Tamia
Tamia Marilyn Washington Hill (born May 9, 1975) is a Canadian singer and songwriter. Born and raised in Windsor, Ontario, Tamia performed in various singing and dancing competitions as a child. In 1994, after signing a development deal with Warner Bros. Records, she was asked by veteran producer Quincy Jones to appear on his album Q's Jook Joint (1995), earning her Grammy Award nominations for their collaboration on "You Put a Move on My Heart" and "Slow Jams".[1] Her self-titled debut album was released in 1998 and followed by a series of successful albums with Elektra Records, including A Nu Day (2000) and More (2004). Several songs from these albums became hit singles on the pop and R&B record charts, including "So Into You", "Stranger in My House", and "Imagination", as well as her collaborations "Into You", "Missing You", and "Spend My Life with You".
For other uses, see Tamia (disambiguation).
Tamia
- Singer
- songwriter
- record producer
1994–present
2
Since her departure from Elektra, Tamia has released most of her projects independently on her own label Plus One Music Group, through ventures with Def Jam Recordings, eOne Music, and others. In 2015, her sixth album Love Life debuted and peaked at number two on Billboard's Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums, becoming her highest-charting album on the chart. A NAACP Image Award recipient for her work with singer Eric Benét, Tamia is a six-time Grammy Award nominee and has been nominated for numerous other awards and accolades, including a Soul Train Music Award, a Source Award, and four Juno Awards. She has been married to former basketball player Grant Hill since 1999; they have two daughters. Diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2003, Tamia is an advocate for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society (NMSS) on behalf of others affected by the disease.
Early life[edit]
Tamia Marilyn Washington was born on May 9, 1975, in Windsor, Ontario. The only daughter of a White father and Black mother, Barbara Washington-Peden, she has three younger brothers named Tiras, Tajhee, and Trajan.[2] Washington-Peden gave birth to Tamia when she was 17 years old and raised her children as a single mom.[3] Aside from the music she heard and sang at church, Tamia was exposed to diverse music from an early age by her mother. 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.[2] Tamia studied piano and voice with renowned Windsor musician, Eugene Davis, who was also instrumental in encouraging her to pursue her vocal talent.[3] It was not long before she was able to develop her skills in the Walkerville Centre for Creative Arts program for visual and performing arts students, introduced at Walkerville Collegiate Institute in Windsor.[3]
Along with attending high school at Walkerville, she made several appearances in local theater and choral concerts before winning Canada's prestigious YTV Achievement Award for vocal performance in 1993.[2] In 1994, Tamia performed at a multiple sclerosis benefit in Aspen, Colorado, when she met music manager, Lionel Richie's ex-wife Brenda, who was cosponsoring the event and introduced herself to Tamia after the show.[1] A few months later, Tamia, who was being courted by Warner Bros. Records at the time, called Richie to say that she was coming to Los Angeles, California, for a photo session, resulting in her lasting stay and a management deal with Richie.[1] Weeks later, Richie arranged for her to perform at a star-studded party that she held for singer Luther Vandross.[1] Her performance reportedly impressed all in attendance, including veteran producer Quincy Jones, who took notice and later offered her the chance to appear on his album Q's Jook Joint (1995).[1]
Personal life[edit]
Singer Anita Baker introduced Tamia to American basketball player Grant Hill through a blind date in Detroit, Michigan, in 1996.[42] After a courtship of about three years, the pair eventually married on July 24, 1999, in a private reception in Battle Creek.[43] The ceremony was officiated by Rev. John H. Grant, Hill's cousin, and attended by 250 guests.[43] The couple initially resided in Detroit,[43] but later relocated to Orlando when Hill left the Detroit Pistons to sign with the Orlando Magic team.[3] Their first daughter, Myla Grace, was born on January 23, 2002.[43] Their second daughter, Lael Rose Hill, was born on August 9, 2007.[42]
In 2003, amid the recording of her third album More, doctors at Duke University Hospital in Durham, North Carolina, diagnosed Tamia with multiple sclerosis, a demyelinating disease in which the insulating covers of nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord are damaged,[44] after she had been experiencing mystifying bouts of fatigue and numbness in her hands, feet, and legs.[45] While the music project was indefinitely bumped from its original August 2003 schedule, she went into subsequent treatment, using corticosteroids to help delay the onset of more severe symptoms.[42] Diagnosed early, the illness has since been in remission though she has occasional but controllable symptoms.[3]
Media related to Tamia at Wikimedia Commons