FEATURE:
Spotlight
I want to include in Spotlight in the coming weeks. If you look back at most of the recent editions, you will notice the majority of artists are women. I think that is because a lot of the most compelling music is being made by them – though I will include more men and male bands in future parts. Even though Tamera is not brand-new off of the block, she is a rising artist who is making some incredible music. Although she appeared on The X Factor back in 2013, Tamera has defied any expectations and stereotypes one would associate with talent show contestants. She is a young artist who is primed to do big things! I want to source a few interviews where we get to know from the London-based, Kent-born treasure. I shall come to 2021 interviews soon. Before that, PRS for MUSIC spotlighted a fascinating rising talent last year:
“Following on from her debut single Romeo and follow up Don’t Phone, Kent-born artist Tamera has released her third and most impressive offering yet, Flipside.
Speaking on the track, Tamera says: ‘Flipside is about having no energy to deal with relationship woes, reclining into procrastination and setting everything aside to deal with tomorrow, or else you might hurt someone’s feelings with an aggravated tongue.’
2020 will see the release of Tamera’s highly anticipated debut EP, so now’s the time to get to know her a bit better.
Read all about her.
Who?
Tamera.
What?
A rising R&B songstress with impeccable, sultry vocals who must not be slept on.
From where?
Gravesend, Kent.
What’s the story?
One of the UK’s most breathtaking new talents, Tamera’s her incredible vocal ability and penchant for relatable lyrics about life, love, finding her place in the world has earned her early fans across the board.
Tamera only has a handful of releases under her belt but has already been championed by tastemakers like Giles Peterson and DJ Target. Back in March, she played a sold-out debut performance show for Annie Mac Presents alongside Joy Crookes.
Sounds like?
Silky, seventies, neo-soul.
Predicted to?
Drop one of the smoothest EP’s of 2020.
Must hear?
Her latest single Flipside. Tune in below”.
There are a few, great more recent interviews that proudly highlight the talents and huge promise of Tamera. CHECK-OUT had a deep conversation for an artist who has a huge online following, yet her music is perhaps not as widely-known as it will be very soon:
“Tamera, hailing from Kent but having relocated to London four years ago, is one of the many hot new musical acts to hit our radar over the past few months. Applauded for her seductive R&B beats and teasing lyrics, Tamera’s music truly can transport you somewhere tranquil; her track Wickedest just makes you want to hop in a hammock and sway your troubles away. “Your secret's safe if I say so,” she practically coos in our ears.
Phoebe Shardlow: Do you remember the first song you ever made?
Tamera: Oh my god! I actually do, which is wild. I was probably around 17 and just got signed to a major label and they told me ‘first of all we’re getting you in the studio so you can start writing’. I’d never been in a studio before, it was all so exciting to me - so I went to my best friend’s house and I was like ‘okay babes you’ve got to help me write some songs before I go’. We get a YouTube beat and start writing a song that is so silly; all about waking up in some fresh new Jordans and it’s a sunny day and living every day like it’s my birthday. Looking back it’s so silly but we had so much fun trying to get there and it’s made me realise how far I’ve come.
PS: It’s totally different from where you are now.
Tamera: 100% completely different. I don’t think I knew what kind of artist I wanted to be either. I did what I thought I should, what a good song should be. Eventually, I realised you have to dig deeper and draw things out from yourself, instead of looking from the outside”.
PS: Who have been some of your greatest musical influences?
Tamera: Ooh! That’s a tough one, I listen to so many different things. I’d say that more recently I’ve been listening to a lot of Drake and KENDRICK LAMAR. I love to study rappers and the way they place their cadences and their flows. They get a lot more out of a song and in turn, are often way more creative with how they get it all out. I think it’s so fascinating, especially Drake with the punchlines, I mean that dude has been consistently giving us punchlines over the last decade.
Tamera insists to me that outside the studio she’s actually quite boring, but with such an impressive body of work being inspired by her life experiences, I sincerely doubt that. But she’s a woman of comfort and simple pleasures, I can confirm. She cherishes long baths and catching up on Love Island - I ask her what she thought of the final, did she think Choby was robbed? But Tamera is pleased for Millie and Liam and thinks the right couple won. Reality TV aside, I truly digressed here, what does the future hold for Tamera? She tells me of hopes for some music in the charts, a tour and how she’d really like to own a house.
PHOTO CREDIT: Morgann Eve Russell
PS: Let’s say you have the most extravagant world tour ever and you could get any designer to do the clothes - who would it be?
Tamera: There’s this London designer called Mia, her label is called MYAEMADE. She’s lit, very lit.
PS: We’re gonna have to find her for Check-Out! And if you could perform anywhere, where?
Tamera: The Royal Albert Hall, it’s so beautiful.
PS: Could you ever imagine yourself doing anything other than music?
Tamera: I feel like if I wasn’t in music and I wasn’t an artist the only other thing I could imagine myself doing and being passionate about is some kind of a writer.
As the world begins to open up again, Tamera can’t wait to meet you all. With new songs on the horizon, the singer tells me how hungry she is to get up on stage again - her first and only live show was back in early 2020. But speaking of hunger, it’s time for a classic Phoebe Shardlow question…
PS: You can invite three people, dead or alive, to dinner - who are they?
Tamera: Whitney Houston, Prince, and Amy Winehouse”.
One of her best tracks to date is Strong for Me. It is a song that everyone should listen to (as they should to the rest of her catalogue!). PAPER wrote about the incredible track back in August:
“UK artist Tamera's new track is sure to have fans consciously uncoupling from their toxic relationships. Out today, "Strong For Me" asks hard questions and ultimately comes to equally difficult conclusions, making sure the listener feels every bit of the heartbreak.
