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Hear RZA & Tinashe’s ‘One Of A Kind’ Collaboration

RZA

Inside the Dr Pepper Studio, which is located at one of the premiere studios in Hollywood, The RZA welcomes Tinashe to what has become his production lab for the night. After spending a short time getting to know each other, they jump into recording the track that will be a part of RZA’s upcoming collaborative EP. RZA begins by playing a few beats to feel out Tinashe’s sound until they decide on a song that is a bit more mellow compared to RZA’s others. After a couple of passes, Tinashe jumps on the control room mic and begins humming to the beat. She passes through impressive vocal highs and lows to carve out a melody while RZA adds to the beat with his Yahama Motif XS. Shortly thereafter, Tinashe is listening back to the recorded scratch-track of her humming and penning her lyrics. It’s not long until she’s out in the vocal booth laying down her final take. The fast-rising Tinashe impressed RZA with her vocal range and expeditiousness in the studio in what was a notably smooth collaboration. Hear the results and read the pair’s thoughts below:

What was your inspiration behind the track?
RZA: I wasn’t familiar with Tinashe’s work, but when I heard her sing, I liked her style and vocal level that she displayed. We approached it on a collaborative manner. I sat with her and we just vibed, and let her voice and style of music guide what she would write. Then went to putting my touch on it to give it just a twist of what I like.
Tinashe: I have different ideas for different tracks, the inspiration comes from the vibe I get, if it makes me feel a certain type of way or brings out a certain emotion, I just go with how it makes me feel. The song with RZA was inspired by Dr Pepper, but I didn’t want to make that too obvious upon first listen.

With summer being such a passion point and an exciting time for music enthusiasts, what sets you apart from other artists and truly makes you and your track “One Of A Kind?”
RZA: What makes me one of a kind, first and foremost, is what makes all of us one of a kind – is that each and every individual is unique in himself. What makes me a certain kind of producer is that I recognize that, so it doesn’t satisfy what I produce. I don’t need to sound like him, be like him, look like him, or act like him. I know that there’s no other me. And if you like me, there’s only one place to get it; from me.