Photo: Getty Images for Coachella
On Valentine’s Day last year, a bespectacled man known as Nate Di Winer posted a video of himself biting his finger and vigorously rolling his hips to soca music. Nine months later, a fan paired that clip with Tinashe’s new song “Nasty.” The edit, which has 10 million views and counting, started a TikTok trend that has since landed Nate a collab with Marc Jacobs and turned “Nasty” into the singer’s first mainstream solo hit since 2014’s “2 On.” “It’s such a big part of the success of the song,” says Tinashe, who’s hoping to link up (as bad bitches do) with the U.K.-based Nate in person and incorporate some of his meme-worthy moves into upcoming performances. “I think that’d be a really funny homage.”
For the record, Tinashe’s been a nasty girl long before she told us that 15 times in the lyrics of her song-of-the-summer contender. She opened her 2013 Black Water mixtape track “1 for Me” singing, “I can feel in the air that there’s a freak in here” — lyrics she recalled when she began writing “Nasty.” “I’m still looking for someone to match my freak, ten years later,” she reflects with a laugh. Since then, she’s dropped six albums (three as a major-label artist on RCA, two completely on her own, and one with her current label, producer Ricky Reed’s Atlantic imprint Nice Life Recording Company). “Nasty,” the lead single off her next one, Quantum Baby, is a perfect example of what Tinashe does best: making sexy dance tracks with near-hypnotic hooks. Fans have already declared it the beginning of a long-awaited “Tinashe renaissance,” and Tinashe’s certainly not wasting this moment in the spotlight. Official remixes are in the works, and Quantum Baby is on the way sooner than you might think. She’s also due to feature on Kaytranada’s new album and drop her own branded strain of weed in June. “I’m so excited,” she says of her busy summer schedule. “I’m gonna keep riding it till the wheels fall off.”
When did you realize “Nasty” was taking off?
I saw the signs surprisingly early. I started receiving a lot of feedback from different artists who loved the song. Anitta was in the comments, Meghan Trainor, Kehlani … I feel like I don’t usually get that kind of response to a new drop. Just seeing that gave me a hint that this was something different. I think the first real viral things I saw were on Twitter. People were reposting this TikTok that I had made dragging trash and making all these jokes. “Me dragging my ex-boyfriend on the street,” stuff like that. It was already being meme-ified.
But the one that obviously really took off was with @nate_di_winer, with the glasses. That was really cool to see because a fan had obviously made that edit. I was on tour in China when I saw it. And I was like, Hmmm, maybe I should do something with this. But I had to wait until I got home, ’cause I needed the outfit.
A key part of that video is Nate’s finger bite. There’s also a finger bite in Jojo Gomez’s choreo for your music video. What about that move embodies the song’s energy?
It’s just got this kind of coy, cute approach to it, which makes it feel safe. I feel like everyone has their nasty girl inside, but a lot of people are quiet about it. It symbolizes to people, “This is something that I can relate to.”
In 2018, you told Vulture that you felt like you had to prove you were “serious and here to stay,” and that it sometimes seemed like people thought you were stupid or not making “real art.” Do you still feel that way?
That’s interesting, because 2018 was kind of the turning point for me where I feel like I started changing that narrative and stopped feeling that way. That was the year I went independent, left my label, and started regaining control of my artistry. And my next projects, Songs for You, 333 … those two in particular gave me a lot of validation in myself as a songwriter, as an artist. I feel like I really showed people I was serious and that my creativity and my art was what I was going to put first. I wasn’t going to jeopardize that for anyone or any label.
Is establishing that seriousness what made it possible for you to embrace the playfulness that’s been such a big part of the “Nasty” era?
A thousand percent. It makes me feel like I don’t have to do anything for anyone. I don’t have to receive that validation, whether it’s by creating hits or creating songs that sound like anyone’s expectation. But at the same time, I still can make fun, catchy, relatable music that sounds true to me. There’s never that resistance of like, Ugh, this isn’t what I really want to do. I think that’s the biggest blessing of this whole thing, ’cause it sucks when you feel like you weren’t a hundred percent behind your creative decisions.
