20 year-old singer,songwriter,producer,actress, and model Tinashe spent two years as a member of the girl group The Stunners. After releasing a 5-song EP, they released a holiday single in December 2009, and went on tour with Justin Bieber. A studio album was in the works, but the group disbanded in 2011.
After the Stunners officially disbanded, Tinashe began pursuing a solo career. She released her first solo music video, a cover of Lil Wayne's single "How to Love". Shortly thereafer she confirmed she had officially been released from her recording contract with Universal Republic.
On November 25, 2011 Tinashe released the music video for "Can't Say No", her first original solo song.
February 2012 saw the release of In Case We Die, Tinashe's debut solo mixtape. The mixtape released four singles, the first being promotional song "Chainless" which was originally released to iTunes back on December 19, 2011. The first official single from the mixtape "My High" was released for streaming on her official website. The second official single released from In Case We Die was announced as "This Feeling". The music video was released on May 1, 2012 to GlobalGrind.com. The mixtapes final single Boss was released August 20, 2012 just after the song was featured in an episode of the VH1 series Single Ladies.
The music video debuted on August 14, 2012 and was self-directed and co-written by Tinashe and Jt Ervin. The mixtape was received positively by the blogosphere.
On July 13, 2012 Tinashe announced she had signed with RCA Records. Following Tinashe signing to RCA she released her second mixtape Reverie on September 6, 2012 through her official website.,The Mixtape released three singles, the first "Stargazing" was released on August 21, 2012, the second "Ecstasy" was released on December 18, 2012 and the final single from the mixtape "Who Am I Working For?", the video for the song was released on March 12, 2013.
Tinashe's use of "more underground sounds and gaining interest in the music industry" to Frank Ocean and The Weeknd, was well received.
From August to November 2012, a series of remixes of songs from Tinashe's two mixtapes leaked online to critical acclaim.
On November 26, 2013 Tinashe released her third Mixtape Black Water.
Tinashe is currently working on her debut studio album. Her debut album is set to be released in 2014, led by the buss single "2 On" featuring rapper Schoolboy Q.
Most recently ThisIsRnB caught up with multi-talented singer to discuss everything including her new single, muscial influences, future collaborations, her favorite R&B albums of 2013, and more:
THISISRNB: Tell me about your thought process behind creating your latest mixtape ‘Black Water.’ Was there a specific concept you chose to run with?
TINASHE: Well, my reasoning for doing it in the first place was just because I’ve been working on my debut album for all of 2013, so I just wanted to give my fans something to listen to before my album came out. I knew that towards the end of the year that I really wasn’t ready yet to put it out because I’m a real perfectionist. As it being my debut album, I really want to make sure that I take my time and all the songs sound right and everything so, I was very excited to make the mixtape. I really wanted it to represent the period of time that I was going through, kind of in my life waiting for things to happen – kinda the calm before the storm, I guess. So, that’s pretty much the inspiration behind it.
THISISRNB: What artists played a part in influencing you?
TINASHE: Janet Jackson, Michael Jackson…Christina Aguilera was a big vocal inspiration for me growing up. Um, Sade…those are probably the big ones for me.
THISISRNB: Do you have any dream production collaborations?
TINASHE: Yeah! I would love to work with Sade and I’d also love to work with James Blake. Maybe a band like Little Dragon because I think that they’re awesome. I just wanna do some fun stuff and being able to explore and experiment so, I’m looking forward to doing that in the future.
THISISRNB: Your new track, “2 On” features Schoolboy Q. I personally love it – I listen to it at least twice a day. Tell us a little bit about the process behind that.
TINASHE: Thank you! Well, for this single, I really wanted it to be something that had a fun vibe and then represented kind of like a West Coast swag. I had the song – it was produced by DJ Mustard and Red Wine – and then I got Schoolboy Q who is one of my favorite West Coast rappers. So, him being from L.A., I thought it would be perfect for the song and yeah…that’s basically how it came together. I just wanted to write a song that was kind of about just living life to the fullest, having fun and going hard. You know, stuff like that.
THISISRNB: Although this is my favorite track, I’m still a little lost on what exactly “2 On” means. Can you break that down for me and tell me what it means? [Laughs]
TINASHE: [Laughs] Sure! Yeah, 2 On is basically like when you’re like too turnt up. It’s like being extra at just like whatever you’re doing. If you’re just extra happy or if you’re extra hype or a little too buzzed, it just represents that feeling of just being all the way turnt – at 110.
THISISRNB: Now I know! Now I can actually explain it to people if they ask me [laughs]. So, we’re supposed to be getting this new album from you this year, correct?
TINASHE: Mmhmm…that’s the plan.
THISISRNB:Do you have any idea of an anticipated release date and is “2 On” the official lead single from the album?
TINASHE: Yeah, “2 On” is the first official single, but I don’t know when the album release date is yet.
THISISRNB: So with this new album coming out sometime this year, what do you really want fans to take from it?
TINASHE: I really want them to just get to know me as an artist and really establish who I am and that I’m just kind of somebody that they can look out for in this industry. I don’t want them just to think that I’m somebody that will just come and go, because I plan to stick around for a really long time and do a lot of things. I have a lot of goals and ambitions that I have yet to accomplish.
[FULL INTERVIEW @ THISISRNB]