Words by Elyssa Czynski (@czynskers)
Don’t let the name Tink fool you. The 18 year-old Chicago native is a powerhouse, spitting verses as well as singing smoothly, sounding like two different people. On September 30th she released her fourth mixtape, Boss Up. Still unsigned to a label while performing many shows across the United States, she is moving forward and striving for perfection with new projects. Everything is a whirlwind, but Tink has it under control.
Coming from a musical family, her mother sings and her father is a producer, it was inevitable that Tink was going to find herself in music somewhere. “Wherever I turn it’s just music, music, music, so that keeps me focused,” she explained. Tink started singing at five and rapping in high school. On her first tape, Winter’s Diary, she has an R&B sound that is beyond her years, and on its follow up Alter Ego, Tink releases her inner drill rapper. Ultimately, she blends the two together on Blunts and Ballads and most recently on Boss Up.
Tink’s rapping is intricate, constantly full of self-referential lines that connect to each other. On her hit “Finger’s Up” from Alter Ego she raps, “Fingers up but it’s four missing/Fuck you like a naughty Christian/Tell ’em to get they praise on/Get up on your knees speaking tongues,” then tripling in speed with, “Speaking in tongues I be spitting this shit that be having these weak bitches ready to quit/Probably the reason why bitches be hating and waiting to comment on all of my shit.” She is wicked clever when she raps. When she sings smoothly, it is expressive and honest, with deep lyrics about love and heartbreak. Winter’s Diary is entirely R&B and sounds like one emotional confession with ebbs and flows.
Boss Up is different from Tink’s other albums. It has heavy hitting beats that throb with power. She raps speedily, and with intent. On “Kilo” she spits, “self made bitch, I don’t need no fucking hero,” and slows it down with the intimate “Take Me There.” “I speak to myself on a lot of the songs. In particular, ‘Gotta Keep Going’ is something everybody relates to. It’s motivation for me. I’m talking to myself but when people hear it, it feels like I’m talking to them.” That vibe was therapeutic for Tink and can be for those who listen to her tape, and she thinks speaks to everyone. She likes to be “100% honest” and her lyrics are something that everyone, especially young girls, can relate to.
Tink’s progression and potential are what make her a force. She released all four of her mixtapes between March 2012 and September 2013, and is preparing to release her fifth, Winter’s Diary 2, in December of this year. She’s taking a break from rapping on the forthcoming mixtape, “I’m doing it for my fans, so it is going to be all R&B,” she explained. Tink is working with DJ L and Plu2o Nash, two producers she worked with on Boss Up.
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