Since “Nasty” has blown up, you’ve been teasing the possibility of a remix. Now, what’s this about you getting a male artist to feature …
[Laughs.] I’m trolling. Everyone online was like, “If you get a man on this, I’ll be so mad.” So I just said that to be a bitch, that I was gonna get a man just to piss them off. But honestly, I’ve been really open to the suggestions I’ve been getting online. The fans are smart. They have good instincts. So I’ve been reading the tea leaves in that regard and seeing what everyone’s excited about.
So many people have been interested. We’ve been hearing some fire verses. And we’ve been extending remixes to DJs to hopefully get some official ones. But they’re all in the works. It’s definitely coming. I hope there will continue to be different versions of “Nasty” throughout the summer.
Impeccably executed choreography has been a constant in your career. How soon in the production process do you start thinking about the movement to go with the music?
The dance aspect is one of the first things on my mind even if it’s a slower song. I’m always looking for some type of drum or approaching it with a vocal that will feel rhythmic. I think that’s just such a huge part of who I am as an artist. It’s one of my favorite parts about what I do and what sets me apart. At this point, I have a lot of input in terms of heavily explaining the kind of movement that I want. It’s nice to have a creative banter with the choreographers I’m working with. And I think creating my own choreography could also be in my future.
Are there any other artists in pop music right now whom you respect as dancers?
There are so many right now, which is fun ’cause I feel like it definitely wasn’t the case when I first got in the industry. We love to see it. Normani is obviously killing it. I feel like we would really crush a duet, so hopefully we can have that moment some day, maybe at an awards show or something. Who else? Victoria Monét, killing it. Tate McRae, she’s eating it up. And you know, Dua Lipa, she’s been putting in the work, she’s been giving us a two-step, okay? She’s been in class! She’s worked with Charm La’Donna, whom I love. Chlöe’s been dancing, Kehlani’s been dancing … the K-pop girlies. I saw Blackpink at Coachella last year — they went crazy.
You’re kind of a patron saint of K-pop, in my opinion. So many idols are fans of yours.
That’s so funny. I’ve loved seeing over the years how many people have given me my props over there, ’cause I haven’t necessarily always gotten that kind of love and support in the States.
Some fans have suggested that other older tracks of yours were equally, if not more deserving of the success that “Nasty” has received. But you’ve said you don’t agree with this type of thinking. Can you elaborate on why?
I feel like it does come from a genuine place. They feel this strongly about work that I’ve done in the past, and so I can only be really thankful for that. But at the same time, I think that the best attitude for me and hopefully my fans is to just accept the journey as it plays out. That’s what’s led me to this point in the first place, not trying to force anything or be upset about the way that it works out. Because at the end of the day, it’s just gonna happen the way it’s gonna happen, and we just have to make the most of every moment.
Is that an attitude you’ve had throughout your career, or that you built over time?
That’s something that I worked on. Leaving the label and going independent was really when I started to find a lot more acceptance in my path. I think as soon as you find that you’re trying to push something or make something happen, that’s when you feel the most pain. I’ve found so much liberation in just seeing how it’s all played out. Maybe it wasn’t the timing that I initially wanted, but maybe it’s the right timing now, ’cause I’m so ready. I feel so grounded and empowered. I’m just thankful for the whole journey.
“Nasty” is from your upcoming album, Quantum Baby, which is the second installment of a planned trilogy. How will this quantum concept build on BB/ANG3L?
I feel like the title’s kind of manifesting this reintroduction or this Tinashe renaissance. There are so many paradoxes in quantum theory. Even the success of “Nasty” is just so mysterious and beautiful and interesting. My intention behind Quantum Baby was that I really wanted people to get down to the granular essence of my music and artistry and who I am as a person. I wanted to explore the paradoxes there, to show people an intimate, tiniest unit of measurement type of thing. BB/ANG3L really represented who I am right now and the kind of music that I’m experimenting with, so I wanted to go even further with the next part.
It’s been eight years since you entered the Billboard “Hot 100.” Has the way that you think about charts and numbers changed over time?
Absolutely. I had to really let go of the pressure to be there and the disappointment of not being there. I’m still able to tour the world and sell out shows and make great art and have a super-successful career, relatively speaking. There are so many people who would love to be in the position that I’m in, and I’ve been able to find a lot of gratitude and peace in that.
He has since changed his social media handles to @nates.vibe.
