Reina Williams

Artist Information

Biography

Seen on FOX Network's The X-Factor USA 2011

For Ms. Williams, making timeless music is her vision for the present and future. Having composed and produced over 75 custom music cues for various TV shows and movie trailers, Reina is continuing to build her resume honing her songwriting and production skills which are 12+ years in progress. Her live show has been described by many, but the most common term used when shouting to the hills about Reina Williams stage performance is "amazing". Probably because she covers such a wide gamut of musical genres, stylishly combining Hip Hop, UrbanSoul, Rock, and R&B.

Currently Reina is planning her first tour promoting her freshman mixtape "Reina Williams: The Mixtape", which after Its November 2011 release has already gained over 3400 plays and 800+ downloads.

Instrumentation

Various - Guitar
Various - Bass
Various - keyboard
Horn Section - 2-3 members - Trumpet, Sax, flute, coronet
various - Drums

Discography

"Full Circle EP"
"SelecTracks Best of Hip Hop" Available on
Amazon, iTunes, EMusic, Rhapsody, and Napster

Production Credits include

"Californication" Showtime (2012)
"Judge Alex" MyNetwork (2011)
"Monte Carlo" (2011)
"Men of a Certain Age" TNT (2011)
"Chicago Code" FOX (2011)
"Lie to Me" FOX (2011)
"Table for Three" (2010)
"Hawaii Five-O" NBC (2010)
"The City" MTV (2010)
"Taking on NY" NatGeo (2010)
"CoEd Confidential" Cinemax (2008)
"Friday Night Lights" NBC (2008)
"The Hills" MTV (2006-2007)
"The X Effect" MTV (2007)
"Punk'd" (2006)
"Face The Family" Lifetime (2006)
"Bones" FOX Series DVD Vol 1 (2006)

Produced 3 tracks on the LATEST God-des and She album titled "Three" (2009) recently Re-Released under the title "Love Machine" (2010)

2 songs featured on Alchemy Radio - AU

Sisters Talk Radio

Elite DC Radio

Official Website

http://reinawilliams.com

Links

• Facebook
• Reina Williams on ReverbNation
• Twitter
• MySpace
• Reina Williams on YouTube

Audio

• Ooh Damn (Like Ooh)
  Listen  
• Weightless new mix vox
  Listen  
• KanyeCover
  Listen  
• Action Mix1
  Listen  
• Let It Flow
  Listen  
• Vodka Song
  Listen  
• Stronger Than That
  Listen  
• Ill Wait for You
  Listen  
• That Aint Breakin' Me feat Chyna Doll
  Listen  

Lyrics

• Let It Flow
• Ooh Damn (Like Ooh)

Video

Lil Wayne HOW TO LOVE - Acoustic

Oooh Damn (Like Ooh) - Live @ Joe Squared 9/17

Photo Gallery

Press

• Reasons to Have Pride 2012 [+ Show ]
  

  She may or may not have been ousted from The X Factor because the crowd-pleasing grind she sang, “Oo...She may or may not have been ousted from The X Factor because the crowd-pleasing grind she sang, “Ooh Damn,” was about another woman (gasp!), but singer Reina Williams’s performance got Simon Cowell to say, “A million times yes. She made my year.”

• Q&A With Reina Williams [+ Show ]
  

  Reina Williams, a Baltimore native turn New York-based musician has been writing music since she was...Reina Williams, a Baltimore native turn New York-based musician has been writing music since she was 11 years old, but she still doesn't subscribe to any one style. Growing up with her mom singing Opera, Williams infuses all genres into her music, and she's not only a singer-songwriter, but she's also a rapper and producer. Williams' passion for music extends beyond rhythm and beats, she wants to use her music to communicate the human experience, moving people by touching their souls and helping contribute to the positive energy shift that she feels in the world right now. A great singer, musician and role model, we were excited to talk to Williams about her recent release of The Mixtape, her experience on The X Factor and her upcoming album.
  
  What inspired you to make a mixtape?
  
  I had been thinking about doing a mixtape for a couple years, but I was really trying to pick songs and figure out what I was going to do and then after the thing with The X Factor happened . . ." Read the full interview by clicking the link provided.

• On The Grind - Reina Williams
  

  Interview by JMG Houston's foremost entertainment magazine.

• You Sound Like Five Million Bucks Baby [+ Show ]
  

  Brian Bradley's rapping skills are upstaged by Tatiana Reina Williams and her black-and-yellow dread...Brian Bradley's rapping skills are upstaged by Tatiana Reina Williams and her black-and-yellow dreads (on a Jay-Z song, no less).
  
