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Tinashe Kachingwe, otherwise known as Tinashe, has made huge waves on the charts with her tantalizing single “2 On” featuring ScHoolboy Q. But the triple threat has only given us a tiny peek into her talents.

The 21-year-old was born in Kentucky and raised in Chicago. Before starting her music career with The Stunners in 2007, she dabbled in acting with appearances in Two & A Half Men, Avatar: The Last Airbender, and a few films.

While Tinashe followed her dreams at a young age, she doesn’t regret any of her choices. While she was bullied in school for some of her decisions, she learned to ignore the negative and focus on the future.

“I actually did get bullied a lot in school,” she said. “I went to public school until 9th grade and had a pretty bad experience. I missed out on prom and graduation and the whole college experience, but I don’t feel bad about it because everything else I was doing was what I actually wanted.”

Her humble beginnings also helped Tinashe have a close relationship with her family. Just check out this adorable montage of family videos:

After going solo in 2011, Tinashe released two enchanting mixtapes, In Case We Die and Reverie, in 2012. She was later signed to RCA records and released another mixtape, Black Water, in 2013.

Being a singer/songwriter has helped the rising star capture the identity of her artistry, and make her a better musician.

“I wrote Black Water,” she said. “For me, the main point at the end of the day is to get quality music. So while I’m working on my debut album, if someone comes to me with a song for example, or some ideas that are just awesome, then I’m open to using them. I don’t feel like limiting myself to just be selfish that I only make all my stuff if someone can make it better. But I’m not limited to having other people write my songs. At the end of the day, I can still always fall back on myself to write my own stuff.”

After the success of Black Water, the pint-sized singer released her breakout single “2 On” with ScHoolboy Q.

The song is sitting pretty at number one on the Billboard Rhythmic charts. Also, it doesn’t hurt that she has a big fan in Drake.

The rapper dropped a verse on her huge single and she followed suit with a cover of his “Days In The East” track. She was more than surprised about the remix, since she found out on Twitter. 

“I was in the car, in the morning, on the way to a photoshoot or something like that. I was just looking through my mentions, and the first mention said: “@Tinashe OMG Drake just covered your song ’2 On.’

With her debut album Aquarius on schedule for a fall release, this won’t be the last time we hear from the singer. Her journey has been a long one, but she’s more than prepared for what’s ahead.

“I know who I was meant to be and I know that things will happen in just the right way,” she said. “I’m very blessed to see everything slowly falling into place. My parents are proud! They’re my biggest support system.”

Who inspires you to be great? Look out for Tinashe’s album this fall and check some of the other artists featured in Nissan’s BLVD of Dreams series.

PHOTO CREDIT: Getty | VIDEO CREDIT: YouTube 

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