Tink (musician)
Tink | |
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Background information | |
Birth name | Trinity Home |
Born | Calumet City, Illinois, U.S. | March 15, 1995
Origin | Calumet City, Illinois, U.S. |
Genres | |
Occupations | |
Instrument |
|
Years active | 2011–present |
Labels | |
Website | Official Website |
Trinity Home (born March 15, 1995),[1] better known by her stage name Tink, is an American rapper and singer-songwriter. Since 2012, she has released five mixtapes and is due to release her debut studio album in 2015. The album is set to be released on the Mosley Music Group label, an imprint of Epic Records run by producer, Timbaland.[2] Her 2014 mixtape, Winter's Diary 2: Forever Yours, was featured as a top 10 R&B album in both Rolling Stone and Billboard magazines.[3][4]
She was also chosen as part of the XXL 2015 Freshman Class.[5]
Early life and education
Trinity Home was born on March 15, 1995 in Calumet City, Illinois.[1] Her mother, Renae, a gospel singer, and her father, Thomas, a record producer, met in Chicago where they were postal workers.[2][6] Home was nicknamed Tink by friends in elementary school and she has used the name ever since.[2][7] Tink started singing in church when she was five years old[8][9] and began writing songs at age 11, including some for her father's friends.[10] She attended high school at Chicago's Simeon Career Academy where she participated in talent shows[2] and joined the school choir.[9] She counted English as one of her favorite subjects because it helped her become a stronger writer.[11] She started rapping and recording music in her father's basement studio at the age of 15.[12] At age 16, she and her brother posted a clip of her freestyling over Clipse's "Grindin'" to Facebook and received local buzz.[2][8]
Career
Tink's career officially began with the release of her 2012 mixtape, Winter's Diary, while she was still in high school under Lyrical Eyes Management. .[13] She followed that up with two more mixtape releases in 2012, Alter Ego and Blunts & Ballads.[14][15] In 2013, she released her fourth mixtape, Boss Up, and guested on Future Brown's debut single "Wanna Party".[16] The buzz surrounding her mixtape releases and her feature with Future Brown led to meetings with record executives in Los Angeles in 2013. At the time, Tink noted that she was comfortable staying independent.[14]
Tink's next mixtape, Winter's Diary 2: Forever Yours, was named the eighth-best R&B album of 2014 by Rolling Stone and the ninth-best R&B album of 2014 by Billboard.[3][4] Tink performed with Sleigh Bells at South by Southwest (SXSW) 2014, and the acts released a joint single, "That Did It," later that year.[17] She also collaborated with Kelela on a song titled, "Want It", and with Jeremih on a song titled, "Don't Tell Nobody" in 2014.[18] Tink signed with Timbaland's Mosley Music Group, an imprint of Epic Records, in October of that year. Her debut studio album is scheduled to be released in 2015[2][19] and was preceded by the single "Ratchet Commandments".[20][21] Timbaland made headlines in 2015 by indicating at SXSW that Aaliyah had appeared to him and described Tink as "the one." Tink would later perform an unreleased track that samples Aaliyah's "One in a Million".[22] In April 2015, the unreleased track, now entitled "Million", was released.[23]
Musical style
Tink has been compared to Lauryn Hill, Ms. Jade and Da Brat.[2][12][15] Her first mixtape, Winter's Diary, was largely filled with R&B ballads, but her second mixtape, Alter Ego, established her rapping skills. Her subsequent mixtapes have blended her R&B and rap styles.[14][15] Tink has also been loosely associated with the Drill movement that was birthed in Chicago. Some of her early songs (like "Bad Girl") display some of the genre's hallmarks like aggressive beats and violent lyrics. She has since distanced herself from that movement, saying that she wants to become "a positive, realistic vision of female empowerment."[2]
Much of the lyrical content in her music deals with complex emotional issues[2] that are geared toward a primarily teenage demographic. She often uses a Chicago setting to convey her feelings about love, heartbreak, faithfulness, and teenage melodrama.[10][12] Tink has been praised for her storytelling ability.[14] Her music has also taken on issues like female empowerment and the Black Lives Matter movement.[2][12]
Discography
Studio albums
Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
US | US R&B | US Rap | ||||
Think Tink |
|
To be released |
Mixtapes
Title | Album details |
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Winter's Diary[24] |
|
Alter Ego[25] |
|
Blunts & Ballads[26] |
|
Boss Up[27] |
|
Winter's Diary 2: Forever Yours[28] |
|
Winter's Diary 3[28] |
|
Singles
As lead artist
Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Album | |||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
US B. Under |
US R&B |
US Rap | ||||||||||||
"Ratchet Commandments"A | 2015 | — | — | — | Think Tink | |||||||||
"Million" | 1 | 41 | — | |||||||||||
"I Like" | — | — | — | Winter's Diary 3 | ||||||||||
"H20" | — | — | — | |||||||||||
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart. |
- ACurrent single.
