Tinashe addressed colorism in anew interview with The Guardian. The mixed race artist said she's been dealing with it for her whole life.
"There's colorism involved in the black community, which is very apparent," she said. "It's about trying to find a balance where I'm a mixed woman, and sometimes I feel like I don't fully fit into the black community. They don't fully accept me, even though I see myself as a black woman. That disconnect is confusing sometimes. I am what I am."Later in the interview, Tinashe said that when it comes to black female singers, some fans will unnecessarily choose sides.
"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?' ... People feel like they have to pick a side ... 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."After the singer's interview hit the Internet, she started trending, and a bunch of folks went in on Twitter. You can see some of those reactions below.
Tinashe: My new song..
The Black Community: pic.twitter.com/wzqZ6DDRYO — slewdems (@MinaLioness) June 13, 2017
I'm already exhausted over this Tinashe convo and afternoon shift twitter hasn't even hit. Lordy pic.twitter.com/xtheiyLHlH
— (@MADBLACKTHOT) June 13, 2017
The Tinashe I like vs the Tinashe they keep pushing on us pic.twitter.com/CwF3RUQ0zI
— YouTube/ (@TheNotoriousKIA) June 13, 2017
I don't even think most people knew Tinashe was mixed. Her name is Tinashe. Girl, we clocked in on your Blackness.
— Michael Arceneaux (@youngsinick) June 13, 2017
Dear Tinashe, It's not a colorism issue. That fact is, we just don't see it for u sis. Sincerely, Everybody pic.twitter.com/nDuUJ8SyXB
— april♡Mae♡june (@Prettyy_THICK) June 13, 2017
Bey and Rih have monstrous work ethic and crafted expert teams for themselves. Tinashe is SHOOK that being cute was not enough. https://t.co/taTb8dsVfg
— ASIA (@AsiaChloeBrown) June 13, 2017
Tinashe thinks artists are limited to Bey and Rihanna when they fought HARD for their spots and are constantly rebranding themselves
— ActualBlackMermaid (@Imani_Yvonne) June 13, 2017
Tinashe's remarks about colorism were dense. I wish she had used that time to talk about her privilege as a light skinned, mixed woman.
— (@delafro_) June 13, 2017
I won't sit here and let y'all drag Tinashe as if she doesn't give 150% all of the time. While most artist give 30%. I WON'T! pic.twitter.com/rsdyUpBnnG
— 〰️ (@chartflops) June 13, 2017
Tinashe JUST came on the music scene like 2 or 3 years ago. Like girl, you gone have to WORK to get at least half where bey is. pic.twitter.com/QQ5Hkba7qo
— Sza Kyd (@SzaKyd) June 13, 2017
I just never bought into Tinashe. She's sweet, and has decent songs... I just don't see it for her.
It's just called "prerogative" — CHLOÉ (@CleverlyChloe) June 13, 2017
Serial killer: "Name another Tinashe song apart from 2 On or you die"
Me: pic.twitter.com/LINAtWYmSB — Jeff (@JayJazzi) June 13, 2017
yall babygirl said nothing wrong lmao. yall don't read. https://t.co/xTUAw8Jvx4
— frosted cheerios (@4jelani) June 13, 2017