BY IRVIN RIVERA

Tinashe gives off this innately electric, fresh energy that translates beyond the screen and travels across multi-media platforms. You instantly get inside Tinashe’s world whenever she performs. You feel the excitement, the desire, the lust; you share the pain, you embrace the passion, you experience love, and your body moves. You move into the rhythm of her music. You absorb and share the energy that radiates the power of life-affirming passion with the freedom of reckless abandon. You’re now in Tinashe’s expanding world. 

It’s this energy plus the fact that she is a visual chameleon that attracted me to her and one day encouraged me to slide into her DMs. I told her about my love of her music and how she inspired me a lot in life and to hopefully photograph her. As expected, I didn’t get any response. But a year later, our creative director for the shoot, Mylah, asked me if I could shoot Tinashe. And that’s how I met this talented woman. I could proudly say that after working with her and interviewing her that she is probably one of the nicest, and most talented and hardworking artist right now.

Tinashe: Hi! How are you?

Doing great, you know, just trying to make the most of the New Year.

Tinashe: Yes, absolutely. Fresh energy.

Yes, so how has your year been so far?

So far, so good. Yes, just like you said, getting back into the swing of things, everything shuts down so much during the holidays. Just getting everybody refocused you know.

I know. How were you able to navigate 2020? It was wild.

2020 has been or was (laughs) I guess it's over now but feels like it's still going on because Coronavirus is still happening. But yes, it was difficult to navigate. I think, at first, I feel like we all collectively kind of went through some shared experiences, you know. At first, just not really knowing how long this was going to last and a lot of uncertainty and just dealing with this huge, huge lifestyle change. For me, the biggest thing was, I was traveling like three to four times a week. And now to do no traveling… we have no live shows. I was actually about to go on tour.

I saw that.

Yes, like the next month. So you definitely had to kind of - yeah, like just mourn the loss of your expectations as that. But I do think that that's something that I do well as an artist. I can always adapt. So yes, I just kind of went back in the studio and started creating more music again. And that's where my focus really is, just being creative.

I love it. I mean, as artists, that's all we can do - stay true to ourselves and just create. How were you able to create during this pandemic? What changed? What challenges have you encountered?

Well, I'm lucky I already had like a home studio setup. So I was already recording all of my music out of my house. So it was not like a huge transition for me in terms of recording my music, I just could continue to do that there. In terms of collaboration -- you know, I like writing music on my own anyway. I do love collaborating with people, but I like to be able to kind of send it back and forth and do it that way. So it kind of worked again, it wasn't too, too crazy. But yes, definitely less collaboration than I would have before. But honestly, I feel like I had an advantage by already having my home studio setup. I was able to just keep the ball rolling.

That's great though. What can the world expect from you in 2021?

For 2021? Well, I have all this new music that I recorded in 2020. So I'm ready to figure out how I want to roll that out. Obviously, I didn't get to perform and tour my last project. So there was a part of me that kind of wanted to wait and see if there was a possibility of being able to perform that body of work before launching a new project. But you know, I feel like at the same time, you can't base everything off of the unknown. So we'll see. I'm working on new stuff, regardless, and just seeing kind of how this year pans out.

Adapting, you just got to keep adapting. Now, how would you describe your evolution throughout the years of your career?

I think that I've evolved a lot as an artist, I think my music has always been kind of in between a few genres and hard to put in a box. So I think that's been consistent. But I do think that the way that I present myself as an artist and also as a creative has evolved a lot. I've always been very confident in who I am and in my perspective as an artist, but I think being signed to a major label for seven years, kind of started to shift my perspective of like, why I was making art. So I think my biggest evolution is starting in a really authentic place and then getting into the major label systems and then kind of then deciding to step away from that and go back to the really authentic place. 

Being independent and creating music on your own.

Yes, just creating music for me and at the end of the day and not trying to create based on a formula of what I think is going to work or trying to please anyone else. So really just being in full control of my creative vision has been a game changer.

When you decided to go independent, how has that journey been like? What changed?

