Tink Discusses Aaliyah, Working With Hitmaka On ‘Pillow Talk’ and More On Vocalo

Written by Vocalo Radio on November 23, 2022

Back in the day — when Bekoe had locks and made music — Tink was one of the first to give him a chance. Recently she (virtually) visited with him again, this time to break down her latest releases on Vocalo for Mornings With Bekoe.

Trinity Laure’Ale Home, better known by her stage name Tink, has been a force of nature within Chicago’s R&B and rap communities and beyond since her first release in 2012. Born in the South Suburbs to parents who were a choir singer and a musician, respectively, music was an integral part of her childhood. She grew up singing in Chicago church choirs.

Tink first started making a name for herself as a teenager releasing various mixtapes and singles, but it wasn’t until she connected with multi-platinum, Grammy-winning producer Timbaland through his Mosley Music Group that she landed a Freshman Feature and continuous Billboard chart placements. She signed with the label in October 2014, which, at the time, felt like a dream come true for the artist.

“Of course, [being signed to a label] was my dream early-on,” Tink recalled. “Back then I didn’t know no better, and that deal… gave me so much insight on the industry.”

Within a year of her signing, Tink notes she ran into issues with the label; her anticipated 2015 mixtape was continually delayed by Timbaland and the label, complicated by budget reductions and minimized label support, as reported The Fader in February 2018. By the end of 2017, she’d gotten out of her contract with the label. Around that time, she shared with The Fader that she wasn’t upset with anyone at Mosley Group and was just happy that they could come to an agreement.

These days, Tink is still creating music and collaborating with producers, but she noted in her conversation with Bekoe that she’s become much more guarded. After going on a hiatus for a year following 2021’s Heat of The Moment, she returned to musicmaking as an independent artist, a change that allowed her to have full artistic control in order to create the music she wanted to create. Hitmaka was one of the few producers she trusted with her vision.

“With him being from Chicago, we instantly kinda clicked,” she said. “I think people from Chicago, we just have a nature about ourselves, and when we meet people outside, it’s all love.”

In August, Tink released her new album Pillow Talk featuring 2 Chainz, Russ, Muni Long and Layton Greene. An artist who’s never shied away from love songs, Pillow Talk is no outlier for Tink: it’s sensitive, sweet and sexy.

Earlier this week, Bekoe and Tink discussed idols like Aaliyah, the importance of talented producers and the liberation in and challenges of being an independent artist. Stream their full conversation on YouTube, or a shortened version on Spotify.