Though understandably hurt and angry with a seemingly apathetic partner, Tamera focuses on the moment of calm clarity in "Strong For Me," as opposed to the feud and fallout. "I'm so tired of being the only one to fight," she sings. Tamera is waving the white flag, realizing that there's more strength in her ability is to walk away than in her attempts to win the match.
Speaking exclusively with PAPER, Tamera revealed how the song came to life. "I could only write this song when I had reached a place of strength," she said. "It took a lot of strength to confess my faults so openly or even to become aware of them."
She continued, "Giving your love so generously and freely only to have ugliness returned really can break someone and cause them to be a colder person to the people that genuinely do love them and that's what this song is about."
Of course, finding the strength to move on doesn't come without its emotional battles and in the accompanying video, Tamera brings the metaphorical emotional pendulum to life. On one side, she's the peaceful lover, surrounded by butterflies and performing sweetly for the camera. When the frame cuts, she's dressed in dark clothing, sipping something to control the pain — breaking down.
"I wanted to capture the feeling of being emotionally exhausted and how that can push us into self-isolating and self-medicating in a desperate attempt to grasp onto happiness," she said.
"Strong For Me" is just Tamera's latest in a long string of successes over the past few years. Last year, her breakout single "Flipside" garnered her acclaim across the internet and led to Amazon Music UK naming her "One To Watch," alongside Bree Runway and Ivorian Doll, while this summer's release of "Wickedest" has garnered over a million streams — surpassing her previous hits”.
There is a lot more I could write about the amazing Tamera! With so many interesting and original women pushing through and releasing such phenomenal music, it is a pleasure to write about artists like Tamera! I will end with a recent interview. A new series, Young Gifted And Black: Women In Music x YouTube Music, was launched for Black History Month this month. Tamera is the last name to be featured. It is interesting reading the Music Week conversation, as you can hear the tangible sense of joy and positivity that emanates from an artist who has so many great years ahead:
“Singer and songwriter Tamera is really excited about the next phase of her career.
“I'm ready for music now. I’m about to release my first EP, which is insane, and I sold out my first headline show last week, like what the heck is going on?”
It’s not surprising that she is so amped. All of this has been a long time coming for the 26-year-old from Gravesend, who first came to the public’s attention in 2013 as a 16-year contestant on the X Factor.
Last year, Tamera had to put things on pause for a bit due to the pandemic. But she is now back in business and along with some upcoming live shows, she is gearing up to release an EP, her first project.
“These are songs I've been working on over the last year and a bit,” she says. “There's going be visuals to all of them, which I'm super excited about. I've already started the next project as well, so there's going to be a whole lot more new music to come.”
Tamera is also one of the 132 black creators and artists being championed by #YouTubeBlack Voices program.
“YouTube are doing an amazing thing with Black Voices,” she says, “supporting Black artists, producers and writers in the industry, helping to give them a voice and putting them on to different opportunities.”
So, it’s clear that great things are on the horizon for Tamera and although she’s been a part of the industry for a few years now, she is just getting started.
How did you start with music?
“I always loved singing. I always loved the creative side of life. So, I used to draw a lot and paint a little bit more seriously when I got into my teens. I will never forget; I had a descriptive writing English lesson in primary school, and I think I was in year three or something, quite early on. My teacher put up a picture of an old Grecian town with a well. She said: ‘just describe what you think you would hear, smell, see if you were standing there in the middle of the picture’, and it really made me think about writing and, you know, creating pictures in people's heads with words. And that really fascinated me. So that really got me into writing. And I started writing short stories and poems and stuff like that. I did try and write songs when I was young. But you know, I don't think I'd lived that much, so I didn't have much perspective.”
Some people may have first heard of you from your time as a contestant on the X Factor back in 2013, what was that experience like?
“I get so red when people mention it (laughs). But I will say that it was an incredible opportunity, and I’ve learned so much. But when I think back to that little chubby baby that I was then, I was only 16 at the time and I had planned to go to performing arts college. Then I got through to the live shows of the X Factor in my second week of college. I was a bit conflicted about whether to stay at college or go on the show, so I spoke to my teacher, and he was like: ‘You're going to get so much experience in the music industry going on the show, and that's what you're going to college for. So, if you just document everything you're doing we can grade you on it.’ So that was amazing!”
And have you experienced many challenges due to being a woman, or a Black woman in the music industry?
“I try not to pay attention. You know, I feel like there's so many negative things that can happen to us as human beings. We have to deal with a lot. This world in 2021 is very crazy, so I find it easier if I just focus and have tunnel vision. That's why it's been super important for me to find a good team because it's not like something that I want to change too often. I really want to have the same people around like a solid unit.”
What are you most excited about moving forward with your career?
“I’m most excited about performing just because when I started releasing my music at the end of 2019, and at the start of 2020, I was supposed to performing a lot, doing shows, and touring, but then obviously Covid-19 hit, and no one could go outside. So, I didn't do any shows last year at all. I've only just started getting back into it about a month ago, so I'm really excited to perform more and meet people that have been supporting me and see their reaction”.
Going forward, we are going to hear and see a lot more from one of our brightest young talents. Her popularity on social media is not because of hype or anything shallow. Instead, it is raw talent and music that has resonated with so many. If you have not heard Tamera, then go and check her out (links are at the bottom) and dive into her music. I am not sure whether there is an album or tour dates later this year. There is definitely going to be demand for more songs. I discovered her fairly recently but, ever since, I have been spinning her tracks and falling for them! She is someone I predict great things for. Do ensure that Tamera is part of your…
REGULAR rotation.
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Follow Tamera
