Tinashe Jorgenson Kachingwe, known mononymously as her first name Tinashe, is a singer-songwriter, actress, dancer and former baby model. She originally came to prominence as the lead singer of the girl-group the Stunners, although she gained larger success later, as a solo artist. She is often called “The Female Weeknd“. After the disbandment of the Stunners in 2011, Tinashe announced intentions for a solo career. After meeting with several labels, Tinashe signed her first major solo deal with RCA Records in 2012. She featured on several other artists songs until releasing her first official body of solo material In Case We Die in February 2012. She followed with her second mixtape Reverie in September 2012. She is currently promoting Reverie while simultaneously working on her debut solo album, due out for release sometime in 2013. While Reverie doesn’t stray far from the same PBR&B and alternative hip hop sound that In Case We Die included, the mixtape also touches on several new genres such as electronica, glitch hop and alternative rock. The album was preceded by the release of the first single, “Stargazing“. Upon its release, the project received critical praise and drew comparisons to the late Aaliyah. In similar fashion to her previous solo efforts, Reverie was self-composed, recorded and engineered entirely in Tinashe’s bedroom. Watch the video for Ecstasy below…
The sexy underwater-fantasy themed video was directed by Smallz & Raskind, who also previously directed Tinashe in the “Dancin’ Around The Truth” video during her time in the Stunners. Tinashe splashes around in water, rubbing down her gorgeous body, as she sings about a special man she can’t wait to see again. She is hot….
Tinashe took to her official blog to explain the meaning behind the mixtape and its French title Reverie, which means “to daydream”. She revealed, “My second project, “Reverie”, took a turn for the political. I notice that as the presidential election in the United States draws ever nearer, people become tremendously caught up in the Hollywood drama of it all and automatically take on, without much consideration, all of the views and the opinions of “the right or the left”.”
She explained further saying, “…Thus, resulting in a disconnect from our REAL political duties as citizens of this Earth, and a neglect for the true issues human beings around the globe face every single day. We are so caught up in our media, in our jobs, in our gossip, and in our consuming that we genuinely feel like we don’t have the time or ENERGY to bother ourselves with the tribulations of nations near and far. This… is a synthetic world many of us live in today a dream, if you will. [emphasis in original]” Her energy is something like Frank Ocean’s with a powerful out of this world sense of artistic impression and meaning.
For Reverie, Tinashe worked again with producers from her first project, In Case We Die such as Legacy, K-BeatZ, Wes Tarte and B. Hendrixx as well as working with new producers BMarz, Nez & Rio, Best Kept Secret, Troobadore, Roc & Mayne, JRB The Producer as well as virally famous producer xxyyxx. Music reviews for Reverie were generally positive, with the comments on popular mixtape site DatPiff being positive, as well as receiving promotional space on the main page of DatPiff. And peaking at number five on the most downloaded chart on its first day of release and drawing comparisons to Aaliyah via fans on popular social networking site Twitter.
She has a black belt in taekwondo. She plays the piano and also played the violin for three years, before finally quitting. She has a dog named Jazz, a Shiba-Inu named Jackson which she received as a Christmas gift in 2010 and a cat. She is also a fan of the Harry Potter and the Twilight series as well as the fast food chain In-N-Out Burger and restaurant PF Chang’s. She also appeared in Justin Bieber‘s music video “Baby“. She’s best friends with her assistant Jt Ervin. Tinashe and her childhood best friend Alicia have a series of YouTube parody music videos on Tinashe’s channel.
On December 5, Page 31 met with Tinashe on a 14th floor conference room at the Sony Music offices locatd in Midtown, Manhattan. As Tinashe and manager Mike Nazzaro entered the room, both noticeably came bearing tall cups of coffee to refuel them after a long studio session the previous night. Still, she smiles excitedly upon introductions, excited to endure her first full day of press as a major label artist.
As we watch the interview seen above we listen to Tinashe retrace the journey up to her current fortune, Tinashe recalls her experiences with a smile ear to ear. While Tinashe affirms she’s been singing and has wanted to be an entertainer for as long as she can remember. “It was fun, it was a great journey. I was young at the time. I was like 14, 15, 16. So, it was really, I think a great learning experience for me. It opened a lot of doors for me in the music industry. I go to work with a lot of songwriters, and producers and really got my feet wet on getting in the studio and just learning how to make songs and make music. And just being on the road and getting to experience that whole thing, which was awesome. And it was really fun to go on tour with Justin Bieber, it was really fun,” recalls Tinashe.
It the end of the day, Tinashe feels much more at home pursuing her solo career making music that she personally believes in. What do you think about her vibe? Please share your thoughts and comments about this artists music with me down below…