  Read more:

• X Factor Recap [+ Show ]
  

  Williams performed an original hip-hop song called "Ooh Damn! (Like Ooh)" and gave such a great perf...Williams performed an original hip-hop song called "Ooh Damn! (Like Ooh)" and gave such a great performance that she got a standing ovation from the arena-sized crowd, and she had the majority of the audience singing the song with her. I am not exaggerating when I say that Williams gave the type of star-making performance that would convince any reasonable person that she would be among the finalists for "The X Factor" U.S. in 2011. . .

• Reina Williams takes on Simon Cowell and "The X-Factor" [+ Show ]
  

  Though we picked her as the city’s best solo artist in last year’s Best of Baltimore awards, singer/...Though we picked her as the city’s best solo artist in last year’s Best of Baltimore awards, singer/songwriter/rapper/producer/guitarist Reina Williams is the kind of uncategorizable musical talent that you tend not to see on reality TV talent shows like American Idol. But Simon Cowell’s latest show, the U.S. edition of The X-Factor on FOX, draws from a slightly broader pool. Williams got to perform for Cowell and the other judges at the Newark auditions for the show’s first season back in April . . .

• Baltimore's Best Solo Performer 2010 [+ Show ]
  

  One of the most Coveted Local Accolades in Maryland. City Paper's Annual readers poll for Baltimore...One of the most Coveted Local Accolades in Maryland. City Paper's Annual readers poll for Baltimore's Best . . .what ever. . . is a highly anticipated and celebrated bragging right.

• 100 Women We Love [+ Show ]
  

  Tatiana “Reina” Williams, a versatile Baltimore-based musician, won the 2009 Urban Music Award for N...Tatiana “Reina” Williams, a versatile Baltimore-based musician, won the 2009 Urban Music Award for Next Urban Superstar from the UK-based Invincible Media. She comfortably blends hip hop, R&B and acoustic sounds with a dynamic stage presence. After growing up in an artistic household and writing songs in grammar school, she released two CDs and multiple tracks and now performs regularly on the east coast. She’ll take the stage this summer at the Michigan Womyn’s Music Festival for her second time performing at the event. Hoping her music will be interpreted differently by each audience, she says, “I want them to take what they need. Whatever the music makes them feel is theirs. I make music because I love it and it has saved my sanity many times over.” She adds, “I also want to help bring attention back to the feelings and ideas of the songwriters. Not just the fad, but artists with universally timeless music.” -CB

• Up and Coming [+ Show ]
  

  " . . . this EP [Full Circle] shows of not only her vocal and instrumental skills, but her songwrit... " . . . this EP [Full Circle] shows of not only her vocal and instrumental skills, but her songwriting and production prowess as well." - Margaret Coble

• Review Of Baltimore Transmodern Festival 2009 [+ Show ]
  

  At Floristree's top floor performances continued throughout the night. Ric Royer and occasional City...At Floristree's top floor performances continued throughout the night. Ric Royer and occasional City Paper contributor Rahne Alexander, both fabulously attired without needing an transmodern makeover, served as emcees for the evening, introducing the music acts (that's an awesome cover of George Michael's "Father Figure" you do, local singer/songwriter Reina Williams) separated by a few film installations, such as the abstracted, rasterized animations of Mark Brown.
  
  http://www.citypaper.com/digest.asp?id=17870

• Caffine and Guitars [+ Show ]
  

  http://blogs.citypaper.com/noise/index.php/2010/03/caffeine-and-guitars-reina-williams-march-4-at-pe...http://blogs.citypaper.com/noise/index.php/2010/03/caffeine-and-guitars-reina-williams-march-4-at-peace-and-a-cup-of-joe/

• New Music
  

  Jan/Feb 2010 Issue p54

• ( Interview with Reina Williams) [+ Show ]
  

  1. How old were you when you first started messing with music and how did you get into producin...1. How old were you when you first started messing with music and how did you get into producing beats?
  
  Damn, hmmm lemme think . . . well my mother is an opera singer and when I was coming up she had me in the performances as an extra since age 17months and so I was always around music. I’ve been banging on the piano since I was old enough to reach the keys. I started piano lessons at age 6 or 7 I think. . something like that. I was young. Hahaha But in the 6th grade, my dad gave me a guitar for my B-day and I just began teaching myself how to play. Listening to the radio and imitating what I heard.
  
