 Arts Alive is teaming up Canadian sensation Tamia and local gal KB next month, in what is bound to be a stirring partnership. CANADIAN R&B sensation Tamia will be performing at the Arts Alive Festival this September, sharing the stage with South Africa's own KB. It will be Tamia's second visit to South Africa; she had a successful tour here in 2005. The two singers will perform at Mary Fitzgerald Square in Newtown on 27 September. Born Tamia Marylin Washington in 1975, Tamia's star started rising when she sang the song, You Put a Move on My Heart, the first single from Quincy Jones's 1994 hit album, Q's Jook Joint. At the time she was nominated for three Grammys - Best Female R&B Vocal Performance for You Put A Move On My Heart; Best R&B Performance by Duo Or Group with Vocal for Slow Jams, which she performed with Babyface; and for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals for her work with Brandy, Gladys Knight and Chaka Khan on the single Missing You. In 1999, she got her fourth Grammy nomination for Spend My Life With You, her duet with Eric Benet. She had already scooped several awards, including the 1993 YTV Youth Achievement Award and the 1994 Steve Ross Music Scholarship as an Honour Youth Delegate at the American Academy of Achievement's 33rd Annual Salute to Excellence. Tamia, who started singing in church as a child and went on to study voice and acting, has performed before a host of dignitaries, including Nelson Mandela, England's Queen Elizabeth, and former Canadian prime minister Brian Mulroney. Describing her 2005 tour of South Africa on her official South African website, Tamia says: "There's nothing like being on stage and having the crowd singing every word of your song. After 10 years as a recording artist, the experience was still very touching. You never know how your music touches people. This experience rejuvenated me." Her new album, Between Friends, created with Shep Crawford and producer Rodney "Darkchild" Jerkins, has been described as "an R&B guide to the beauty and dynamics of relationships". Between Friends was originally released in 2006, but a "revised and expanded" version includes the single Almost, as well as Too Grown For That, Can't Get Enough and Me. On her website, Tamia says music is part of her and of everything she does. She is also involved with charities like Prevent Child Abuse America; Habitat For Humanity; and Multiple Sclerosis (MS) Awareness in Canada. Talented Keabetswe Motsilanyane, known as KB, is expected to hold her own when she shares the stage with Tamia. Her sultry voice and captivating rhythms have won her many fans since she released her first album, Beautiful Vibrations, in 2002. This debut scored her a huge following with hits like O A Lla, Beautiful Vibrations and Life is Good. She went on to win the prestigious Sama for Best R&B Album, and two Metro FM awards for Best R&B Album and Best Newcomer for Beautiful Vibrations. Her second album, Rock Lefatse, garnered KB another two Metro FM awards for Best R&B Album and Best Female Vocalist 2003. In the 2004 Samas she was nominated for Best R&B and Best Video and for the Kora Awards' Best Female in Southern Africa. Her newest album is My Rhythm, featuring the songs Mowa and Moni Fere. Musically, KB has grown and experiments with various styles, fusing Afropop, R&B, Latino and house. She says her music is universal and is guaranteed to appeal to everyone, black, white or pink.
KB sings in her native Setswana and English, although on her new album she also sings in Shona, French, isiXhosa and Sesotho. But she is not only a singer and dancer: KB has starred in the etv production, Backstage, and has appeared in the blockbuster, Ali, alongside American superstar Will Smith. Tamia and KB perform at Mary Fitzgerald Square in Newtown on 27 September as part of the Arts Alive festival. Tickets for the show go for R150 at the door. For more information, contact Bassline on +27 11 838 9145. Related stories: |
