At 23, R&B/pop artist Tinashe has had a hand in every facet of success in her career. From guest spots on T.V. to building herself as a multi-talented artist—one who can not only sing and dance but also produces and writes—she’s made well-received mixtapes like Reverie and Black Water and landed hits like “2 On.” As well as attracting the ears of a wider audience with her debut, ‘Aquarius.’
Nevertheless, for someone as driven as she is that’s not enough. “I’m not sure I’ll ever be satisfied. I feel like that’s just the part of my personality and what keeps me motivated and hungry and working all the time. I have this crazy tunnel vision, I’m always trying to think of how to get to the next step. I never want to stop.” One of those next steps happens to be breaking into the larger mainstream conscience with her new album, Joyride. And beyond music, trying to build a space in the music industry where females can be more than artists, but engineers and producers. We got her to expand on her thoughts and more for Daily Vice video above. Read the full interview below.
Noisey: Getting right into it, When is Joyride finally coming out?
Tinashe: I don’t know, I’ve been asked this question all day. I’ve made small changes to a couple songs along with a couple of additional songs here and there but a majority of the body of work is finished.
What song are you particularly excited for people to listen to?
I have a few, I love all the records that I’ve put out for the album but there are others like “Fires and Flames” or “No Contest”, “Touch Pass” that I think listeners will appreciate.
There’s almost been an ongoing debate in terms of what type of music people expect you to make. Whether it’s experimental or mainstream, is that something that bothers you?
I just don’t understand why some people are so limited in their thinking. Why they think you can only be one thing, or you can only make one type of music. If they like one particular style that I’ve created, why do they think that I’d continue to make the exact same thing my entire life? As a creative person, as a human in general, I think we have different sides to us and we’re growing and evolving. For people to expect one thing all the time is just naive and limiting. I’m growing as a person as well as an artist so I think that’s definitely reflected in the music.
And what side are you showing for your upcoming music? That you feel you haven’t displayed before in your previous works.
I think it’s just growth. I think there is a natural evolution from the stuff that I’ve done in the past. I don’t feel like I’ve ever left anything I’ve done behind. I still feel like it’s still got all the same essence as it did before. It’s just that I’ve been influenced by other cultures, other genres, traveling the world and seeing what people react to. Just stepping out of Los Angeles and the bubble that I grew up in, it just opens your eyes and makes you want to try some new things.
