Kehlani searches for understanding in Ty Dolla $ign assisted “Nights Like This” [Video]

Genre blurring has become an increasingly used term to describe music released of the 2010s as we rapidly approach a new decade. In 2019, Pop doesn't sound the same way it did in 2010, in the same way music in 2010 didn't sound the same as releases from 2000. We've also seen diversions within genres, notably with the rise of a sub-genre known as Trap&B–comprised of the ambience of smoke-filled and hazy nights marked with ponderance of where certain relationships stand, where they're going, and where things may have gone wrong. These emotional outpourings are often presented in a manner that doesn't suggest that the artists delivering the lyrics are overwhelmed. Perhaps they'd just prefer to be direct and honest in their interactions while riding ambient trap-like beats. Two of Trap&B's most prominent gainers in recent years, Oakland native Kehlani and Los Angeles born Ty Dolla $ign, have joined for a perfect display of the genre on "Nights Like This."

"Nights Like This" is Kehlani's first official release as a leading artist in nearly a year, following "Again," an acoustic and unmixed track released in February of last year. The singer-songwriter finds herself asking a number of questions surrounding misleading relationships: "Can you tell me what's with all this distant love? If I called, would you pick it up?" she questions the female subject of the song. She continues to question, this time seemingly more to herself, on the next lyric: "On some nights like this, I just wanna text you, but for what?"

Kehlani's vocals are strong and demanding of attention as she searches for understanding. The carefully arranged production pulls on heavier sounds during the chorus but allows the singer to take the spotlight at other times. Ty Dolla $ign pulls us into a timeline of the subjected relationship, fast forwarding a year before his vocals are presented alongside Kehlani's in the final chorus. The two close out the track submitting that despite their best efforts, they can't help but reminisce on what was.