It was a big change. The biggest change obviously, is that you don't have the major label machine working for you. So you don't have the same departments that are with record labels - like a marketing department, a promotional department and A&R department. So all of the work and responsibility falls on you, which is both a good and bad thing. I like that pressure but at the same time, it's definitely more challenging. Also, from obviously a budgeting perspective, major labels just have a lot more money. So being able to fund everything myself has also been a challenge. Those are the biggest differences, but on an emotional level and like a spiritual level, I feel like the biggest difference is just the freedom in it now, that's kind of worth it. For sure.

Would you say you feel more grounded nowadays?

Yes, absolutely. I feel much more aligned with my purpose as a creative and much more in my zone in terms of the output.

How did you  manage to rise above the challenges that you've faced?

Sometimes I think it's motivational for me. I like to know that the responsibility is on me to make everything amazing, because then I think my attention to detail is heightened. So I do think that there are some positive benefits to that pressure. And I think, yes, I've just been so much more confident that it's been easier to navigate the scary part.

And it shows. the stuff that you're just cranking up recently is just amazing.

Thank you. I really appreciate that. 

You’re welcome. 

I feel like people can tell the difference.

Absolutely. I mean, it like, what you're saying, you're more yourself, and it shows and people can see it, people can feel it. What's a valuable lesson that you've learned from your career that you think is still universally relevant up to now?

Okay, I think probably the most valuable, I mean, I've learned a lot of lessons so it’s hard to choose one, but I think one of the most important is just to trust your instincts. And just to know that in your gut, and you know, following your heart, that it’s always going to be the best option. Because even if you end up doing these things to please other people, at the end of the day, you're never going to be fully fulfilled. In the end, the bar will always keep moving. So yes, it's important to find that peace within yourself, and follow your instincts.  

I love that because a lot of people are always on that journey to find their own inner peace. But what I feel like when you find it, it's one of the most amazing things in the world.

Absolutely. And then you don't worry so much about all the accolades and the numbers, and these intangible things that you can always move the goalposts and always want more than that. So yes, it's good to be settled.

Now, what's your definition of success? How has it changed throughout the years? 

Definitely. I think, yes, kind of like what I was just saying, I think my definition of success is that feeling of being settled within yourself. Because I used to think that success was maybe like a number on the chart or a number one or a Grammy, which are all things that I still do and would like to achieve, but I realized that by placing those as the end all be all markers of what will make me happy as an artist, I'm missing out on the fact that I'm already living my best life right now. You know, like I'm already in it. I'm having an amazing career, I get to travel, I get to..., well, not right now. But I get to make music I get to express myself through art, like, so many people can't create a living by making art. So I'm really lucky.

And it's really inspiring to see you thrive with whatever you do. It's so good. Now speaking of creation, what's your creative process like?

That kind of changes all the time, kind of depending on who I'm working with. But a lot of the time, it starts with the music and an emotion, like how that music makes me feel. And then I kind of freestyle, usually, and I record myself freestyling. And then I'll piece together the ideas that I really took away from that freestyle that I love and kind of just build the song out from there. So a lot of it again, comes back to my instincts, and just like, what naturally comes out to me.

I remember during the shoot, you mentioned a song that you wrote quickly, that was playing on set and you said you wrote that in minutes. 

Tinashe: Oh, yes, that Kaytranada song, “The Worst in Me”. Yes, I wrote that in like 15 minutes or something and I recorded it in one take and I didn't realize that, that one take -- I thought it was just like a rough draft and they ended up putting that out. I was like Oh my God! 

That's really awesome.

Tinashe: It just shows you that sometimes your first ideas, your initial ideas are dope. Sometimes I think as creatives we overanalyze our work or you know, rehash it. Always try to find the perfect version of it. But sometimes it's important to know that it's great just the way that it flows out of you.

Yes, definitely. Now, which artists still inspire you up to this day?

Janet Jackson is huge. She's probably like my biggest. Andre 3000, Erykah Badu. I've been on a real soulful vibe lately. Yes, those are my big ones. As of now James Blake. Joni Mitchell. 