  Then I met this guy in HS named James Klink. He and I hit it off and started writing together and I’d sing and play acoustic and he would hold it down on the lead guitar side. Believe it or not I got started doing rock and alternative. Been in a few bands, but James and I were always the core for a few years. One of the classes I took was music technology my junior year of HS which pretty much sold me on the whole MIDI/Mac set up. Then during my time in NY my homie bought me a copy of Reason 1.0 and it was a wrap after that. J
  
  2. What type of gear are you working with right now and if you had an unlimited budget what would you be working with?Well. . . I use Reason 3.5 with the iMac G5, Logic Express 7, MOTU 828 Audio interface, AT3035 mic, Event 20/20 monitors, Alesis Power amp, Sonic Implants samples, Zero G stuff, a whole gaggle of sounds. Fun Fun FUNBudget!!?? HA I’d have the Oasys, Roland Fantom , I’d buy and MPC4000 cause I LIKE IT and I have never owned an MPC surprise surprise, uh…. Avalon Compressor/MicPre, A Eurodesk Firewire/analog board, that new G5 Quad, some kick ass outboard effects, that nifty Lexicon Reverb with the big ass obnoxious remote, a U87 or some other monster in that phylum, some nice BIG Genelec studio monitors, the whole Sonic Implants library, 2 sets of Shure Drum Mics, and every plug-in known to man. And that’s just in my “at home” studio. AHHAHA
  
  3. What is it like for a female in this production game, what’s the disadvantages and what’s the advantages coming from your view point?Disadvantages are many. First of all, guys saturate this industry on the production side so getting thru the initial “no I don’t want to date you” is frustrating. Guys don’t seem to take female producers seriously and really hold the bar a lot higher because of our lack of a penis. Which is so incredibly dumb, but I deal with it. The advantage is that there aren’t many of us so when one comes a long, people are more likely to pay attention, but you MUST bring you’re A game at all times because kats LOVE to hate these days. I mean REALLY. Jealously is a bitch. Oh and I LOVE it when they know they want to bob their heads. . but they fight it. HAHAHAHAHAHA What the hell is wrong with yall!!?? I guess I make guys feel like less of a man because they get intimidated by my tracks, and the fact that I could probably book their chick. J
  
  4. Has your production style changed over the years and are you influenced by what is happening in the music market?Absolutely. But I have never really changed, just give them what they want without compromising my creativity. I love to be able to just do what I feel like, but when I first started out, I was doing what I felt and it happened to have a soulful/hiphop type vibe to it. But some dumb guy from Baltimore was trying to squash me down because he said “You are not Hip HOP” I never said I was trying to be. So just because I don’t Boom Bap with headphones and a backpack, im not hiphop??? Bend ova dude, neither are you. That sh!t erks me to no end. These purists Hip Hoppers who think that just cause the world has never heard of the stuff they listen to makes them cool, and the rest of us poseurs. I happen to LIKE 2% of the stuff on the radio. Which is way more than they like. LOL And yes, the evolution of the generally accepted production style and what is considered “Platinum Quality” has caused a revolution of wannabe “producers” and “beatmakers”. Just cause they have discovered the roll button on the MPC. I have had to “dumb down” my production style to appease the Hip Hop Gods, because when I’m just doing me, the tracks are complex and dramatic as hell. Hahaha. But I’m beginning to think the standard has gone down in the past few years because everyone is trying too hard to be hot and popular. People can tell.
  
  5. How much does software play in your music making and what software programs are you working with?Very much. Like I said up there in ? 2, I use Reason 3.5 and Logic Express 7. I use them together a lot of time because some of the sounds on Logic sound fatter then some on reason and vice versa. And if I want to add something to a recorded vocal session just to put that final touch on the arrangement, its easy peezy japaneesy.
  
  6. I understand you did and internship, who was it with and what did you came away with from that experience?I actually worked with a house music producer named Ernie Lake at the former Reel Tyme Studios in NY. And actually, I ended up doing most of my learning and listening in with DJ Eddie Baez, with whom I’ve lost touch but I heard he is off the map. Too bad, that dude is talented. They taught me a lot about the house music “formula” and house arrangement. Sampling, staying up late, hooking up patch bays, and running all over NYC looking for the damn patch bay. Lol Ernie is best known for his Grammy Award winning production that he and his former partner did on KC & Jo Jo’s annoying smash hit “All My Life”. The production was top notch though so that’s what’s up. The radio just used to play that song into the GROUND.I also learned that NY moves very fast. The business waits for no one in this city.
  
  7. If you had the chance to produce any artist in the world who would you want to work with and why?Wow. That’s a good question. . . artist??? I don’t really have one in particular. Maybe do some collabs with P!nk. Just cause I have always liked where her head is. Also Eminem, Common, EVERYONE. Why not!!?
  
  8. Who are your musical influences and why? What is it about them that you Like?Quincy Jones, Mozart, and Timbaland. Q just because he got his break doing the soundtrack/film scoring thing and that’s really what I want to do when its all said and done. Besides that fact that he has written and produced some of the dopest stuff I have ever heard. I actually downloaded the original version of “Soul Bossa Nova” . . . yes the Austin Powers Theme.
  
