A week before she releases her new solo album, Toni Braxton has shared the title track “Sex & Cigarettes.”
Following the lead singles “Deadwood” and “Long As I Live,” the LP’s title and opening track is an emotional piano-laden ballad.
“Tell me how am I supposed to trust you?” she sings. “When I can never tell just where the hell you’ve been / Am I supposed to lay alone and suffer? / But you can’t expect for me to just pretend.”
It’s clear that there is a rift in her relationship and it’s driving her crazy. Their history together is making it so hard for her to just give up, but he hasn’t outgrown the lying and cheating.
“I feel like I’m older, I want to say what I feel, I don’t want to be censored,” Toni previously told The Insider when announcing her new album last year.
During a past interview with ESSENCE she expounded on the feel of the album. “’Sex & Cigarettes’ is more about me feeling sexy, independent, and expressing my feelings. I think for a long time I felt I had to make certain records, but now I want to just be free. I don’t want to be censored, I just want to focus on being an artist and creating good quality music that people can relate to.”
Sex & Cigarettes is due out March 23. It is Toni’s first solo album since 2010’s Pulse, and first project since 2014’s Love, Marriage & Divorce with Babyface.
Take a listen to the title track below.
