Hip-hop modified the course of Tim Hinshaw’s life in additional methods than one as defined in the music government’s new profile in partnership with Billboard and INFINITI.

As an honoree of the 2024 R&B/Hip-Hop Power Players checklist and our 2022 Executive of the Year, the Compton native opened up about his household, humble beginnings, and relationship with hip-hop. “One of my best memories as a kid was my first road trip. My dad had the INFINITI Q45. He loved that car. It had gold BBS’s. It was like my first introduction to a luxury vehicle.” Hinshaw admitted in his interview in entrance of the all-new 2025 INFINITI QX80.

“I grew up on the west side of Compton. I could find a CD and what they were saying on the songs was stuff I was going through in my everyday life. It was almost like a therapy session.” Hinshaw, the former Head of Hip-Hop & R&B for Amazon Music, has skilled his share {of professional} hurdles. In truth, a few of his earliest recollections of the music trade concerned a number of accounts of rejection. “I just don’t accept ‘no’ and I think that’s just about how I came up,” he recalled. “I’ve seen my mom make her way around so many different ‘no’ situations, so you can’t tell me ‘no.’” Fast ahead to 2023 and Hinshaw launched his personal inventive company, Free Lunch. “I’ve always had a unique way of bridging culture and corporate. That is my superpower,” he admitted.

As a tastemaker in the trade, the exec admitted the automobile is his perfect setting to press play and switch the quantity up. “The car test is the most important test, I think. I can’t really give an opinion until I hear it in the car,” he mentioned.

While the INFINITI QX80 boasts a spread of options good for a street journey for eight, Hinshaw has his personal relationship with the idea of luxurious. “I’m a simple person. Being able to wake up with my kids, take them to school and having premium sound while driving, that’s luxury,” he informed us.

Regarding his recommendation to of us hoping to make a mark on the trade, Hinshaw mentioned all of it boils all the way down to redefining your self. “You gotta tinker with yourself every day from a personal standpoint, from a career development standpoint, from a money management standpoint. You really have to take the time and effort to pick yourself apart and put yourself back together,” he defined.

Click right here for the newest bulletins on Hinshaw’s Free Lunch company.

Photo: Rashida Zagon

Photo: Rashida Zagon