  Mozart, just because of his chord changes and the passion with which he wrote his music. Not to mention that he really didn’t read music. I do read, but mild dyslexia trains me to just memorize and play by ear. Oh yeah and he was a crazy guy. I’m a lil mad . . . and I don’t mean angry Tim. . . ah Tim. The Kik patterns. Signature sound. That’s what he has. I’d shit myself if I could work with him. I’ll be prepared with a box of Depends.
  
  9. How do you feel about the state of hip hop music in general now days? How Do you feel about the beat game, do you think production is getting hotter or worst?Ehhhh . . . me personally, I think tracks are getting more interesting and coming away from the sample thing because kats use samples as too much of a crutch these days. Like ok, the first or second sampled joint you do is hot but, in my lil ole opinion, just using samples is like just cooking with salt. Its going to taste good and the different drums or whatever will definitely enhance the flavor, but can I get some cumin, some curry, some thyme??? Like homemade?? I don’t know. I guess cause I started out composing original joints and just started sampling like in the past few years, I’m biased. And I am not a close minded person who thinks that real “hip hop” tracks are only 2 steppy sample loops with dirty snares. I know when I make a sampled tracks, I try to beef it up and out do myself.
  
  I love the Rza’s Wu Tang production, but that’s out the window in this new market run by Lil Jon, Just Blaze, and Timbaland. 311 put it best, “you’ve got to come original”
  
  10. How do you keep your production fresh and not ending up sounding the same all the time? I’m very picky. And I try to listen to all different kinds of music in phases. Maybe I’ll listen to Drum and Bass for 2 weeks while doing my admin work, email etc. Then maybe another week, I’ll listen to trance, then ambient, classical, or guitar music. Everyone is influenced by their surroundings. One summer, I listened to nothing but Seal, STP, and Incubus. I wrote some pretty interesting alternative and rock stuff that year. And when you heard the songs, you could kinda tell. So I guess I keep it fresh by just keeping my mind flowing with different vibes.
  
  11. You play guitar, do you incorporate live instruments with your midi gear and How do you think live instrumentation effects today’s midi computer base Music? Oh hell yeah! Live instruments always send production over the top. Especially when its MIDI based. A guitar lick does a lot for a song. Some live horns, drums, percussion. That why I love Sonic Implants sounds so much because they have taken the time to record live instruments and they make them into a playable MIDI format.
  
  12. Are then any hot artist you’re working with right now? Do you have any other project planned that you want people to know about Well, im working with a young boy named Lil D. We are trying to help mold him into a viable artist for the Pop/Hip Hop market as well as help him advance his craft and get heard. We are doing all original production for his album project, which will be his first Also, we are working with a seemingly unknown but Blazing hot veteran in the rap game, Kaliko. This female emcee is the epitome of talent and she is hated by many for her raw lyrics and “I don’t give a f**k attitude”. She has been compared to MC Lyte and her music can be heard on MySpace as well as the John Waters Cult Classic “Cecil B Demented” Kaiko is ready, more than willing, and Highly able. Next projects include some NY house music that we will be submitting to JellyBean Benitez thru my a producer friend of mine. And also some film and TV projects. Stay tuned LOL
  
  13. What is the music scene like where your at Its ok. People still have the wrong mind frame. More concerned with them selves and the I I I, me me me bullcrap. The hiphop scene in Balitmore could stand a lil more professionalism and organization, but it is what it is.
  
  14. Where do you see hip hop going in the future and where do you plan to be Within the scope of that big picture? I see it becoming the basis for all future music because popularity and undeniable catchiness of the production and the songs make it almost impossible to ignore. Even politicians are trying to throw rap into their campaigns in hopes to somehow convince that audience that they are “Down”. HMMM where do I fit in . . ?
  
  Smack dab in the fu#!ing middle!

Setlist

Reina Williams Solo Sets - 15-45 minute sets. Some cover songs. Also do a 3-4 hour Acoustic Covers set mixed with Original material. Acoustic, Soul, Rock, Hip Hop.

Reina Williams PLUGGED IN
45-60 minute set, all original material. Band members include guitar, bass, drums, keys, horns, backing vocalists.

Bands that Reina Williams Covers

Incubus
Usher
Kanye West
Green Day
Pink
Lady Gaga
Bob Marley
The Roots
TLC
Blues Traveler
George Michael
Collective Soul
Elton John
Eagles
Alice in Chains
Bush
Sade
Chicago
Journey
Creedance Clearwater Revival
David Bowie
Radiohead
Tool
Jimmy Buffet
Kenny Wayne Sheppard
The Cranberries
U2
The Beatles
Dionne Ferris
Joan Armatrading
Tonic
Dishwalla
Live
Metallica
Guns n Roses
Poison
Foreigner

Basic Requirements

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