For Titose, music has always felt less like a choice and more like a calling. Drawing inspiration from artists such as SZA, Kelela, Kllo, Jhené Aiko and Erykah Badu, the singer-songwriter has carved out a space for herself through music that is intimate, vulnerable and deeply rooted in personal experience. Her latest EP, Did We Try Hard Enough, continues that journey, unpacking the complexities of love, toxic relationships, self-sabotage and the difficulty of letting go.
Across the project, Titose turns moments of emotional uncertainty into stories that listeners can see themselves in. From the guarded vulnerability of ‘Cautious’ to the intoxicating pull of ‘When It Comes To You’ and the lingering questions of ‘Self Sabotaging’, the EP plays out like an unresolved conversation with a past lover. We caught up with Titose to unpack the inspiration behind the project, her approach to experimentation and collaboration, and why she chose to leave listeners with a question rather than an answer.
When I interview an artist for the first time, I like to get a feel of who inspired them. Who are a few of the artists that inspire you?
I would say definitely SZA and Kllo off the top of my head. I would also name Kelela as one of my biggest inspirations and a little bit of Jhené Aiko too. Erykah Badu is an inspiration too but more so for her bravery than her sound.
Every artist has a reason for making music. Some make it because it’s therapeutic others make it because they want to heal. What is your reason for making music?
Honestly, I feel like it’s what I am called to do. There have been so many points where I wanted to quit music and then I find myself gravitating towards it again. When it comes to whether music is healing for myself or others, I think it’s a bit of both. Not every song does the same thing. One song might be my way of releasing my emotions and other songs I feel like I need to share a message.
On your IG you said, “yes another EP about toxic relationships but a different one this time.” Why did you title the EP Did We Try Hard Enough?
I titled it Did We Try Hard Enough because I felt like it was a continuation of Is It Something I Said, which is my first EP. When we are in relationships, letting go is hard. Sometimes when you walk away from a situation, it’s best to do so knowing you have done everything you can. This is also a reflection of my past relationship and I am sort of introspecting and asking the question, did we try our best?
The opening song is ‘Cautious’ where you talk about a dangerous love. Why did you choose to open the EP in the manner that you did?
The song is conceptual and it narrates a past situation that I was in. When you meet someone for the first time, both people come with their traumas and put it on each other. In that situation, you guys might be on the same page but I was not fully invested because I was trying to protect myself from something that could potentially hurt me. The song was my way of explaining my behaviour in a situation where I identified a lot of red flags.
On ‘Beautiful chaos you say, “Make sure I’m the prettiest girl that you find on the west side”. Can you speak to that and the meaning of beautiful chaos?
Men put beauty on a pedestal, and they are providers, so on the song, I’m trying to say that I am going to make sure that I am the prettiest girl on the block. I really wanted to embody that energy the same way men embody the role of providers.
On the song ‘When It Comes To You’, you talk about an addictive love. Have you ever experienced that sort of intoxicating love, and if so, how would you describe the experience?
I have experienced that sort of love on more than one occasion. This EP was a way to process that addiction. Like I mentioned before, you see the red flags and you know that someone is bad for you but something keeps pulling you back to this person. The thing about an addictive love is that it’s not logical. People might see you in that situation and ask why you are still in that relationship but on a personal level, you don’t even know why you are still there. That sort of love is intoxicating and it’s really hard to get rid of.
Everyone experiences the butterflies in their stomach for a love interest and that is what I thought about on the song ‘Falling’. When was the last time your experienced that sort of love?
I would say maybe a year and a half ago. I’m still with the person now. I don’t know if you will get me but there are times when you have a crush on your partner. You can keep falling in love with the person over and over again. There are definitely moments in the relationship when my partner gives me butterflies.
things are one sided. It’s a very painful experience. With ‘Miss You’, I had messed up a situation with somebody and I could see that it was my fault but I wanted to try again. On ‘Feeling You’ you enter an almost sing rap type of bag at the beginning. What is your experience entering that bag as opposed to straight up harmonising?
I was having a conversation with a friend of mine and he is a big Yeat fan. He was telling me about how if I would step into the rap bag, it would be fire. I try not to be stubborn with my music. If you were to come to me and suggest that I make an amapiano song, I would consider it if I were to meet the right producer. Not to say that I am passionate about amapaino or I’m following trends but at the end of the day, I have to acknowledge that music a business. If someone gives me advise, it wouldn’t hurt to try it out. With the song ‘Feeling You’, I sent my producer a Yeat playlist and we worked on the song. I’m open to making more of those types of songs.
You are right. At the end of the day it is a business and if you want to make music your career, then you have to be strategic.
You can make art for yourself but I feel like that will only take you so far. If you are trying to commercialise your music, you have to be open to advise from those around you. There is a level of humility you have to have in this field.
On ‘Miss You’, you take a position of wanting for a lover. What is your experience of being the ‘wanting’ party in a romantic relationship?
I have ADHD and there is thing with ADHD called rejection sensitivity. You pay attention to rejection more so than others. For example, if you were to greet someone and they don’t respond, you would probably think that maybe they didn’t hear you. For me, that would be a heightened experience. I know what it’s like to be the wanting partner and things are one sided. It’s a very painful experience. With ‘Miss You’, I had messed up a situation with somebody and I could see that it was my fault but I wanted to try again.
The concept of self-sabotaging is an interesting one. In regard to the love interest in the song, why do you feel they are self-sabotaging?
Going back to ‘Cautious’, because it’s the same person, you find yourself at this point where you are still aware of this dangerous love. The EP starts off with me taking blame and wanting to make sure that I am pretty for this person but you slowly realise that there is nothing you could do because this person is scared of something pure. Every time we hit a moment of happiness, they find a way to mess it up.
I listened to the skit at the end of ‘Self Sabotaging’, the meaning of the EP becomes clear. Why do you leave us at a cliff hanger at the end of the EP?
The cliff hanger is more for the listener to answer. The EP is a story about my ex but maybe for someone else, it’s a different experience. I might ask the question ‘did we try hard enough?’ and your answer might be different to mine. That’s the reason I left the EP on a cliff hanger.