The 19-year-old Chicago native has been making splashes for a while now, splashes that include five mixtapes; two of which are Winter’s Diary 1 & 2. However, the “Ratchet Commandments” artist is really causing the noise with the big guy in charge, Timbaland. It’s time to make even bigger moves.

During a sit-down with NY Mag, Tink talks being a feminist artist and the influence that Nicki Minaj – another female rapper of course – had on her when choosing to rap.

Check it out after the jump.

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Tink, who is an avid listener of country music, admits that she is a hardcore feminist, and that up until five or so years ago, many people were clueless on the term’s definition. Because men were the dominant gender, “It was abnormal for us females to be treated like we were equal,” Tink says. “So this generation, the times we’re in right now, you’re seeing a lot of feminists just rising up. People are actually starting to hear us for what we’re worth and treat us as equals,” she adds.

With female traits being the topic, Tink opens up about why she’s a fan of Nicki Minaj and how she influenced her. “When Nicki was putting out mixtapes, she was the only female rapper that had any kind of buzz,” she says. Because guys and girls were loving Nick at the same time, and being the only female out, it became an inspiration for Tink. “I’ll be honest with you, before I heard Nicki rapping, I probably wouldn’t have thought to rap myself.”

More of the interview down bottom.

How was your recording process different when you were making mixtapes?
Before I was working with Timbaland, I was basically producing myself. I would have to email and tweet producers, like, “Could you please send me some beats? I’m in the studio.” Or sometimes I’d even get on YouTube and find some basic instrumentals to work with. But working with Timbaland is the total opposite. He’s helped out a whole lot.

When you were recording your own stuff, you were constantly putting out new music to your followers on social media. Is it a challenge not to be able to share this album immediately with your fans?
That’s hard for me. I had to really buckle down on that. Last year, when we first started working on the album, I didn’t really understand. Because I was independent for such a long time, and I was always just feeding my fans — every month, I’d be giving them something new. So I had to adjust to the process of making a record. And after signing with a label, there are just certain things you can’t do anymore. It was frustrating at first, but as the months went by I got used to it.