Tinashe: an RnB princess for the DIY generation
Comparisons between Tinashe Kachingwe and icons of the past have been rife throughout her recent ascent from fringe to mainstream.
Perhaps they should be a given considering the way our obsessed, 90s archeologist culture covets and anoints cult female RnB figures. Associations with the original ‘princess of RnB’ Aaliyah, however, are quite potent here, if you can kindly overlook the one-female-singer-compared-to-another- female-singer element. The Kentucky-born, LA-raised Tinashe has been widely hailed as ‘RnB’s new princess’, or ‘RnB’s underground princess’; The Fader called her ‘Cali’s RnB princess’, and a widely circulated article from last year headlines ‘meet the new princess of RnB’.
Aaliyah began performing at a young age, appearing on television show Star Search alongside Gladys Knight at the age of 10. She also enjoyed stints in acting, staring in Romeo Must Die and Queen Of The Damned, and dropped her first studio album at 14. Tinashe herself began modelling, dancing and acting at a very young age before joining bubblegum pop band The Stunners at 14, while her lucrative acting past includes voiceover work on The Polar Express and a recurring slot opposite Charlie Sheen in Two And A Half Men.
Another evident likeness is that both their voices carry silky, sultry tones that glide effortlessly over RnB basslines, in turn making way for stronger, sass-driven hooks. Tinashe’s widely-acclaimed Black Water mixtape was brushed with pillow talk hues, while her hit DJ Mustard-produced single 2 On, which features a typically explicit ScHoolboy Q verse, fronts lines like “Live fast, die young that’s my choice / Get money, get money like the invoice”. Aaliyah famously described her own vocals as “street but sweet”.
The obvious difference here is that, tragically, Aaliyah did not live to navigate her voice through our new media saturated world. While Aaliyah dutifully earned her nickname by helping to redefine contemporary RnB and hip-hop, her first album was produced by R. Kelly, her second, Timbaland. And so rather than taking the throne, Tinashe sits upon a new one, establishing herself as an industry veteran at the age of 21 by producing, recording and self-releasing her own projects. In an updated version of the cult RnB formula, the underground star has blossomed into an RnB icon for the DIY generation.
When we speak to her on the phone from her home in LA, she’s only recently discovered Drake and OVO crew member OB Obrien’s rip of 2 On. She gleefully recounts the find. “The day before they tweeted ‘in the studio with 2 On!’ but I thought that was it. Then the next day I wake up and everybody’s tweeting me like ‘look, Drake covered 2 On’ and I’m like, ‘woah, this is awesome!’”
Punctuating her speech with warm laughter, she’s audibly elated, but this accelerating attention has become commonplace for the singer/producer, having three mixtapes and an ever-increasing list of high profile collaborations under her belt.
After the release of Black Water in November last year, Tinashe reached varied audiences with her impressive stylistic breadth. The third of its kind, following In Case We Die and Reverie in 2012, the mixtapes were funded by the huge stadium tours Tinashe performed as part of The Stunners, in support of global douchebag ambassador Justin Bieber. “The crowds were so crazy excited everywhere we went, like 20,000 screaming kids”, she recalls. While grateful to be able to pursue her passion for music, Tinashe felt her creativity would always be stifled as part of the group. “The group really didn’t fulfill me artistically. Now that I’m able to do things that I believe in I feel much more confident and just happier all round.” With an enterprising mind, Tinashe used the money from the tours to buy a home studio and taught herself production, taking autonomy over her career, and her voice.
“I told my fans that the album was probably going to come out in 2013”, Tinashe recalls, “so around October when I realised the album wasn’t ready yet, I didn’t want to go back on my word.” So she locked herself in the studio for the next three weeks, and dropped the sultry, beat driven Black Water on Soundcloud a month later. “I think integrity is very important as an artist, and if you say that you’re going to release music this year, and you don’t release it for another year, that’s messed up. I just wanted to give my fans something to hold them over until I was ready for the album.”
Her self-driven approach, alongside early collaborations with internet guys such as Ryan Hemsworth, Jacques Green and XXYYXX, led to associations with a string of increasingly hard-to-define subgenres, and the DIY mentality of the dance music underground. “Coming from that place I’ll always find love for the people who are just grinding it out and doing it independently. That community has always shown me a lot of love.” In the way that Aaliyah, Ashanti et al did before her, Tinashe toyed with elements of RnB at a time when the sound was overdue a reinterpretation. Sitting somewhere between foggy electronica, abstract pop and raw RnB, she still relishes the unpredictability of her output. “RnB is becoming so hard to define. It’s definitely not what you would classically consider RnB, it’s evolving because genres are blending so much more. It’s fun to be part of something new and fresh.”
"I'll always find love for the people who are grinding it out and doing it independently"
Having experimented and established within this loose community, Tinashe’s sights are now set on the big leagues. At this point in time, the liner notes for her forthcoming album Aquarius read something like; A$AP Rocky, Future, ScHoolboy Q with productions by the illustrious Mike Will Made It, Boi-1da, Dev Hynes and more. Secure in the knowledge of her own talents, Tinashe is now being backed by a dream team of collaborators for what will be her grandest statement yet. “It’s going to be a big debut. It’s my first album, so people will take it very seriously and be very critical. But I think the album is amazing and I’m just excited to get it out, finally.”
Assuring us that despite a more cluttered roll-call of contributors than previous releases, Aquarius stands for “the things that make me, me”, Tinashe sets herself apart by coming at the mainstream from an indie angle. “I think I have a fresh perspective, I really do try to be true to who I am and not box myself in to one particular style.” With unshakable ambition and an outsider’s approach, Tinashe seems sure to dust off the crown that’s been laid out for her.
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