Ep. 266: Tinashe’s Guide to Making It on Your Own Terms

Today’s guest is a singer, songwriter, producer and dancer who has spent her career trusting her own instincts—and building a world around them.From “2 On” to “Nasty” and “No Broke Boys,” Tinashe has kept releasing music through major-label deals, independent projects and viral breakthroughs.She’s collaborated with artists including Calvin Harris, Charli xcx and Kaytranada, and joins us to talk about the journey behind it all.And The Writer Is... Tinashe!Hit subscribe and turn on notifications. Every week, we go deep with the most interesting creatives in music.Follow us on socials: @andthewriterisA special thank you to our sponsors for making these conversations possible.Splice, the best sample library on the market, period.and our lead sponsor, our Patreon page!We're still giving away free Universal Audio Recording Gear in our next zoom hang.Join us on Patreon: patreon.com/andthewriterisCHAPTERS0:00 Intro0:46 Tinashe and Ross reconnect—back to The Stunners3:48 “Deep in the Night”—the song she wrote at five5:08 Tinashe’s French fry rankings6:12 Child acting, Whoopi Goldberg, and moving to LA9:11 Life in a girl group without creative control11:22 Buying a microphone and building a bedroom studio14:10 Getting signed—and expecting it to be easy18:40 Join the ATWI Patreon19:32 Splice: Sounds and Variations20:39 Early Travis Scott sessions and being taken seriously in the studio23:29 Recording 200 songs—and trusting the big producer’s opinion26:33 Trusting your gut and knowing when to leave a session30:43 “2 On” takes off. What happens after the first hit?36:03 Writing “2 On” in a garage with friends37:37 Does having a hit teach you how to make one?39:20 Leaving her label and rebuilding trust in her own ideas43:29 What releasing music independently actually takes46:10 Filming her own videos and building her visual world48:14 How dancing shapes the way she writes songs50:08 Working with a label again—and finding Ricky Reed52:11 Getting the call from Calvin Harris53:52 Why genre doesn’t define her music55:19 “Nasty” ta