Trinity Laure'Ale Home (born March 18, 1995), better known by her stage name Tink, is an American singer and rapper. She signed with record producer Timbaland's Mosley Music Group, an imprint of Epic Records to release her 2014 debut single, "Treat Me Like Somebody". Her 2015 single, "Million", entered the Bubbling Under Hot 100. Both produced by Timbaland, the songs were intended to precede her debut studio album Think Tink, although disagreements with the producer led her to part ways with the label in 2017.
Tink was chosen as part of the XXL 2015 Freshman Class.
Early life and education Trinity Laure'Ale Home was born on March 18, 1995, in Calumet City, Illinois. She was nicknamed Tink by friends in elementary school and has used the name since. Tink started singing in church when she was five years old and began writing songs at age 11, including some for her father's friends. She attended high school at Chicago's Simeon Career Academy where she participated in talent shows and joined the school choir. English was one of her favorite subjects because it helped her become a stronger writer. She started rapping and recording music in her father's basement studio at the age of 15. At age 16, she and her brother posted a clip of her freestyling over Clipse's "Grindin'" to Facebook and received local buzz.
Career 2011–2014: Winter's Diary 2 and Timbaland Tink's career officially began with the release of her 2011's mixtape, Winter's Diary, while she was still in high school under Lyrical Eyes Management. In 2012, she followed that up with two more mixtape releases Alter Ego and Blunts & Ballads. In 2013, she released her fourth mixtape, Boss Up, and she was featured on Future Brown's debut single "Wanna Party". In 2013, the buzz surrounding her mixtape releases and her collaboration with Future Brown, which led her to have a meeting with record executives in Los Angeles. At the time, Tink noted that she was comfortable staying independent.
Tink's next mixtape, Winter's Diary 2: Forever Yours, which was named the eighth-best R&B album of 2014 by Rolling Stone and the ninth-best R&B album of 2014 by Billboard. In 2014, Tink performed alongside Sleigh Bells at South by Southwest (SXSW), and the acts released a joint single, "That Did It," on the same year. She also collaborated with Kelela on a song, titled "Want It" and collaborated with Jeremih on a song, titled "Don't Tell Nobody". In October 2014, Tink signed a deal with Timbaland's Mosley Music Group, an imprint of Epic Records. Tink appeared in the Worldstar Hip Hop documentary showcasing Chicago's burgeoning Hip Hop scene titled "The Field: Chicago" in January 2014.
2014–2017: ThinkTink and label issues Her debut studio album had been scheduled to be released in 2015 and was preceded by the single "Ratchet Commandments". Timbaland made headlines in 2015 by indicating at SXSW that Aaliyah had appeared to him and described Tink as "the one." Tink would later perform an unreleased track that samples Aaliyah's "One in a Million". In April 2015, the unreleased track, now titled "Million", was released.
Epic scheduled a July 2015 release for Think Tink but Timbaland decided to delay the project. "The album was actually finished. There was an intro, I had interludes." Tink told the FADER in February 2018. "It was [Timbaland's] call to hold back on it, and I think, I want to say, for the benefit of the doubt, he did want to perfect it. But it was Tim's call not to put it out." Frustrated by Mosley and Epic's resistance to letting her share new material with her fans, Tink returned to the formula that had initially earned her a loyal following, and released her third mixtape in the Winter's Diary series called Winter's Diary 3 which featured one of her most famous songs to date named "I Like".
In 2016, Tink released several tracks throughout the beginning of the year and dropped her seventh mixtape named Winter's Diary 4. The mixtape was mentioned on Rolling Stone's "40 Best Rap Albums of 2016" and ended up on number 20.
In 2017, Tink released few songs and had a six month long social media break, the reason for which would later become clear. In a February 2017 interview, Tink told DJ Vlad that she hadn't spoken to Timbaland in three months and said that the ball was still in his court when it came to releasing Think Tink. That spring, she began to seek a permanent solution that would get her out of her contract with Mosley, eventually reaching an agreement with the label at the end of the year with the rights to her unreleased music. Tink is now an independent artist. She does not have any interest in releasing any of her songs with Timbaland as she wants to start from scratch.
2018–2020: Independence, Pain & Pleasure and Hopeless Romantic In January 2018, Tink's mixtape catalog appeared on all streaming services. After leaving Mosley Music Group and Epic Records, Tink released her first EP Pain & Pleasure in March 2018 through Machine Entertainment Group and Sony RED.
In 2019, Tink founded her own label, Winter's Diary, under Empire. On April 28, 2019, she released the mixtape Voicemails, through Winter's Diary and Empire. The lead single was Bad Side.
Tink released the album Hopeless Romantic through Winter's Diary and Empire on February 14, 2020.
2021–present: Heat of the Moment On July 30, 2021, Tink released her second album Heat of the Moment, which was executive produced by Hitmaka.
Musical style Tink has been compared to Lauryn Hill, Ms. Jade and Da Brat. Her first mixtape, Winter's Diary, was largely filled with R&B ballads, but her second mixtape, Alter Ego, established her rapping skills. Her subsequent mixtapes have blended her R&B and rap styles. Tink has also been loosely associated with the Drill movement that was birthed in Chicago. Some of her early songs (like "Bad Girl") display some of the genre's hallmarks like aggressive beats and violent lyrics. She has since distanced herself from that movement, saying that she wants to become "a positive, realistic vision of female empowerment."
Much of the lyrical content in her music deals with complex emotional issues that are geared toward a primarily teenage demographic. She often uses a Chicago setting to convey her feelings about love, heartbreak, faithfulness, and teenage melodrama. Tink has been praised for her storytelling ability. Her music has also taken on issues like female empowerment and the Black Lives Matter movement.
