The Singles Jukebox

Continuing to rack up the high scores, she is…

[Video]
[7.29]

Nortey Dowuona: Crazy good tings are happening.
[9]

Crystal Leww: Nigeria has got to be the best R&B scene in the world right now, and Tems is that girl, with high profile collabs but also solo releases that are just mesmerizing. “Crazy Tings” is less thrilling than “Damages,” but Tems makes the organized chaos of the track work for her, gliding along just like the craziness of life she sings about.
[7]

Jacob Sujin Kuppermann: Where her previous work succeeded on the strength of grand, sweeping hooks, missives of emotion that threatened to overtake the songs containing them, “Crazy Tings” works in spite of its overly repetitive hook. The song’s success is a testament to Guilty Beatz’ production, a mix of post-punk guitars and reggae rhythms. But it’s also a sign of Tems’ skill as a vocalist, able to overcome ever her weaker hook-writing with a graceful performance that mixes sneering kiss-offs with sincere emotion.
[7]

Alfred Soto: The electronic burbles and processed guitar squiggles complement a voice that loves repetitions as much for their sounds as for their sense. When she sings, “Crazy tings are happening” I believe her because she has resisted these tings making her crazy.
[7]

Oliver Maier: Tems sounds a bit lifeless. The instrumental pretty much flatlines. I want to give this the benefit of assuming it would be more compelling in the summer, but “Damages” hits all year round.
[5]

Tobi Tella: The chaos she walks and seductively smiles through in the music video feels like the perfect encapsulation of the conflict the song represents. No one needs to tell you that the past few years have been a complete shitshow across the globe, from Nigeria to the States, and the coolness Tems sings about it keeps it light while providing some accurate representation of the numbness to absolute insanity that 2020 and 2021 fostered. At the same time, there’s a quiet confidence as she knows she deserves better, something easy to forget in an endless cycle of getting dicked around by governments and circumstances.
[8]

Ian Mathers: In 2022, the best way to sell just how crazy almost literally everything is might be to undersell it a little bit, because who can still react at full force? So that makes “Crazy Tings” a particularly lovely soundtrack to wearily shaking your head and saying whatever your equivalent of “ain’t that some shit” is, really.
[8]