Tinashe: Experimental Freedom

A singer, songwriter, actress and model, Tinashe Kachingwe is no newcomer to the entertainment spotlight, but despite this, it seems like the Los Angeles native is still has so much more up her sleeve. First stepping up as a member of the five-piece girl band The Stunners in 2007, the songstress has steadily made the name Tinashe one to reckon with in the world of hip-hop and R&B, releasing hits like “Vulnerable” and “2 On” that have stood out as prominent highlights in 2014. Releasing the mixtape Black Water as a way to hold fans over while they anticipate her upcoming studio album Aquariusit seems like Tinashe moves to the beat of her own drum, creating music without overly expecting anything in return and embracing her own instincts as an artist. Read on as we discuss her thoughts on TOKiMONSTA and Blood Diamond, the status of her acting career, and what it’s like to be in a strip club with Future.

Your Black Water project is receiving good reviews from fans and critics alike, did you expect to see such a good response?
I don’t know if I expected it because I never really “expect” anything, but I definitely hoped that it would have a good response. I think that all the different people that were writing about it in the reviews have been so positive so I’m definitely thrilled.

What kind of mentality were you in when you were recording that project?
I really decided to write the project for my fans. I had been working on my album since the beginning of 2013, so I wanted to put out something that year, because it had been about a year since I had put out the previous mixtape. So, they kept asking me when’s the album coming out is the album coming out soon, and the album isn’t supposed to be done this summer so that’s really why I decided to make it, and really turned it around in about a month.

What made you choose “2 On” as your first single for your upcoming album.
I wanted to just put out a song as a first single that was fun and could be played in the clubs and people could dance to, something that felt summer-ready and full of energy. Something that I could definitely dance to and showcase my dancing because I’ve been dancing since I was four, that was really why I decided to go with it.

And the feature with ScHoolboy Q? How did that come about.
He’s just been one of my favorite rappers in LA for a long time and I think “2 On” has a kind of LA vibe to it, and DJ Mustard’s from LA and I’m from LA, so I thought it was the perfect song to get him on.

You stated in an interview that Black Water is a bridge between your previous mixtape and your new album. How different is the new project going to get?
The new album isn’t so different from the stuff I’ve been doing before, it has the same essence and it’s still all coming from me, so, I think creatively in general you always progress and grow as an artist you don’t always want to do the same thing all the time. It has the same vibes, the same essence, it’s just maybe a little of a progression.

You’re working with the likes of Future, Travis Scott, ASAP Rocky, and countless others. If you have to choose one person you’ve worked as a favorite experience, who would you pick?
Actually, my favorite person that I’ve worked with is Stuart Mack, just because when I worked with him he had so many stories about touring the world with and different things that he could share with me, and just fun things to listen to. It was just really cool to be in the presence of somebody who’s really been through the music business for a long time.

And who was the most fun to work with?
The most fun was probably Future, because we were out in Atlanta and we were out in the strip clubs and did the whole Atlanta thing, and were like throwing money and making it rain so I definitely had fun working with him.

Your work has been remixed by the likes of TOKiMONSTA and Blood Diamond recently, what does that mean to you?
I love that people want to remix my music, it means that they like it enough to create their own version, and I think all of the remixes that have come out recently have been really dope. I love the TOKiMONSTA remix that’s probably one of my favorites.

How experimental can you get with your music?
I love to experiment, just as a creative person and an artist in general. I don’t like to be stuck in a box and stuck in one thing or another, so I like to be able to try new things and blend different genres together. I hope that in the future I won’t feel limited to doing just one thing or another and I can grow and change with what inspires me at the time, but I definitely think with the first album I didn’t want to shift too much from where I’ve come from because it was an introduction for a lot of people, but I can definitely be experimental, I’m open to working with everybody so that’s fun but we’ll see.

What’s the current status of your acting career?
I took a step back from acting and kind of wanted to go on a hiatus if you will, when I was about 15 – because I really wanted people to know that I was serious about the music thing, and it wasn’t just something I was trying to do for fun and that it really means a lot to me. So yeah, I took a hiatus, but I plan on getting back to it in the future but probably after I’ve really established a music career.

What’s your No. 1 industry rule?
Don’t let anybody tell you what to do. You come in to these places and everybody’s got their ideas about what to do, and the only person who really knows what to do is the person who’s creating the art. Don’t let any business people or other people mould you in to something and tell you it’s not good enough or this enough or be more like that – don’t listen to them and follow your own instincts as a creative person.