You Can’t Spell “Beyonce” or “Rihanna” with Tinashe

poor tinashe.
she tries,
doesn’t she?
well she had a recent interview with the guardian about being a black singer.
according to her,
you can only be successful if you’re “beyonce” or “rihanna”.
this is her exact quote from the article…

She is also calling bullshit on the idea, perpetuated recently by warring Twitter fan-tribes, that there’s only room for a couple of successful black female artists at any given time. “Recently, my cousin was with a friend of a friend, who was in high school, and she was like: ‘I’m a fan of Kehlani,’ but in a way that was like, ‘So I can’t be a fan of Tinashe, too.’ Then my friend posed the question, ‘Why not be a fan of both?’ It’s kind of like sport; people feel like they have to pick a side.” Suddenly she springs forward, her default laid-back demeanour temporarily out of the window. “There are hundreds of [male] rappers that all look the same, that sound the same, but if you’re a black woman, you’re either Beyoncé or Rihanna. It’s very, very strange.”

Ciara – another all-round performer with a handful of stone-cold bangers – has suffered similarly through comparison, I suggest. “I’d agree,” she nods. “It felt like they almost had to sacrifice someone because there wasn’t enough room, which isn’t true. Ciara’s an amazing artist, Beyoncé’s an amazing artist, Rihanna’s an amazing artist, and they’re all very different!”

you know what i find funny?
with white female vixens who sing,
it’s:

adele
taylor swift
katy perry
lady gaga
miley cyrus
lorde
all the indie singers full of angst

they have a ton to choose from.
for blacks:

beyonce
rihanna

i find that ridiculous.
back in the other eras,
it was a variety of black female singers to choose from.
they were all different and had a unique vibes.
i liked it.
i’ll be honest with the foxhole:

I BARELY listen to Beyonce or Rihanna

i love both,
and sometimes you’ll catch me having a binge of one of their songs/albums,
but i’m usually listening to:

i’m heavy on listening to new music.
i love the spotify playlists because they help me discover new shit.
…or i’m taking a trip back in time:

i will say tinashe’s problem is she is trying too hard.
it doesn’t come off effortless.
i can’t get into her for whatever reason.
i only like this song heavy:

…but she is missing something.
i’m sure she will pop for me eventually,
i’m not convinced yet.

lowkey: i can’t wait to check out this sza album.

article cc: guardian

12 thoughts on “You Can’t Spell “Beyonce” or “Rihanna” with Tinashe

  1. she’s actually not wrong though a lot of artists especially black women are set to a standard of either being like rihanna or like beyonce which fucks their careers up if they don’t reach that standard or are too far outside of that.

    This is why I hate fandom culture because you can’t have artists be themselves without being compared to one or another.

  2. I have tried but I can’t get into Tinashe. To me all R&B sounds the same. Everyone sounds drunk or high slurring over a trap beat. I miss SINGERS. The Whitey, Mariah, Anita…artist that could sing AND give good face. These days every singer is talking about depression, weed, sex or neighbors knowing their name. Tinashe doesn’t have anything that makes me want to buy her music.

  3. Of course she wouldn’t complain, that would be stupid, but it doesn’t take away the fact that she may make a decent point about it.
    Though, I will agree that she can’t really use that as an excuse. The reason she doesn’t have more of them is because of what everyone else was saying: she’s not original, she sold out/alienated fan base, trying to hard/forced etc. Her problems are her own, not “stan culture”. If she were original or creative, she would probably have her own stans instead of competing for Beyonce’s and/or Rihanna’s which is a losing battle.

  4. Whatever man. It all sounds bitter to me. She wouldn’t be complaining about stan culture if SHE had more of them.

    Who are all these invisible, incredible artists that you all say aren’t on the radio? Put me on please.

    You don’t even have to have a spectacular voice so the bar is pretty low, but these new artists can’t even make catchy songs smh

    The only ones I sort of like are Paloma Ford and Kehlani.

  5. I see her point I see everybody’s point in the comment section. Her biggest mistake is that she too drastically changed her sound. Go check out her music before “2 on”. It sounds completely different nothing like the pop sound she is going for now. She essentially alienated her core fan base.

