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Tamia Hill (born Tamia Marilyn Washington on May 9, 1975), professionally known as Tamia, is a six-time Grammy Award-nominated Canadian-American recording artist, and record producer.

She is best known for her 2000 hit "Stranger In My House" and Fabolous' 2003 song "Into You", sampling her 1998 song "So Into You", from her debut album. Tamia is married to NBA player Grant Hill of the Phoenix Suns.

Early life

Early music career: 1975–1994

Tamia's mother, Barbara, gave birth to Tamia when she was 17 years old, and raised her daughter in the projects of Ontario, Canada, along with Tamia's three younger brothers, Tiras, Tajhee and Trajan.

Born as Tamia Marilyn Washington in Windsor, Ontario, Canada, she grew up in a poor section of town with her mother and three younger brothers Tiras, Tajhee,and Trajan. Tamia, who has a black 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".

Aside from the music she heard and sang at church, Tamia was exposed to diverse music from an early age by her mother and stepfather, Barbara Washington Peden and Frederic Peden. At the age of 6, she was onstage singing gospel at the local church, honing her musical skills. She enjoys a wide range of music, especially ballads. She told Teen, "I don't care about labels-country music, rock music, it's the way it makes me feel that counts". Ebony Man described Tamia as "Naturally witty, comical, talented … and a bundle of energy". She told CNN's Mark Scheerer "I used to staple two paper plates together and put rice in them to make a tambourine…."

It was not long before the gifted young singer began receiving recognition for her talent. John Vacratsis, director of the arts program at Walkerville Collegiate Institute in Windsor, recruited Tamia to the school when she was in eighth grade. Vacratsis had seen her perform in community musicals, such as Little Shop of Horrors. She made several appearances in local theater and choral concerts before winning Canada's prestigious YTV Vocal Achievement Award in 1993 and the Steve Ross Music Scholarship at the American Academy of Achievement's Annual Salute to Excellence in 1994.

"I was always happy growing up, but I realize now there are some things missing because of my situation. Now that I have a child, I know the importance of having a father in the household."

In early 1995, Tamia recorded her first single, "You Put a Move On My Heart", which was produced by Quincy Jones. The single later appeared on his Q's Jook Joint album. The song itself, went at #12 on the R&B charts and at #98 on the Billboard Hot 100, the single was a success on the R&B charts, and showcased Tamia's early hit.

Tamia and other collaborations (1995–1997)

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", was released in December 1995, which was produced by Quincy Jones, off of his "Q's Jook Joint" album, charted at #98 on the Billboard Hot 100, but became Tamia's first Top 40 hit on the R&B charts, peaking at #12, showcasing her first Top 40 R&B hit. 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. In the second quarter of 1996, Tamia collaborated with American soul singer Gladys Knight, Brandy, and Chaka Khan for the single, "Missing You", which was featured in the 1996 blockbuster film, Set It Off, and released in August of that year, the single peaked at #10 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, and at #25 on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming her first Top 40 single.

Tamia's debut album was released in Canada on April 14, 1997, three weeks later it was released in the United Kingdom on May 11, and in North America the following day. The album became a critical and commercial success, debuting at number two on the Billboard 200 and at number one on the Billboard R&B Albums Chart, selling 145,000 copies in first week sales.

The album also garned Tamia a few Grammy Award nominations, Best R&B Album, Best R&B Song, Best Female R&B Vocal Performance and Best New Artist.

A Nu Day (2000–2001)

On October 24, 2000 Tamia released her second album, A Nu Day. The album debuted at number forty-six on the Billboard 200 and number eight on the Top R&b/Hip-Hop Albums Chart. On June 4, 2001, A Nu Day, was certified gold by the RIAA. A Nu Day is Tamia's best selling album to date.

The first single from A Nu Day was "Can't Go for That" which was written by Missy Elliott. The single peaked at #84 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number twenty-three on the R&B chart.

The second single from A Nu Day was the hit "Stranger in My House". The single went to number ten on the Billboard Hot 100, number three on the Billboard R&B chart and to number one for 10 weeks on the Billboard Hot Dance chart. "Stranger In My House" still remains Tamia's biggest hit to date.

The third and final single from A Nu Day was "Tell Me Who". Although the single missed the Hot 100, it managed to reach #63 on the R&B chart and peaked at #2 on the Billboard Hot Dance chart.

More (2003–2004)

Tamia released her third studio album, More on April 6, 2004 in the United States. The album debuted at number seventeen on the Billboard 200 and at number four on the Billboard R&B Albums Chart. The album was certified Gold by the RIAA, for shipping over one million units in North America.

