Trinity Laure'Ale Home (born March 18, 1995), better known by her stage name Tink, is an American rapper and singer from the Chicago area in Illinois. She is best known for the single "Treat Me Like Somebody" and for the collaboration with singer and producer
Jeremih
Jeremy Phillip Felton (born July 17, 1987), known professionally as Jeremih ( ), is an American singer, songwriter and record producer. In 2009, he signed a record deal with Def Jam Recordings. Jeremih's commercial debut single, "Birthday Sex", ...
on "Don't Tell Nobody". Since 2012, she has released seven mixtapes and has gone independent due to label issues regarding the release of her debut album. Her 2014 mixtape, ''Winter's Diary 2: Forever Yours'', was featured as a top 10
R&B album in both ''
Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...
'' and ''
Billboard
A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...
'' magazines.
She was also chosen as part of the
''XXL'' 2015 Freshman Class.
Early life and education
Trinity Home was born on March 18, 1995, in
Calumet City, Illinois
Calumet City ( ) is a city in Cook County, Illinois, Cook County, Illinois, United States. The population was 36,033 at the 2020 census, a decline of 2.7% from 37,042 in 2010. The ZIP code is 60409.
Etymology
The word ''Calumet'' is the Miꞌkmaq ...
.
Home was nicknamed Tink by friends in elementary school and she has used the name ever since.
Tink started singing in church when she was five years old
and began writing songs at age 11, including some for her father's friends.
She attended high school at Chicago's
Simeon Career Academy
Neal F. Simeon Career Academy (formerly known as Westcott Vocational High School, Neal F. Simeon Vocational High School, Neal F. Simeon Career Technical Academy), locally known simply as Simeon, is a public four-year vocational high school locate ...
where she participated in talent shows
and joined the school choir.
She counted English as one of her favorite subjects because it helped her become a stronger writer.
She started rapping and recording music in her father's basement studio at the age of 15.
At age 16, she and her brother posted a clip of her
freestyling
Freestyle is a style of improvisation, with or without instrumental beats (Mystrodamus), in which lyrics are recited with no particular subject or structure and with no prior memorization.Kevin Fitzgerald (director), '' Freestyle: The Art of Rhyme' ...
over
Clipse
Clipse, also known as The Clipse, is an American hip hop duo, chiefly active from 1994 to 2010. It consists of brothers Gene "No Malice" and Terrence "Pusha T" Thornton. Pusha T was known as Terrar during the group's early years, while No Mal ...
's "
Grindin'
"Grindin'" is the debut single from Virginia Beach rap duo Clipse. The song was produced by The Neptunes, and featured on the Clipse's debut album, ''Lord Willin. The song became a summer Top 40 hit, reaching number 30 on the ''Billboard'' H ...
" to Facebook and received local buzz.
Career
2011–2014: ''Winter's Diary 2'' and Timbaland
Tink's career officially began with the release of her 2011's mixtape, ''Winter's Diary'', while she was still in high school under Lyrical Eyes Management.
In 2012, she followed that up with two more mixtape releases ''Alter Ego'' and ''Blunts & Ballads''.
In 2013, she released her fourth mixtape, ''Boss Up'', and she was featured on
Future Brown
Future Brown are a production group formed of Fatima Al Qadiri, J-Cush, Asma Maroof and Daniel Pineda (the Los Angeles based duo also known as Nguzunguzu).
In July 2013, the group posted their first single "Wanna Party" featuring Chicago based ...
's debut single "Wanna Party".
In 2013, the buzz surrounding her mixtape releases and her collaboration with Future Brown, which led her to have a meeting with record executives in Los Angeles. At the time, Tink noted that she was comfortable staying independent.
Tink's next mixtape, ''Winter's Diary 2: Forever Yours'', which was named the eighth-best R&B album of 2014 by ''
Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...
'' and the ninth-best R&B album of 2014 by ''
Billboard
A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...
''.
In 2014, Tink performed alongside
Sleigh Bells at
South by Southwest
South by Southwest, abbreviated as SXSW and colloquially referred to as South By, is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and Convention (meeting), conferences organized jointly that take place in m ...
(SXSW), and the acts released a joint single, "That Did It," on the same year.
She also collaborated with
Kelela
Kelela Mizanekristos ( am, ከለላ ሚዛነክርስቶስ; born June 3, 1983) is an American singer. She made her debut in the music industry with the release of her 2013 mixtape ''Cut 4 Me.'' In 2015, she released ''Hallucinogen'', an EP ...
on a song, titled "Want It" and collaborated with
Jeremih
Jeremy Phillip Felton (born July 17, 1987), known professionally as Jeremih ( ), is an American singer, songwriter and record producer. In 2009, he signed a record deal with Def Jam Recordings. Jeremih's commercial debut single, "Birthday Sex", ...
on a song, titled "Don't Tell Nobody".
In October 2014, Tink signed a deal with
Timbaland
Timothy Zachery Mosley (born March 10, 1972), known professionally as Timbaland, is an American record producer, rapper, singer, songwriter, and record executive. He has received widespread acclaim for his innovative production work and distinc ...
's
Mosley Music Group
Mosley Music Group (MMG) is a record label founded and formed by producer Tim "Timbaland" Mosley. Founded in 2006, the imprint is distributed exclusively by Interscope Records and Def Jam Recordings.
History
The label was created after Timbala ...
, an imprint of
Epic Records
Epic Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America
Sony Corporation of America (SONAM, also known as SCA), is the American arm of the Japanese conglomerate Sony Group ...
