Tamia
| Tamia | |
|---|---|
| Born |
Tamia Marilyn Washington May 9, 1975 Windsor, Ontario, Canada |
| Occupation | Singer, songwriter |
| Spouse(s) | Grant Hill |
| Musical career | |
| Genres | R&B, soul, hip hop soul, pop, gospel |
| Instruments | Vocals |
| Years active | 1995–present |
| Labels |
Qwest / Warner Bros. (1995–99) Elektra (2000–05) Plus 1 (2006–present) Def Jam (2014–present) |
| Website | TamiaWorld.com |
Tamia Marilyn Hill (born May 9, 1975), known professionally as Tamia, is a Canadian singer-songwriter. She is best known for her first Top 40 hit on the R&B charts "You Put a Move on My Heart", her 2001 hit "Stranger in My House", Fabolous' 2003 hit "Into You" (which samples her 1998 song "So into You"), her 2006 hit "Me", and her 2012 hit "Beautiful Surprise". With a career spanning over two decades, she has garnered six career Grammy nominations for her musical work.
Tamia Marilyn Hill (née Washington) was born and raised in Windsor, Ontario with her mother Barbara, and three younger brothers Tiras, Tajhee, and Trajan. Aside from the music she heard and sang at church, Tamia was exposed to diverse music from an early age by her mother. Singing was always her passion. As early as age six, she was on stage singing at the local church, and by age 12, had already been involved in several musicals which helped hone her musical skills.
Tamia studied piano and voice with renowned Windsor musician, Eugene Davis, who was also instrumental in encouraging her to pursue her vocal passion. It was not long before the gifted young singer began receiving recognition for her talent. Her mother and Godmother decided that the arts program at Walkerville Collegiate Institute in Windsor would best suit Tamia's musical talent.
Along with attending high school at Walkerville, she made several appearances in local theater and choral concerts before winning Canada's prestigious YTV Vocal Achievement Award in 1993. Tamia, who has an African American mother and a white father, told Mic Check that she "had the best of both worlds," and added "that she's related to most of the black people in Windsor…. My family comes in all shades from really light to very dark."
In early-to-mid 1995, Tamia began recording her eponymous debut album, with production from the likes of Mario Winans, Jermaine Dupri, Tim & Bob, as well as additional help from Quincy Jones. The album's first single, "You Put a Move On My Heart", a cover of the 1993 song by British singer Mica Paris, was released on December 2, 1995, which was produced by Quincy Jones, off of his Q's Jook Joint album, charted at number 98 on the Billboard Hot 100, and became Tamia's first Top 40 hit on the R&B charts, peaking at #12. Another single, "Slow Jams" which was co-written by American singer-songwriter Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds, features Barry White, and Babyface himself. The single also appeared on Q's Jook Joint, and appeared at #68 on the Billboard Hot 100 and at #19 on the R&B charts, becoming her second Top 40 R&B hit.
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