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Tamar Braxton
Tamar was born youngest of six kids in a strict Christian household. The daughter of a preacher man, she wasn’t allowed to do much growing up: no secular music, no playing with non-churchgoing kids in the neighborhood. So she and her sisters occupied their free time singing. Mom, an amateur opera singer herself, encouraged them; dad let them sing in his church.
Ultimately, Tamar and sisters Toni, Towanda and Trina landed a recording contract as The Braxtons, releasing their modern gospel hit, The Good Life (1990). Tamar was always the highest note in the group’s multi-part harmonies. When Toni left to strike out on her own as a soloist, the other three kept performing as The Braxtons, releasing their follow-up, So Many Ways in 1996. They also did double duty as big sister’s background singers.
In 1999, Tamar followed in Toni’s footsteps. She appeared on preacher-turned-singer TD Jakes’ Sacred Love Songs, before releasing her solo debut, Ridiculous, which boasts a much hipper, edgier sound than any of her previous work. |