Tinashe has spoken out about collaborations she recorded with R. Kelly and Chris Brown early in her career.
In a new interview with the Zach Sang Show, the R&B singer admitted that her label at the time, RCA Records, insisted that she worked with both Kelly and Brown to advance her career.
Tinashe appeared as a guest on Kelly's 2015 track, “Let’s Be Real Now,” despite allegations of sexual abuse against the singer that were highly publicized at the time.
“I literally block out that R. Kelly song from my mind," she said. "I forget that it even exists. That is so embarrassing. That is so unreal that I even have a song with R. Kelly. That’s so embarrassing."
Tinashe feels that because she was starting out, she didn't have much of a say when it came to those decisions. "I was so young too, which is crazy because I feel like I did that song when I just signed to that label… I was probably like 20,” she added.
The same year, RCA invited Chris Brown to appear on a Tinashe single called "Player." She fought against the idea, but the label told her she "needed" an artist like Brown for the support. (Another version of the song was later released featuring Japanese rapper AK-69.)
“That was a song that we all wanted it to be this big moment, this big single," she said. "So I feel like, in their mind, they were like, ‘You need the support.’ [Brown] was their biggest artist that they had on rhythmic radio at the time. To me, I was like, ‘Well, this is a pop song. So, I really don’t feel like we should put Chris on it.’ That doesn’t compute to me, but I don’t know.”
Tinashe parted ways RCA in 2019 and earlier this year signed a deal with Nice Life Recording Company, who released her mini-album, BB/ANG3L, on September 8.
Watch the full interview below.