Tamia

Tamia Washington-Hill was born in 1975 in Ontario, Canada. At the age of six, she began singing in church and by ten, had signed up to take vocal lessons. She aspired to be a vocal coach but during a chance trip to Los Angeles, Tamia caught the attention of Brenda Richie.

In 1995, Tamia did vocals for Quincy Jones' 'You Put A Move On My Heart' from his Q's Jook Joint album. As a single from the album, it performed well and was even nominated for a Grammy. She had her second nomination for a Grammy after appearing on the track 'Missing You' from the Set It Off Soundtrack with Brandy, Chaka Khan and Gladys Knight.

With the strength of two solid singles on other artists' albums, Tamia finally released her own self-titled debut album in 1998. The album had two solid singles with 'So Into You' reaching #7 on the R&B charts and the Jermaine Dupri produced 'Imagination' which reached #12.

Between her first and second albums, Tamia was introduced to then-Detroit Pistons player basketball player Grant Hill through Anita Baker. The two married in 1996 and in 2002, they had their first child.

A Nu Day, Tamia's second album, was released in 2000. It is her most popular album to date, going gold and featuring her most popular single to date. The track 'Stranger In My House' reached #3 on the R&B charts and #10 on the Hot 100. The album had further success on the Dance charts but failed to have another solid single besides.

Trouble struck as Tamia geared up to release her third album, Still in 2003. The album received a name change, becoming More, and Tamia was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. When it finally was released in 2004, the album had three singles, none of which performed tremendously well.

In 2005, Tamia left Atlantic Records and released an album Between Friends via the South African independent label Gallo Records in mid-2006. The album is expected to be released in the United States in November 2006.