  6. I been following Tinashe since her first album and I gotta say she does have the chops to be a popstar. Beautiful, can dance, decent voice and good stage presence. Her issues though are several. She tries too hard for it and it comes off as desperation. Her sound isn’t solid because the singles she promotes are too generic as opposed to her album tracks which are frankly miles better sonically and stylistically. She does have a point tho Stan culture plays a part (especially for the younger generation) in the fact that people act like they can’t be fans of more than one artist. That being said her last album Nightride was flames and is the direction she should stick to sound wise going forward. P.S. yes Jamari Touch pass is a jam and a half

  7. I can see where she’s kinda coming from , but I feel like with steaming music becoming the standard its much easier for people to find hidden talent. I feel like with Tinashe she wants to pop so much larger than what she is instead of just enjoying the journey. I haven’t been able to get into any of her music since her first mainstream hit “2 on” years ago. I can’t listen to any of Beyoncé music prior to her self titled album ( because it sounds so dated to me) but I am a fan of everything after it and Anti is the only RiRi album I loved.

    P.S. That SZA album is amazing its been on a loop all weekend for me , can’t wait to hear your thoughts on it J

  8. Beyonce and Rihanna are what everyone’s being compared to? Lol, no wonder there’s no talent or innovation. No hate on any of the artists above but none of them are special. Beyonce is captivating and mysterious, that’s her thing, her music is a snore, decent at best (for me). Rihanna is avant-garde and a trend setter, but she isn’t a great singer or dancer, she’s only good for really catchy music. I think everyone has been entranced by the smoke and mirrors.

    As for Tinashe, you’re new to the game, do something different if you want to succeed. Time’s are changing.

    Why is it only Beyonce and Rihanna? Because there is no one else. There are literally no good options in that genre. They just purchased their real estate at the perfect time and they are getting their return on investment. That’s it.

    1. Yeah, sadly when the black community gets on to certain artists, or those that are “hot” (and I question that sometimes) that’s all we are privy to and forced to listen to over and over. Pity those who don’t know how to turn their radio dial past Hot 97 & Power 105 (here in NYC metro area), they’re missing out on so much more.

      I like Beyonce, but to ME her best album is Dangerously in Love. I can listen to that entire CD. All her other music is hit and miss. I like a song here and there. Same thing with Rihanna. Her longevity has actually surprised me because I told my friends she was a one hit wonder when Pon De Replay came out. she doesn’t have one CD that I can listen to fully without skipping a song, but she does have MANY songs that I like. If artists are being held to their standards, that is sad. They are not the be all, end all to music. There are PLENTY of talented artists out there that have their own sound/niche, but unfortunately the labels force them to change their sound, trying to make them into the next big artist by sounding EXACTLY like the previous artist.

      If you sound the same as another artist you get lost in the shuffle. You’re basically dead on arrival. Failing out the gate. I like Tinashe. She’s different, very talented. 2 On, All Hands On Deck, and Bet are favorites by her. If she remains different, she MIGHT catch on…but she needs a good producer to REALLY get her out there. If they played their cards right, she and Ciara could be killing it right now since Rihanna and Beyonce are laying low right now, musically.

  9. I disagree.

    The problem is these girls don’t bring much to the table. No one has any particularly good songs, stage presence, voice, or even “it” factor.

    Radio is more geared towards rap and trap music so any R&B has to above average to break the monotony and most of these R&B artists aren’t cutting it.

    I couldn’t even get into that Sza album her whole style of singing and writing is too all over the place for me.

    1. ^let the stans tell it,
      then that’s only beyonce with the qualities you listed.
      i think the stan culture is ruining the other vixen singers.
      everyone is compared to b and rih before they are given a chance.

      i don’t know why i cant rock with tinashe,
      but i’m not interested yet.
      i don’t even know what to tell her.
      “2 on” popped and then everything fizzled.
      did she say something that ruined her????

      omg sza isn’t hittin????

      1. Everyone else likes Sza’s new album, but I don’t. Its just not very listenable to me. Just a bunch of gibberish and all I understand are bits and pieces.

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