Disgraced R&B singer R. Kelly isn’t the only artist dropped by RCA records, a subunit of Sony Music.
Apparently, R&B songstress Tinashe has parted ways with the label as well.
There has been no official confirmation from Tinashe or RCA but fans noticed that she was removed from the label’s website.
In November (2018), Tinashe may have confirmed her departure from the label after posting a screenshot of a “404 Not Found” error message that displays when you try to access her artist profile page on RCARecords.com.
Tinashe is no longer listed as an RCA Artist.
This is why she posted this photo on IG. pic.twitter.com/2FxWDEbFj3— TINASHE USA🇺🇸 (@TinasheUSA) January 19, 2019
Tinashe inked her record deal with Sony in 2012. She released her debut album, Aquarius, in 2014, headed by the hit single, “2 On,” which reached number one on the Rhythmic airplay chart and peaked at number 24 on the Billboard Hot 100. Aquarius garnered her nominations for Soul Train and BET Awards.
While the process of releasing her debut on RCA seemed easy, her second LP, Joyride, faced many roadblocks prior to its release in 2018.
Tinashe shared her frustration in an interview back in 2017, saying because she wasn’t Beyonce or Rihanna, two artists she suggests are propped up as mainstream female R&B artists that major labels are willing to acknowledge and push, she’s looked over.
“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,” she stated about her concerns about a sexist paradigm. “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.”
Also, Tinashe and her A&R couldn’t see eye to eye over the direction of her music. After expressing that she did not want to record a particular song, the label rep suggested she go home. “He turned to me and said, ‘Well, then we can just go home.’ At this point, I burst into tears,” she told Lena Dunham in 2017.
After a series of delays, Tinashe’s last album, Joyride, was released in April (2018), but it did not fare well commercially, selling just 10k copies in the first week. Additionally, several singles were released off the project, but all failed to make an impact.
Outside of music, Tinashe has been working on other avenues to secure the bag. She is set to play Mimi in Fox’s upcoming live production of the musical “Rent” alongside Vanessa Hudgens, Mario, Kiersey Clemons, Jordan Fisher, and more. “Rent” will air live on Sunday, Jan. 27.
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