Nija has lent her pen to some of the biggest artists of the past few years, from Cardi B and Summer Walker to Teyana Taylor and Chloe x Halle. On her debut EP, she narrows her lens to focus on the tumultuous dating landscape of modern times—the various stages of are we-aren’t we, the silly games we play to protect ourselves but mostly our pride. Nija’s writing shines as she uses the space of each track to break down a single emotion or situation to its minute details. Songs like “In My Feelings” and “Not One of Them” oscillate between internal monologues and targeted statements, the way journaling is so often both our thoughts on a page and the things we need to say to someone else. Another standout, “Rare” is a plea for genuine love in the time of “IG models who be on them floor seats” that draws its power from specificity; ideas of a “talking stage” or a man being “for everybody” are old, but Nija makes them relevant for a younger generation experiencing them anew. Similarly, “Someone Else” is a gem of a song, about using one person to soothe the pain caused by another, that finds her switching between the first, second, and third person to hold herself accountable. “Nija, you can’t just leave him in the dark/Doing cuffy shit with him, now you’ve gone too far,” she sings before answering herself: “Tell him spend the night, I don’t wanna be alone/Wrapped in his scent to forget your cologne/No, this ain’t good but I still go on/To heal through someone else.”