbers, the acclaim and the staying power are catching up to what many of us saw years ago. Tinashe is the latest star to see her moment up close. On Sunday (Oct. 4), she landed her first top 10 entry on the Billboard 200 with her September album, Popstar . Debuting at No. 6, Popstar thrives on punchy bangers like “Crash Out” and “Melatonin,” while showcasing both the sharp ear and musical versatility that have allowed Tinashe to maneuver between worlds throughout her career. The album’s sequencing, rule-breaking mentality and deliberate callouts to the everyday “f–k boy” are what make Popstar the crown jewel of her catalog. Tinashe has always dazzled as a polymath. A lethal triple threat who can stun you with her singing, dancing and songwriting, she proved her capabilities when she released “2 On” with ScHoolboy Q in 2014. The song became a top 25 hit on the Hot 100 and served as her entryway into stardom. But because she was at the mercy of her then-label RCA — and often creatively hogtied by expectations of what she should be — her acclaimed debut album, Aquarius , never became the commercial launchpad many imagined it could be. Debuting at No. 17 on the Billboard 200, Aquarius showed that Tinashe wasn’t the problem. As fans and critics embraced her ability to snake in and out of R&B with her pop sensibilities, many pondered whether the label knew what to do with such a talent. ‘Nashe eventually left RCA and went independent. During that journey, she spent years recultivating and expanding her fanbase, with 2024’s “Nasty” serving as her reintroduction to the mainstream and peaking at No. 61 on the Hot 100. Then came another jolt: Her 2024 Quantum Baby standout “No Broke Boys” exploded the following year, after getting a remix from dance outfit Disco Lines, eventually earning Tinashe her first top 40 Hot 100 hit since “2 On.” Now, Popstar is Nashe’s new apex. More than a decade after Aquarius introduced her as one of R&B’s most promising young shapeshifters, she has the biggest and most acclaimed album of her career. The talent was always there. It was just a matter of the industry catching up. It’s a similar story to what we’d already have seen this past year with Ke