As well as new music, Tinashe has continued to use her platform to spread awareness of LGBTQ+ causes. Alongside stars such as Taye Diggs and Rafael De La Fuente, the singer has partnered with ViiV Healthcare for the second instalment of ‘Me in You, You in Me’, a campaign aiming to normalise open and honest conversations about HIV within Black and Brown communities, “two communities that are underrepresented in terms of communication around HIV and HIV prevention”. 

Here, we chat with Tinashe about the trailblazing campaign, the importance of allyship and the “experimental” direction of her new music. 

Tinashe, before we chat about the new music, let’s discuss your incredible new campaign ‘Me in You, You in Me’. Why was it important for you to be involved?

During Pride Month, I thought it would be really smart and positive for me to be involved in something that could help spread awareness about HIV and sexual health. It also started during Women’s Month, so it was rolling in between Women’s Month and Pride Month, which are two communities that are underrepresented in terms of communication around HIV and HIV prevention. So, I thought that it would be really positive to become a part of it. And so far, it’s been a really great experience.

The campaign focuses on marginalised communities that are disproportionately affected by HIV, such as Black and Brown people and trans people. What have you learned about the stigmas that are most prevalent in those communities?

I was always aware of the stigmas, but not necessarily aware of the statistics. They’re extremely shocking, like one in two, one in four. That was jarring and really upsetting to hear. The stigma is probably what leads to these numbers being so high, because people aren’t having conversations about it. They aren’t talking about it, getting tested, or working towards prevention the way that they should. The biggest thing that I’ve learned is that there’s a chain reaction to stigmatisation and not being able to discuss these things. And people know that you can live with it now, so potentially aren’t taking it as seriously. They’re also assuming that it’s a thing of the past or that it doesn’t affect them in their particular community, and that’s just not true. It’s important to continue to be aware and to learn these statistics.

A lot of cis-het people still think that HIV has no impact on their lives, so how important are campaigns such as this that raise awareness of how HIV affects everyone?

It’s important to spread this message further into separate little niches of communities. Black women are another group of people that are statistically the highest raising population of contracting HIV right now. We also have to be very mindful and aware to have these discussions, to get rid of the stigma so people can actually go in and get tested.