Discography Studio albums + List of studio albums Title Details Peak chart positions US USR&B/HH USR&B USInd. Hopeless Romantic Released: February 14, 2020 Label: Winter's Diary, Empire Distribution Format: Digital download, streaming 99 — 12 11 Heat of the Moment Released: July 30, 2021 Label: Winter's Diary, Empire Format: Digital download, streaming 54 31 5 7 Pillow Talk Released: August 19, 2022 Label: Winter's Diary, Empire Format: Digital download, streaming 43 25 9 8 Thanks 4 Nothing Released: February 24, 2023 Label: Winter's Diary, Empire Format: Digital download, streaming 147 — 22 25 Winter's Diary 5 Released: July 12, 2024 Label: Winter's Diary, Empire Format: Digital download, streaming 140 48 14 24 Fuck, Marry, Kill Released: April 10, 2026 Label: Winter's Diary, Empire Format: Digital download, streaming — — — —
Mixtapes + List of mixtapes Title Album details Winter's Diary Released: March 14, 2012 Label: Self-released Format: Digital download Alter Ego Released: July 20, 2012 Label: Self-released Format: Digital download Blunts & Ballads Released: December 28, 2012 Label: Self-released Format: Digital download Boss Up Released: September 30, 2013 Label: Self-released Format: Digital download Winter's Diary 2: Forever Yours Released: January 10, 2014 Label: Self-released Format: Digital download Winter's Diary 3 Released: July 30, 2015 Label: Self-released Format: Digital download Winter's Diary 4 Released: August 25, 2016 Label: Self-released Format: Digital download Voicemails Released: April 28, 2019 Label: Winter's Diary, Empire Format: Digital download
Extended plays +List of extended plays Title EP details Peak chart positions US USR&B USInd. Pain & Pleasure Released: March 30, 2018 Label: Self-released Format: Digital download 147 19 15 A Gift and a Curse Released: December 25, 2020 Label: Winter's Diary, Empire Format: Digital download, streaming — — 44
Singles As lead artist + List of singles, with selected chart positions, showing year released and album name Title Year Peak chart positionsCertifications Album USBub. USR&B/HH USElec. UK"Treat Me Like Somebody" 2014 — — — —Winter's Diary 2: Forever Yours"Lullaby" — — — — "Ratchet Commandments" 2015 — — — — rowspan=2" "Million" 14 38 — — "I Like" — — — — Winter's Diary 3 "Wet Dollars" (featuring Tazer) — — 33 63 "Modern Wave" — — — — Winter's Diary 4 "Different" 2018 — — — — Voicemails "M.I.A" — — — — Pain & Pleasure (EP) "Get You Home" — — — — "Bad Side" 2019 — — — — Voicemails "Fuck Around" — — — —Hopeless Romantic "Cut It Out" 2020 — — — — RIAA: Gold "Bottom Bitch" 2021 — — — — RIAA: Gold A Gift and a Curse "Selfish"(featuring Yung Bleu) 2021 — — — — Heat of the Moment "Rebel"(featuring Jeremih) — — — — "Heat of the Moment" — — — — "Cater"(with 2 Chainz) 2022 — — — — Pillow Talk "Goofy" — — — — "Switch" — — — — "Fake Love" 2023 — — — — Thanks 4 Nothing "Stingy"(with Yung Bleu) — — — — Thanks 4 Nothing and Love Scars II "40x" — — — — rowspan="1" "Charged Up" 2024 — — — — Winter's Diary 5 "Huh" — — — — "Songs About U"(with Summer Walker) — — — — "Insane" 2025 — — — — "Can We Talk?"(featuring Bryson Tiller) — — — — Fuck, Marry, Kill "Emergency" — — — — "GANG"(with G Herbo) 2026 — — — — "Overrated" — — — — "Non Negotiables" — — — — "Bedrock"(featuring Rob49) — — — — "—" denotes a recording that did not chart.
As featured artist + List of singles as featured performer, showing year released and album name Title Year Album "Wanna Party"(Future Brown featuring Tink) 2013 Wanna Party / World's Mine "That Did It"(Sleigh Bells featuring Tink) 2014 "Can't Sleep Love"(Pentatonix featuring Tink) 2015 Pentatonix "Work"(Bekoe featuring Moneydudetazo and Tink) Illanoize "UFO"(Timbaland featuring Future and Tink) rowspan="3" "Rock Steady"(Paris Libretto featuring Tink) "Outta Line"(Jacquees featuring Tink) 2016 "Mine"(G Herbo featuring Tink) 2017 Humble Beast "G.M.O. (Got My Own)" (Mýa featuring Tink) 2018 "Black Men Don't Cheat" (K Camp featuring Ari Lennox, 6lack and Tink) 2020 Kiss Five "So Fine" (Anycia featuring DJ Drama and Tink) 2025
Guest appearances + List of non-single guest appearances, with other performing artists, showing year released and album name Title Year Other performer(s) Album "Temporary" 2015 Saba "Put The Guns Down" R. Kelly Chi-Raq (Soundtrack) "Frenemies" Timbaland, Sy Ari Da Kid King Stays King "Tables Turn" Timbaland, Obsessed "Drama Queen" Timbaland "If He Find Out" Lil Bibby, Jacquees Free Crack 3 "All Falls Down" 2016 Chocolate Droppa Kevin Hart: What Now? (The Mixtape Presents Chocolate Droppa) "Senses" 2017 Mack Wilds AfterHours "Girls Need Love (Girls Mix)" 2023 Summer Walker, Victoria Monét, Tyla
References
External links Official website Tink on Twitter Tink on Facebook