Quickly becoming one of the biggest popstars in the world, Tinashe has been hard work making sure just about everyone knows who she is and what she’s about. She’s collaborated with ScHoolboy Q, Chance The Rapper, Snakehips and more, and continues to dominate with each and every release. But things still aren’t too easy for her, as she revealed in a new – and very real – interview.
“Of course it bothers me,” she said when asked how she feels about people constantly questioning why she’s famous. “I’ve worked exceptionally hard to be here on my own creative force. I’m a woman producer and a vocal producer. I’m writing my own music, I’m the creative vision behind my visuals, my live shows aren’t like any other live show. There are so many other elements that set me apart, but people don’t care sometimes.”
Not stopping there, Tinashe also put the whole music industry on blast for their still very prevalent racial prejudice, saying, “[T]he way I see it, obviously, is if a Black girl is winning–whether she is lightskin, darkskin, or any type of shade in-between, that should be a win for the Black community, period. But it’s not necessarily always perceived as such. It’s like ‘Oh, she’s on the more lighter spectrum, so that is why she wins.’”
She went on to say she still feels she has to “represent” the black community, and referred to it as her “struggle”. “There is a Beyoncé, there is a Rihanna, there is Zendaya, there is a Jourdan Dunn. There is a black girl in all of these positions and we don’t need another one. It’s just kind of ridiculous because there are like a hundred blonde, white actresses and leading ladies. There are a hundred rappers that all virtually look the same, sound the same, and dress the same and no one cares. But for some reason, when it comes to young women, they want to pit them against each other… There can’t be five black girls winning. It’s weird.”
You can read the entire interview here, which is well worth your time. You should also keep your eyes peeled for her new album, Joyride, coming out next year.
Read our interview with Tinashe here
Read our review of Tinashe’s ‘Amethyst’ here