Tanika

[Pretend 367]

Tanika is a singer-songwriter from London, United Kingdom. 

 

Coincidence had brought her to sing a hook as a favour on a track in the now-legendary studio where Naughty Boy, Maiday and others were all grinding out their tracks without reward – yet. She impressed people, found new management in New York, and was so certain she’d found her path she immediately quit her job – without any promise of a label or money, just on a feeling.

18 months later she was signed for publishing, having been “broke as hell and grinding it out with a son, but I knew something was coming. It was a good hell though – on the creative side and the music side, and all the new friends I met. The dreams got bigger the more I believed in myself.”

Four years followed of writing and recording in the big studio they all “basically lived in”. Sessions might start “hungover because I was two hours late and a complete mess,” having been out and not slept, but from that feeling that “I’m not good, I am gonna sleep with you and not care” she’d find the incredible ‘Bad for You’. When she met (Wretch’s number 1 ‘Don’t Go’ co-writer) Maiday for the first time in the studio, Tanika and Naughty Boy were drinking Grey Goose at 1 in the afternoon. Despite the terrible first impression, Tanika’s gift for writing a lyric and a hook brought about first single proper ‘Nine’ that same session.

It’s obviously been an intense four years to get herself together: after the writing came work on her performance: “literally studio, gym, studio, gym, mothering,” and repeat. And then, it all clicked: a showcase, signed, and now she’s ready. Her mixtape Thoughts of Love shows what she’s all about: a life-forged popstar who knows what’s worthwhile and is here to soundtrack our loves and losses. As the title track of that mixtape shows, she’s a very modern sounding star, plugged into the dark vibes of the Weeknd and Drake; then on ‘Casualty’ teaching Rihanna how to really be a bad girl.

“There’s no bravado – there’s just me singing and trying to make you feel good and believe that you can get through any door you want. My excitement now comes after a gig when people come up to me, when you know that something you actually wrote, which is such a self-indulgent thing, has just hit someone else.” She’ll keep writing, not worried about the past, excited about what’s next.

 

You can listen to her new EP "Fucking with My Heart" (out Sunday) here: http://soundcloud.com/iamtanika/sets/tanika-fucking-with-my-heart/s-aAzsZ