MMIM had the pleasure of interviewing Tamia at her live taping at the Lincoln Theatre on August 10th. The show was absolutely amazing and I must say that after seeing Tamia perform live for the first time I love her even more. This woman is TRULY talented and she completely understands what it means to produce and perform good music. Some of the highlights from her performance included the performance of one my favorite songs from her “Still,” which is an ode to her husband Grant Hill. At the conclusion of the song Grant Hill came out on stage with their oldest daughter and played the piano. Who know that Mr. Hill was musically inclined as well?! It was a beautiful sight to see. Tamia also performed her own version of Love by Musiq Soulchild and Jordin Spark’s No Air giving Ms. Sparks a run for her money.
For the conclusion of the show Tamia paid tribute to the Go-Go heritage as many other artist do when they come to DC. She performed Sardines and Pork & Beans where Grant Hill was on the keyboard and they even had a special appearance by Wink from the Junkyard band. Can you say an amazing night? Check out or brief chat with beautiful songstress Tamia and below and bless us with your comments.
MMIM: Congrats on the taping of your live show. What did you do to prepare?
Tamia: Thanks you. Well a lot goes into preparing a live show and dvd. Working with the band. We have been working together for a couple of years now, so I have been fortunate enough to have the same people in the band that have been very loyal to me. There is a lot that goes into this and a it’s a lot of preparation and a lot of time. A lot of people do not do live albums anymore and I have always loved live albums. The great thing about owning your own record company is that you can wake up with an idea and actually do it. I am fortunate enough to surround myself with people that can who can get it done and help me implement that. Its not just what you see but there is a lot of things that happen behind the scenes from the audio truck out back to tape the show and the band director having to tweak things. It’s a lot of work, but my job is done though. (Laughs)
MMIM: Speaking of the record label. What was your motivation to create it and how long did it take?
Tamia: It has probably been about three years now. My motivation was that the timing was right. I finished my deal with Elektra and I felt like I had learned everything that I needed to learn. It was time for me to control my own calendar as well as my career. I had visions of the type of artist I wanted to be. I knew that I was the type of artist that needed to work with a band, so I did that and I think it was the best decision ever. Was I nervous yes? I was very nervous, It wasn’t like I was gung ho at first… It was more the creative aspect to be able to have control and wake up and say I wanna do a live album and be able to get it done and not have to go through ten thousand people. I am also able to control my own budget. When you work with labels and they spend they money and at the end of the day you get a bill and you are like wait wait wait…, so overall to be in control of my life. I am no longer that seventeen year old that says hey take my calendar.
MMIM: In addition to the record label, what else has been going on with Tamia?
Tamia: My husband and I have several things going on, one of those things is an art collection. We are collectors of African American art. We are also involved with many charities. We have several things that we are doing together that we will talk about soon that we are excited about. Obviously its summer time, so I am fortunate to have my husband and my daughter and my baby can come and hang out with mom and see what mom does while she is working.
MMIM: How do you think the industry has changed since you recorded your first album?
Tamia: Are you kidding me (Laughs) I don’t think you have enough tape for me to tell you how much the industry has changed. One of the biggest things that has changed is when I first started in a contract you would have a six album deal because they figure your first album would be sort of like an introduction and it would take like six albums to establish yourself. Now it’s like you get a single deal. You get one shot like chris rock says here today and gone today and they sign people off of myspace. People who already have a following. That is a great thing about the internet its allowing people to really market themselves and in a certain way not really need the record company to do it. A lot of people are being signed off of their myspace success or whatever. We did not have a huge budget for Between Friends compared to a major record label. A lot of it was word of mouth and myspace promotion. The fans were very passionate about it. That is something that was not around when I was first signed. You couldn’t just click a button and get to millions of you fans right away. We had street teams and now I can click my message directly from me whatever I want my fans to know in 2.2 seconds and that is a huge advantage to an artist.
MMIM: Speaking of your current album Between Friends. What is your favorite track off of that album?
Tamia: My favorite track would probably be Me. I love the song. I love performing it and when I first heard the song I knew it was for me!
MMIM: Who is Tamia listening to on her IPOD
Tamia: Whoa! It depends on what I am doing. If I am working out I like to listen to the new Kanye album that keeps me going. Also there is nothing like watching a little BET and seeing perfect bodies which keeps me on the treadmill for another five minutes that’s about it(Laughs). You know I am all over the place and like all different kinds of music. It depends on what type mood I am. My daughter loves old school like Candy girl so we are all into that now. She starts singing it so the bad thing about a singer is if you a sing a song in front of me I will sing the song for the rest of the day.
MMIM: Is there anything else that you would like our readers to know?
Tamia: Defitnetly if they hear I am coming near them to do a show come see it. I don’t think expect people to see what they see. Earlier on I did not really do a lot of touring. I love performing with a band. We have a lot of fun if you hear I am near you definitely come check me out. I can also be reached on www.myspace.com/therealtamia or tamiaworld.com
