After being taken under the wing of super-producer Timbaland a few years ago, female Chicago rapper Tink hasn't seen the trajectory in her career take off like she and most of the industry thought would happen for her. So she’s making some changes. In a new interview with Fader, Tink revealed that she has cut ties with Timbaland’s Mosley Music Group, and is starting from scratch. She said that a disconnect from the label supporting her & constant delays was the issue.
“There was stuff within the business side that messed up a lot of things,” Tink said. “Like, you can love a person to death, but if the business isn't right, there's always going to be friction. I just felt like nobody was paying attention to what I had going on outside of me and Tim. For me, that was the red flag. I stepped into the deal just hoping that I would be accepted for whatever I created. It wasn't that type of situation.”
Frustrated that fans couldn't hear her work, Tink said her debut album was actually done back in 2015, but Timbaland continued to tweak it and perfect it, causing the constant delays.
“The album was actually finished. There was an intro, I had interludes.” Tink said. “It was [Timbaland’s] call 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.”
Tink stressed that she’s not upset at anyone at Mosley or Epic and said she’s focused on applying what she’s learned to her next steps. “Over time, people grow up — I grew up,” she told me. “I had to get on my boss shit and hire some new attorneys. I had to take a couple flights and sit down with different people who could actually help me in my situation. I had some setbacks; I had people fighting me from either side. Ultimately, I'm just happy that we're at an agreement right now.”
However, while Mosley released her from her contract with the rights to her unreleased music, Tink said she’s not planning to release any of her songs with Timbaland. She says she’d rather start from scratch but be free as an artist.
She’s currently working on the 5th installment in her Winter’s Diary series, which should be dropping later this year. Look out for new music to be hopefully be coming soon then.
Read the full in-depth interview with Tink right here on Fader.