The lead single "Into You", which is a collaboration with rapper Fabolous, sampled the chorus from Tamia's "So Into You", a song from her self-titled debut album. The song soared to #4 on the Hot 100 and to #1 on the Billboard R&B chart.

The second single, called "Officially Missing You", peaked at #83 on the Billboard Hot 100, and #31 on the R&B chart.

The third single, "Questions", missed the Hot 100, but managed to climb to #40 on the R&B charts.

The fourth and final single, "Still", peaked at #83 on the R&B chart and #34 on the Billboard Hot Dance chart.

Split from Elektra Records and Between Friends

In 2005, Tamia split from Elektra Records.

On May 15, 2006 Tamia released Between Friends on South African independent label Gallo Records; on November 14, 2006 it was released in the US. The album has three tracks produced by Rodney "Darkchild" Jerkins; the rest is produced by Shep Crawford. The album peaked at number 66 on the Billboard 200 and number nine on the Billboard Top R&B albums chart. Although none of the singles released made the Hot 100, Between Friends has sold more than 350,000 copies in the United States, 120,000 in South Africa, and more than 800,000 worldwide^{citation needed} to date.

The first single off Between Friends, "Can't Get Enough", peaked at #26 on Billboard's R&B chart.

The second single, "Me", which was written by Shep Crawford (who wrote "Stranger In My House"), also reached the Top 30 of the R&B chart and peaked at #29.

On October 27, 2007, Tamia re-released her album Between Friends entitled A Gift Between Friends. The album also contains a few Christmas songs.

Shortly after the re-release of the album, Tamia released the third single, "Almost", which peaked at #59 on the US R&B chart in early 2008.

Live album

On her 2008 Summer Soul Concert Series tour, Tamia recorded her Sunday 10 August 2008 performance at the Lincoln Theatre (Washington, D.C.) ¹. The recorded performance is planned to be released as a live CD album, along with the DVD. Both were slated for release on 2 December 2008, but have been pushed back several times. As of September 2009, it has not been released. The live album, called Live in Washington, DC, will include 3 new tracks.².

The Queen Project

It was announced in September 2009 that Deborah Cox, Kelly Price and her have formed a supergroup, The Queen Project. Tamia's longtime collaborator, Shep Crawford, who has also produced Cox's "Nobody's Supposed to Be Here" and Price's "As We Lay" will be the main collaborator for the project. The women have made it clear that they seek to empower other women with this project. Their collaboration will not be limited to the studio. They also plan to do a number of community service projects. The first single is to be released this fall with an album early 2010.

Greatest Hits

Tamia released her greatest hits in South Africa on 2 November 2009. It includes a bonus DVD.³

Discography

Albums

• 1998: Tamia
• 2000: A Nu Day
• 2004: More
• 2006: Between Friends
• 2009: Greatest Hits

Tours

• 2004, Verizon Ladies First Tour
• 2005, South Africa Tour
• 2005, Ladies In Soul Concert
• 2006 - 2007, Between Friends Tour
• 2008, Summer Soul Concert Series Tour
• 2008 September, Johannesburg Arts Alive, South Africa
• 2009, Summer Soul Concert Series Tour
• 2009, The Queen Project

Awards and nominations

Grammy Awards

• 1997, Best New R&B Female Artist(Nominated)
• 1997, Best Female R&B Vocal Performance: "You Put a Move On My Heart" (Nominated)
• 1997, Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group: "Slow Jams" (Nominated)
• 1997, Best Pop Collaboration w/ Vocals: "Missing You" (Nominated)
• 2000, Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group: "Spend My Life with You" (Nominated)

Juno Awards

• 1999, Best New Solo Artist (Nominated)
• 1999, Best R&B/Soul Recording: "Tamia" (Nominated)
• 2001, Best R&B/Soul Recording: "A Nu Day" (Nominated)
• 2005, R&B/Soul Recording of the Year: "More" (Nominated)
• 2007, R&B/Soul Recording of the Year: "Between Friends" (Nominated)

See also

• List of number-one dance hits (United States)
• List of artists who reached number one on the U.S. Dance chart
• List of people with multiple sclerosis

External links

Official

• Official site
• Official South African site
• Tamia at MySpace
• Tamia at the Internet Movie Database

#1 Fansite

• Tamia Fans

Interviews

• Interview with Al Sharpton on AskDoctorV.com (April 25, 2007)

References