New Music Friday is delivering a heavy slate across pop, hip-hop and R&B, with Tinashe, Tee Grizzley and Tank all releasing major new projects today.

Tinashe has officially released Popstar, the eighth studio album of her career and the latest chapter in a resurgence that accelerated after “Nasty” became one of her biggest records. Detroit rapper Tee Grizzley is back with They Forgot, a 16-track project that reconnects him with the street-focused storytelling that helped establish his career. R&B veteran Tank, meanwhile, has released EXPERIENCE, his 11th studio album and another full-length statement from a singer who has now spent more than two decades in the genre.

The three projects arrive on the same Friday but represent artists at very different stages of their careers.

Tinashe is continuing an independent-era reinvention that has brought her back into the center of mainstream pop conversation. Tee Grizzley is approaching the 10-year anniversary of the breakout period that made him one of Detroit’s most recognizable rappers. Tank is extending a recording career that began before either of them released a debut album.

Together, their releases make September 25 one of the more interesting crossover New Music Fridays of the fall.

Tinashe Enters Her Popstar Era

For Tinashe, the title says almost everything.

Popstar is a 16-track album built around an idea she has spent years complicating: what exactly does being a pop star mean when an artist has already experienced both the major-label system and life outside of it?

Tinashe’s career has rarely followed a straightforward path.

Her 2014 debut album Aquarius introduced her to a massive mainstream audience, particularly through “2 On,” her collaboration with ScHoolboy Q. But the years that followed brought creative disagreements and an eventual split from RCA Records.

Rather than disappearing after leaving the major-label system, Tinashe rebuilt.

Projects including Songs for You, 333, BB/ANG3L and Quantum Baby allowed her to operate with considerably more creative freedom, gradually turning her independent career into one of the more notable reinventions in contemporary R&B and pop.

Then “Nasty” happened.

The 2024 single became a viral phenomenon and gave Tinashe her first solo entry on the Billboard Hot 100. It introduced her to another generation of listeners while simultaneously reminding mainstream audiences that she had never stopped releasing music.

That momentum carried into the next stage of her career.

Now comes Popstar. (The FADER)

Tinashe Isn’t Running From the Pop Label Anymore

The album’s title is intentionally direct.

Tinashe has spent much of her career moving between R&B, pop, electronic music, dance and experimental production without fitting comfortably inside one category.

Popstar appears to embrace that ambiguity rather than resolve it.

The album includes 16 songs and was preceded by records including “Too Easy,” “Crash Out,” “Melatonin” and “Pillow Fight.” (Apple Music - Web Player)

That makes the project especially interesting within the context of Tinashe’s career.

There was a time when the idea of becoming a mainstream pop star could be associated with the compromises and pressures she experienced inside the traditional label system.

Now she’s reclaiming the term on her own terms.

The result is less about proving that Tinashe can make pop music — something her catalog established years ago — and more about defining what a pop star can look like when the artist has substantially more control over the creative process.

Tee Grizzley Says They Forgot

On the hip-hop side, Tee Grizzley has returned with a title that sounds almost like a challenge.

They Forgot arrives nearly a decade after “First Day Out” transformed the Detroit rapper from a regional name into one of the most recognizable voices emerging from Michigan.

The new album contains 16 tracks and includes previously released material such as “No Effort 2,” “Hard Times” with Hurricane Wisdom and “Rain” featuring Skilla Baby and Ashanti. (Real 106.1)

“No Effort 2” is particularly significant.

The song revisits one of the records associated with Tee Grizzley’s early rise, arriving as the rapper approaches the 10-year anniversary of his breakthrough era.

That fits naturally with the message behind They Forgot.

Tee Grizzley isn’t introducing himself.

He’s reminding listeners.

Detroit Storytelling Remains at the Center

Tee Grizzley’s strongest musical weapon has always been his ability to tell stories.

“First Day Out” established that almost immediately.

Later records and projects expanded that approach, with Grizzley becoming known for turning street narratives into highly detailed songs that often unfold almost like short films.

His Robbery series pushed that concept even further, creating serialized storytelling across multiple records.

They Forgot brings him back to that foundation while still reflecting how much Detroit’s rap scene has changed since his arrival.

When Tee Grizzley broke nationally, Detroit rap wasn’t receiving the level of mainstream attention it commands today.

The city has since produced an enormous ecosystem of artists, producers and viral records.

Grizzley is no longer simply one of Detroit’s newest breakout rappers.

He’s part of the generation that helped open the door.

Ashanti Appears on “Rain”

One of the more unexpected moments in Tee Grizzley’s rollout came through “Rain.”