What do you think is the best lyric or song that you've written so far? 

For me right now, I would say, “Stop being afraid.” It’s a line from one of my songs, like it's one of my old songs and I always kind of come back to it. My fans always post it on Twitter and stuff and I always think, well, that must be a poignant quote. Like, being afraid, fear can really just hold you back from so many things so “Stop being afraid.”

It's very empowering. Maybe that's why it just resonates with a lot of people. 

Especially in these uncertain times.

Yes. And I mean, you've been very vocal on your social media outlets about the current social injustices that are happening, the crazy shit in politics and social events. For you, what does it mean to be Black in 2021?

For me, I think the best part about being Black right now and being an artist is being able to reflect just whatever I want to project into the universe. Moving forward, I think we all kind of went through some traumatic stuff this last year. So my art really, I think, was reflective of that. Interestingly enough, I wrote a lot of really happy songs, really uplifting songs, stuff that made me feel like I just wanted to smile and come together and dance and be around love and togetherness. And so yes, I think that it's exciting as a Black woman and as an artist to be able to hopefully add to some healing that we can do coming out of this era, and yes, just to move forward towards change. I do think that all of this, to me feels encouraging, because it feels like after darkness comes light and after a lot of chaos usually comes peace. So I'm looking forward to a new era.

It's coming. I'm very hopeful as well. And I know that something good is going to come out soon. So yes, let's bring that joy out, share more positivity. I love what you're doing. 

Thank you.

Now speaking of social media, you engage a lot with your fans and people. What's the craziest thing that you've read or heard so far?

I've definitely read some, like out of pocket, completely fabricated, just rumors or like fake screenshots. You know, people come up with that stuff all the time. But I've gotten less and less surprised or shocked by that. So it's crazy how over my evolution of just being on social media through the years, how little that can really affect me now. I really mostly use social media as a tool to connect with my fans and to try to share my art and my music. And yes, I think using it as a tool is such an important key phrase, because you can easily get sucked into it and like, get lost in in the sauce and the constant scrolling. So I think I've gotten better about just viewing it in that way. 

You've matured. 

Yes, exactly.

Fashion plays a huge part of you throughout your career. You served so many looks, slayed them all. How would you describe your style?

I describe my style similarly to how I describe my music, it's hard to put that in a box. I love to be a chameleon visually and to show my range. The same way that I like to show my range sonically, as an artist, I think human beings are very multifaceted. So we can have that range, and we should celebrate them more as humans, the ability to dress this way on Monday and dress a completely different way on Tuesday. And so I think for me, sometimes I go towards the more feminine side, sometimes I dress more on the more masculine side. I love fashion, I love high fashion, I love couture, I love to get weird, but I also really enjoy just like being in my sweatpants and my comfort. And I'm a dancer, so I just want to be able to wear stuff that's like comfortable on my body. So there's a lot of different dynamics to who I am fashion-wise as well.

So you're wearing the fashion to express yourself and also for comfort.

Exactly. Because movement is such a big part of what I do on stage or in expressing my art, it's important that not only is what I wear an extension of what I want to tell story-wise, but it also gives me the ability to tell that story through my movement, too. So it can't be something that's so restrictive that my body can't be part of that conversation.

Absolutely. Now, is there any advice that you can give to fellow artists or any aspiring creative individual who wants to break into the industry, and establish themselves in business?

My biggest advice would be definitely take your time in terms of who you put on your team and build a team around you that is full of fans, like not necessarily the most experienced or the best person on paper is going to be the best person for you in reality. The person who will work the hardest and the person who believes in you and understands your vision, and can translate that vision to other people is who you should have on your team. So look for that.

That is such a really good advice. I love that.

Thank you!

Now, my final question, if you were a book, what book would you be and why?

I would be the Books of Prophets because it's just like my favorite book. And I think you can get a lot of wisdom in it and it's poetic as well. It's both simple and poetic and so I’d probably go with that.

That's nice. You love poetry?

I do. I think poetry is awesome. I think music is very closely connected with poetry. 

Tinashe’s new Album 333 is now out!