Quantum Baby, the seventh album from Tinashe and the second part of a trilogy following 2023’s BB/ANG3L, arrives with more eyes on the R&B star than ever before thanks to the viral success of “Nasty,” an intimate, intoxicating R&B-dance hybrid that quickly became one of 2024’s defining songs. “I crafted [it] to try to get that exact same energy when I was just driving in my car,” she tells Apple Music’s Zane Lowe. “The performance of it really affects just how people are interpreting the song and how people are receiving it.” Though there may not prove to be another song that finds as many ears as the single, Quantum Baby is still the portrait of an artist at the peak of their powers. There are plenty of other sterling moments to latch on to: “Thirsty” is light as air, with Tinashe’s falsetto floating above pillowy synths and percussion that bubbles like a cauldron. “When I Get You Alone” is a sexy R&B jam laced with deep desires and plenty of quotable lines. When Tinashe sings, “Flying, top gun/Feels like heaven/Wilding, we’re young/Fuck it, have fun,” she’s also recapping the philosophy of the Quantum Baby era. It’s why, in part, Tinashe never let the success of “Nasty” change her approach. “I'm just trying to live in the moment as much as possible and not focus on that, because these moments don't happen every day,” she says. “And I hope that my continued hard work [can help me] maximize on it as much as we possibly can. We stay the course.”