The record brings together Tee Grizzley, fellow Detroit rapper Skilla Baby and Ashanti.

The collaboration draws from Ashanti’s catalog while placing her alongside two artists representing a much newer era of hip-hop.

That combination makes the song more than a random feature.

It connects generations.

Ashanti comes from the early-2000s period when R&B hooks and rap records were commercially inseparable. Tee Grizzley and Skilla Baby represent a Detroit scene that has developed its own rhythms, slang and production identity.

Putting them together gives They Forgot another bridge between the past and present. (The Music Universe)

Tank Returns With EXPERIENCE

Then there is Tank.

At a point when many singers from his generation have slowed their recording schedules considerably, Tank has released another complete studio album.

EXPERIENCE is his 11th studio project and contains 16 tracks.

The guest list spans several corners of Black music, with appearances from Remy Ma, Charlie Wilson, Fred Hammond, Lecrae, Kirk Franklin, Eric Dawkins, Zacardi Cortez, MK and Jade Milan. (Apple Music - Web Player)

Even that lineup illustrates what Tank is attempting.

There is traditional R&B.

There is hip-hop.

There is gospel.

There are veteran voices and newer collaborators.

And at the center is one of the genre’s most enduring singers and songwriters.

Tank Has Survived Multiple Eras of R&B

Tank’s longevity makes EXPERIENCE particularly notable.

His debut album, Force of Nature, arrived in 2001.

That means Tank has recorded through the CD era, the ringtone era, digital downloads, the collapse of traditional R&B radio’s dominance, the rise of streaming and now the social-media-driven music economy.

The business surrounding R&B has changed repeatedly.

Tank remained.

His career has expanded beyond his own albums as well. He has written and produced for other artists, built the R&B Money platform and podcast, toured extensively and increasingly positioned himself as one of the genre’s outspoken advocates.

EXPERIENCE arrives with that history behind it.

The title itself works on multiple levels.

It’s an album title, but after more than 25 years in the music business, experience is also one thing Tank possesses in abundance.

The Guest List Connects Generations

Charlie Wilson’s presence is especially fitting.

Wilson has built one of the great longevity stories in R&B, moving from his Gap Band years into an enormously successful solo career.

Tank is now occupying some of that same veteran territory.

Remy Ma brings another early-2000s connection through “RICK,” while the album’s closing stretch moves heavily into gospel through Fred Hammond, Lecrae, Kirk Franklin, Eric Dawkins and Zacardi Cortez. (Apple Music - Web Player)

That gives the album a broader musical palette than a straightforward collection of bedroom R&B records.

Tank has spent years defending adult R&B as a commercially viable genre.

EXPERIENCE gives him another opportunity to make that case through the music itself.

Three Artists, Three Completely Different Career Moments

What makes today’s releases compelling isn’t simply that three recognizable names dropped albums simultaneously.

It’s where each artist currently stands.

Tinashe is enjoying one of the most interesting second acts in contemporary pop and R&B.

She escaped a major-label situation that she felt limited her, rebuilt independently, found a massive viral hit years after her initial breakthrough and has now released an album literally called Popstar.

Tee Grizzley is entering the veteran stage of a rap career that once seemed to explode overnight.

“First Day Out” introduced him nationally.

Nearly a decade later, They Forgot finds him reminding listeners that his catalog didn’t stop with his breakout moment.

Tank represents something different entirely.

He isn’t fighting to become established.

He is proving longevity.

Eleven studio albums and 25 years after his debut, he’s still releasing full-length R&B projects in an industry that has transformed around him.

New Music Friday Isn’t Just About Singles This Week

Streaming has changed the rhythm of Friday releases.

Some weeks are dominated by individual songs designed for playlists and social-media clips.

September 25 has considerably more weight on the album side.

Tinashe’s Popstar is a complete 16-song statement.

Tee Grizzley’s They Forgot gives rap listeners another 16 tracks.

Tank’s EXPERIENCE adds 16 more from the R&B side. (Apple Music - Web Player)

That’s 48 songs across just these three projects.

And they aren’t the only releases arriving today.

The wider September 25 calendar also includes new music from Leon Bridges and a range of other artists across genres, making this a particularly crowded Friday for listeners deciding what gets the first spin. (Our Culture)

But for hip-hop and R&B audiences, Tinashe, Tee Grizzley and Tank provide three clear starting points.

One artist is redefining what being a pop star means.

Another is reminding hip-hop why he broke through in the first place.

And the third is showing what more than two decades of R&B longevity looks like.

Tinashe’s Popstar, Tee Grizzley’s They Forgot and Tank’s EXPERIENCE are all out now.