She Beats the Odds
he word “resilience” well describes Shirazette Tinnin’s life and career. During the course of her 41 years, the drummer, whose latest album was released at the onset of the pandemic, has faced plenty of setbacks—physical, emotional, and economic—yet she has persevered. Perhaps some of her indomitable toughness can be traced to her background as an athlete. Born and raised in a small town called Pleasant Grove, near Burlington, North Carolina, Tinnin began playing basketball when she was nine, won a weightlifting competition in her teens, and eventually received a hoops scholarship to Appalachian State, where she majored in music performance