As featured artist
Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Album | |
---|---|---|---|---|
US R&B |
US Rap | |||
"Wanna Party" (Future Brown featuring Tink) |
2013 | — | — | Wanna Party / World's Mine |
"That Did It" (Sleigh Bells featuring Tink) |
2014 | — | — | Non-album single |
"Can't Sleep Love" (Pentatonix featuring Tink) |
2015 | — | — | Pentatonix |
References
- ^ a b Kellman, Andy. "Tink - Biography". Allmusic. Retrieved March 12, 2015.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Wortham, Jenna (February 17, 2015). "Meet Tink, A New Voice For Proudly Imperfect Women". The Fader. Retrieved March 12, 2015.
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(help) - ^ a b "20 Best R&B Albums of 2014". Rolling Stone. December 15, 2014. Retrieved March 12, 2015.
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(help) - ^ a b Leight, Elias; Horowitz, Steven J. (December 11, 2014). "The 10 Best R&B Albums of 2014". Billboard. Retrieved March 12, 2015.
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(help) - ^ "2015 XXL Freshman Class Revealed". BallerStatus.com. June 3, 2015.
- ^ "The New New: 15 Female Rappers You Should Know". XXL. December 2, 2013. Retrieved March 12, 2015.
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(help) - ^ Tietjen, Alexa (February 23, 2015). "Who The Hell Is... Tink?". VH1. Retrieved March 12, 2015.
- ^ a b Ramirez, Erika (March 28, 2013). "Tink Talks Chicago Rap Scene & Female Rappers; Premieres 'All That' Song". Billboard. Retrieved March 12, 2015.
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(help) - ^ a b Droppo, Dana (January 21, 2014). "Interview: Tink Talks About Rapping, Singing and the New Voices of Chicago". Complex. Retrieved March 12, 2015.
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(help) - ^ a b Soldner, Anna (October 17, 2013). "Meet Tink, the Chicago Native Who Sings and Raps Better Than You Do". Bullett Media. Retrieved March 28, 2015.
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(help) - ^ "Get to know Tink, Chicago's rising teen rap queen". The Mash. July 31, 2012. Retrieved March 28, 2015.
- ^ a b c d Stone, Zak (December 9, 2013). "Gen F: Tink". The Fader. Retrieved March 12, 2015.
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(help) - ^ Kramer, Kyle (January 30, 2014). "Tink - 'Winter's Diary 2'". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved March 12, 2015.
- ^ a b c d "Introducing… Chicago newcomer Tink". Fact. October 6, 2013. Retrieved March 12, 2015.
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(help) - ^ a b c Lester, Paul (January 7, 2014). "Tink (New band of the day No 1,672)". The Guardian. Retrieved March 12, 2015.
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(help) - ^ Ortiz, Edwin (August 2, 2013). "Premiere: Future Brown f/ Tink - 'Wanna Party'". Complex. Retrieved March 12, 2015.
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(help) - ^ Vozick-Levinson, Simon (November 18, 2014). "Hear Sleigh Bells' Fiery Collaboration With Chicago Rapper Tink". Rolling Stone. Retrieved March 12, 2015.
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(help) - ^ Garvey, Meaghan (April 29, 2014). "Stream: Tink f. Jeremih, "Don't Tell Nobody (Final)"". The Fader. Retrieved March 28, 2015.
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(help) - ^ Garvey, Meaghan (November 23, 2014). "Get Hip to Tink's Best Songs Before Her Debut Album Drops Next Year". Complex. Retrieved March 12, 2015.
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(help) - ^ Zonyee, Dominique (March 4, 2015). "Tink Performs 'Ratchet Commandments' With Timbaland in Chicago [VIDEO]". The Boombox. Retrieved March 12, 2015.
- ^ Torres, Eric (March 4, 2015). "Tink - 'Ratchet Commandments'". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved March 12, 2015.
- ^ "Timbaland Was Tink's Hype Man At The FADER FORT Presented by Converse Tonight". The Fader. March 21, 2015. Retrieved March 28, 2015.
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(help) - ^ "New Music: Tink – 'Million'". Rap-Up. Retrieved 2015-05-24.
- ^ "'Winter's Diary'". DatPiff. March 14, 2012. Retrieved March 12, 2015.
- ^ "'Alter Ego'". DatPiff. July 30, 2012. Retrieved March 12, 2015.
- ^ "'Blunts & Ballads'". Live Mixtapes. January 28, 2013. Retrieved March 12, 2015.
- ^ "Mixtape: Tink - 'Boss Up'". Complex. September 30, 2013. Retrieved March 12, 2015.
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(help) - ^ a b "'Winter's Diary 2: Forever Yours'". DatPiff. January 10, 2014. Retrieved March 12, 2015.