In a small factory town in Western Ontario, in the midst of simplicity, Tamia felt that being on the cuff of the American border counteracted the stereotypes of living in what some still view as no man’s land. She took advantage of U.S. cable television and radio stations which kept her educated and informed about African American culture. Her town, she says, is multi-cultural with a generous amount of ethnic mixtures. Having a black mother and white father never caused her to feel isolated or despondent from her African-Canadian roots. She states that she’s “had the best of both worlds”, and laughs at the fact that she’s related to most of the black people in Windsor. She holds no scars about being bi-racial in a passionately racist society. “When you’re a child, you get teased. If you’re beautiful, have a small nose or big nose, they tease you. To me, it (being of mixed ancestry) was just a part of growing up. My family comes in all shades from really light to very dark.”

Making the transition from a slow-paced laid-back environment to fast-paced Los Angeles was both exhilarating and anxiety ridden. The cultural swerve flooded her mind and demanded that she analyze what she was doing and what she hoped to accomplish with her career. At the age of 10, Tamia began studying voice and singing. Similarly, like many of her American colleagues, her church choir matured the voice that was then in its infantile stages of development...one we would grow to recognize. Locally, she would shine in theatrical and choral productions. She moved swiftly in the industry determined to make her hard work pay off. She was granted a YTV Vocal Achievement Award in 1993 and the Steve Ross Music Scholarship at the American Academy of Achievements Annual Salute to Excellence in 1994. In addition to harvesting the smooth voice that we first heard on Quincy Jones’ Jook Joint, Tamia equates her ‘luck’ to being at the right place at the right time. “I was doing a lot of things in Canada and I received an award in Las Vegas for some of the work I had done. It was a gold plate dinner and there were celebrities there, Quincy Jones was one of them. He introduced me and I sang. Afterwards, he told me had had one last song on his album that he wanted me to do for him.” This would push Tamia through the threshold into a realm of semi- stardom. Instantaneously, she was whisked out to L.A. and prompted to sing the song, “You Put A Move On My Heart”. In hindsight, she knew that she was being granted a once in a lifetime opportunity.

As said by few, Tamia’s overtly obvious physical advantages are the only reason she lives lavishly in L.A., but for this honey-coated young girl whose smile brandishes innocence, working with world-renowned established producers was incredibly overwhelming. She wasn’t brought to California to sit on a pedestal and look cute. She was put to work immediately with great expectations. “I was so nervous. I mean, can you imagine being nineteen and looking out of the vocal booth at Quincy Jones and Ron Temperton? I sang all of “You Put A Move On My Heart” in the dark. He (Jones) came back a week later and was like, ”this is going to be your first sings, we’re going on tour”. I came to Los Angeles in a pair of jeans and a T-shirt and never left.”

Tamia does not recommend that aspiring artists at any level just pack their bags and move. The ‘dollar and dream’ method is a tough wager. So stands true for the music industry. Often times actors, models and singers are lured by the media images of glitz and glamour. Many men and woman have horror stories of betrayal, theft and unsolicited sex. Tamia’s encounters on the dark side of the business are, “some things I don’t even want to talk about”. On the receptiveness of Americans about being a Canadian female in the industry, she doesn’t recall being disrespected in any way. Fortunately for her, she had the liberty of staying with her manager, Brenda Richie. She said her mother never would have let her stay otherwise. The eldest and only sister of three brothers, Tamia’s family will always be the most important thing to her. She flies home twice a month. “My family is young (her brothers are nine months, seven and fourteen-years-old) and I miss them. That’s the hardest part about being in the music business, at least for me, being away from my family because they’re in a whole different country.”

One might think that in the light of attending numerous awards shows, being the lady friend of Detroit Pistons, Grant Hill (of whom she’s been dating for two years this month) and singing alongside legendary names such as Gladys Knight and Chaka Khan in “Missing You”, a feature on the Set It Off soundtrack, landing a small part in the movie Speed 2, Tamia would have long since forgotten about her native homeland. Quite the contrary. “I love Canada. I love Windsor myself. I love going back home.” In the future she may even consider moving back home. So where has she been for the last few years? Sure, we’ve watched as her single rose to the top ten on the Billboard Charts, stood by as she received her first Grammy nominations, her second and yet a third. Huh? Tamia’s name glittered at the Soul Train Music Awards and the NAACP Image Awards where she basked in nominations. All of this notoriety and we wondered when she would release an entire album of her own.

Now, after much anticipation, Tamia’s self titled debut album is ready to hit the streets this month. Big names with big portfolios have assisted in the completion of this project. Quincy Jones, Daryl Simmons, Keith Crouch and the infamous Jermaine Dupri to name a few. Working with each of these musical gurus enabled her to retrieve the depths of intensity she needed to be happy with the finished product. Each producer used different methods. “With Jermaine you go on the weekend and party Friday, Saturday and Sunday with six hours left to do the song and you do it. I think that’s why he’s good at getting a special something out of artists because he takes time to get to know them; so when he goes into the studio and writes the song it’s tailor-made for them.” One of the few close friends Tamia keeps is Mario Winans, whom she says has great skills and a good heart. She enjoyed having his input and hopes to work with him in the future. Tamia says she was fortunate because they allowed her to express her creativity throughout the album.

She knows that people have been wondering why it took her so long. “Everything happened so quickly. I went from not having a deal to doing a song on Quincy Jones’ album, getting a deal and going on the road. When all that was said and done, I really had to sit back and think, who am I as an artist? It took me a while to figure all of that out, assess my own situation. It was cool because I got to sit back and learn a lot of things.” Tamia expresses that each song is an extension of who she is and the different emotions she has experienced. “I just want people to see that being a teenager and coming into womanhood involves drama, but God never gives you more than you can handle”.