. Tink appeared in the
Worldstar Hip Hop
WorldStarHipHop is a content-aggregating video blog. Zurawik, David.Worldstarhiphop.com makes a name for itself with shocking viral videos". ''The Baltimore Sun''. March 23, 2012. Retrieved on April 22, 2012Alternate link to the same article fro ...
documentary showcasing Chicago's burgeoning Hip Hop scene entitled "The Field: Chicago" in January 2014.
2014–2017: ''ThinkTink'' and label issues
Her debut studio album had been scheduled to be released in 2015
and was preceded by the single "Ratchet Commandments".
Timbaland made headlines in 2015 by indicating at SXSW that
Aaliyah
Aaliyah Dana Haughton (; January 16, 1979 – August 25, 2001) was an American singer and actress. She has been credited for helping to redefine contemporary R&B, pop and hip hop, earning her the nicknames the "Princess of R&B" and " ...
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".
In April 2015, the unreleased track, now entitled "Million", was released.
Epic scheduled a July 2015 release for ''Think Tink'' but Timbaland decided to delay the project. "The album was actually finished. There was an intro, I had interludes." Tink told the FADER in February 2018. "It was
imbaland'scall to hold back on it, and I think, I want to say, for the benefit of the doubt, he did want to perfect it. But it was Tim's call not to put it out."
Frustrated by Mosley and Epic's resistance to letting her share new material with her fans, Tink returned to the formula that had initially earned her a loyal following, and released her third mixtape in the Winter's Diary series called Winter's Diary 3 which featured one of her most famous songs to date named "I Like".
In 2016, Tink released several tracks throughout the beginning of the year and dropped her seventh mixtape named ''Winter's Diary 4''. The mixtape was mentioned on Rolling Stone's "40 Best Rap Albums of 2016" and ended up on number 20.
In 2017, Tink released few songs and had a six month long social media break, the reason for which would later become clear. In a February 2017 interview, Tink told DJ Vlad that she hadn't spoken to Timbaland in three months and said that the ball was still in his court when it came to releasing ''Think Tink''. That spring, she began to seek a permanent solution that would get her out of her contract with Mosley, eventually reaching an agreement with the label at the end of the year with the rights to her unreleased music. Tink is now an independent artist. She does not have any interest in releasing any of her songs with Timbaland as she wants to start from scratch.
2018–present: Independence, ''Pain & Pleasure'' and ''Hopeless Romantic''
In January 2018, Tink's mixtape catalog appeared on all streaming services. After leaving Mosley Music Group and Epic Records, Tink released her first EP ''Pain & Pleasure'' in March 2018 through Machine Entertainment Group and
Sony RED
RED Music, stylized RED MUSIC, formerly RED Distribution, LLC (Relativity Entertainment Distribution) was a Sony Music, Sony-owned sales and marketing division that merged under The Orchard (company), The Orchard in 2017. RED previously hand ...
.
On April 28, 2019, Tink released the mixtape ''Voicemails'', under
Empire
An empire is a "political unit" made up of several territories and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the empire (sometimes referred to as the metropole) ex ...
. The lead single was Bad Side.
Tink released the album ''Hopeless Romantic'' through Winter's Diary and Empire on February 14, 2020.
2021—present: ''Heat Of The Moment''
Tink released the second album ''Heat Of The Moment'' on July 30, 2021 which was executive produced by Hitmaka.
Musical style
Tink has been compared to
Lauryn Hill
Lauryn Noelle Hill (born May 26, 1975) is an American singer, songwriter, rapper, and record producer. She is often regarded as one of the greatest rappers of all time, as well as being one of the most influential musicians of her generation. ...
,
Ms. Jade
Chevon Young (born 1979), better known by the stage name Ms. Jade is an American rapper from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
In 2002 she released her only album to date, ''Girl Interrupted (album), Girl Interrupted'', which featured the single (mus ...
and
Da Brat
Shawntae Harris-Dupart (born April 14, 1974), better known by her stage name Da Brat, is an American rapper. Born and raised in Chicago, Illinois, she began her career in 1992, the year she signed with So So Def Records. Her debut album ''Funkda ...
.
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.
Tink has also been loosely associated with the
Drill
A drill is a tool used for making round holes or driving fasteners. It is fitted with a bit, either a drill or driverchuck. Hand-operated types are dramatically decreasing in popularity and cordless battery-powered ones proliferating due to ...
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."
Much of the lyrical content in her music deals with complex emotional issues
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.
Tink has been praised for her storytelling ability.
Her music has also taken on issues like female empowerment and the
Black Lives Matter
Black Lives Matter (abbreviated BLM) is a decentralized political and social movement that seeks to highlight racism, discrimination, and racial inequality experienced by black people. Its primary concerns are incidents of police bruta ...
movement.
Discography
Studio albums
Mixtapes
Extended plays
Singles
As lead artist
As featured artist
Guest appearances
References
External links
Official websiteTink on TwitterTink on Facebook*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tink
1995 births
Living people
African-American women rappers
African-American women singer-songwriters
American rhythm and blues singer-songwriters
Rappers
Rapping (also rhyming, spitting, emceeing or MCing) is a musical form of vocal delivery that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and street vernacular". It is performed or chanted, usually over a backing beat or musical accompaniment. The ...
American women rappers
People from Calumet City, Illinois
Rappers from Chicago
21st-century American rappers
21st-century women rappers
21st-century African-American women singers
Singer-songwriters from Illinois