Tanya Blount

Tanya Blount, known for her stunning and riveting R&B performances, has not had an easy life. Catapulted to superstardom with the song “Through The Rain”, the songstress has experienced trials, pain, and devastation. The book finds the Soul Train Award nominee being brutally transparent and revealing overcoming divorce, depression and a suicide attempt. In spite of her success in mainstream music, the powerhouse singer always had strong roots from her church upbringing. It was her faith that brought her through those tough times and in her debut writing, titled after her hit tune, she chronicles her trials and triumphs.

She aims to encourage and inspire during the 92-page book using elements of a storm to educate readers on how God uses the weather, and rain specifically, to ultimately bless. Few of us have probably thought about the weather from a spiritual viewpoint, but in God-given revelation, Tanya explains about the purpose and effects of rain, wind and sun and their physical counterparts in our lives.

With the 40 “Rain Principles”, she outlines numerous ways that God speaks to us. For example, “Rain Principle #19” is titled, “Create A Good Day Even When It’s Raining”. In this principle, Blount talks of the power that each of us has in changing our condition. In the book she says, “Create the day you want. Do not let the corrective rain dictate the kind of day you will have. If you want change, then you have to allow God to change you.” Other memorable principles include “Discover What The Will Of God Is In The Rain And Correct Your Actions”, “God Will Strip You Of The World’s Glory So That You Can Shine With His Glory” and “God Will Remind You Of Your Past Victories In The Rain”.

Blount has a heart for God’s people and her desire to help others in their storms is quite apparent in “Through The Rain: 40 Principles for Surviving Life’s Challenges”. Though this pocket-sized, yet potent book, she uplifts the reader and helps gives them a mirror to examine events in their lives and the reasoning for the events.

She penned the book for anyone who’s been through any storm. Tanya says, “I wrote the book to let others know what I’ve been through and to let them know that eventually the storm does end. The book talks about the things we go through in life and how we can get through them. In the book, I use “Rain Principles” to talk about how God uses the rain to bless us and clean us up. But in order to get through the discipline or to get to the blessing, you have to do just that…you have to go through it. These 40 principles show exactly how to get through and let everyone know that they will get through.” - Rene Williams

The hottest new females in the music world are burning up the charts with a wide variety of tunes, ranging from sensuous and sultry ballads to hip-hop dance tunes.

These talented singing sensations come from all kinds of backgrounds and bring diverse styles to the music industry. And unlike some of the top female singers of past generations, a large number of today's hottest newcomers are more involved in their careers. Many of them write their own hit songs which are tailor-made for them.

London-born singing star Des'ree has skyrocketed to the top of record charts around with the world with her catchy tune You Gotta Be. The song has been used by TV networks and sports teams in the U.S.

You Gotta Be is the kind of positive, feel-good song that music lovers love to play all the time, especially in the morning to get them in the mood to face a new day.

In the song, she sings: "You gotta be bad, you gotta be bold, you gotta be wiser...you gotta be cool, you gotta be calm, you gotta stay together."

Though she was born in London, Des'ree also lived on the Caribbean island of Barbados for several years before her West Indian parents moved back to London. The 25-year-old starlet has been a major star in Europe since 1992.
She co-wrote her big hit, You Gotta Be and says it stems from her personal experiences as a female singer in the competitive, male dominated music industry.

"I am a female artist, I've got to be bold on stage. I've got to make wise decisions about my career. I've got to be hard on myself in the studio," she notes. "You've got to be tough in dealing with people because I don't have a history of 10 years in the industry. And a lot of people that I work with are a lot older than me, have a lot more experience. And there is a tendency for them to think that you don't know what you are talking about because you're new."

The confident singer, who is currently on a U.S. tour as the opening act for superstar Seal, notes, "You've got to be strong, you've got to be cool, you can't let the pressure break you. You've got to remain together."

Among the youngest of today's hottest new singers is 16-year-old Brandy. Brandy, who lives in Los Angeles, has skyrocketed straight to the top with I Wanna Be Down, Baby and her current tune Best Friend, a song she dedicates to her brother, Willie Norwood.

She first won fame as a regular on the former ABC-TV sitcom, "Thea."

Mary J. Blige, dubbed "the queen of hip hop," won national acclaim in 1991 with the album What's the 411, which spawned such hits as You Remind Me and Real Love. A consistent performer, her latest album is My Life which has already sold more than a million copies. My Life contains the hits, Be Happy, You Bring Me Joy and I'm Goin' Down, a song originally recorded by Rose Royce in the 1970s.

Like so many of today's new hottest female singers, the Yonkers, NY, native grew up singing in the church. , Hit singer Chant6 Moore whose love ballads have gotten many couples through both romantic and difficult times arrived on the scene in 1992 with her debut Precious with the hits It's Alright and Love's Taken Over. She is currently riding, the charts with her second album, A Love Supreme, with the hit singles, Old School Lovin' and her latest, I'm What You Need. This summer, she is the opening act for Barry White on his U.S. tour.

She comes from a family of musicians. Born in San Francisco and raised in San Diego, she remembers singing as a young child.

Her father, a minister, played the piano. Her late mother sang and her brother played the drums. She hopes to record a gospel album in the near future.

Sultry teen-age songbird Aaliyah became one of the hottest new female singers last year with her debut single Back and Forth on her smash album Age Ain't Nothing But A Number. The hip-hop flavored album was written and produced by her mentor R. Kelly.

The 16-year-old songstress was born in Brooklyn, NY, and raised in Detroit and has performed on stage with legendary singer Gladys Knight.

The high school junior maintains a 3.8 grade point average and plans to attend college and eventually earn a doctorate in music.

For newcomer Tanya Blount, an appearance on Natalie Cole's former TV talent show "Big Break" was literally just that for her. A music executive saw the Washington, D.C., native and before she knew it she was signed with Polydor Records. Her debut album Natural Thing showcases just that - her natural talent. She won a big following with her soulful ballad Through the Rain. Also a talented actress she appeared in the hit movie, Sister Act 2 which starred Whoopi Goldberg.

New pop jazz singer Rachelle Ferrell brings a ton of impressive credentials to the music table. She is a composer, lyricist, arranger, pianist and vocalist. In 1992, she released her self-titled debut album which sold almost one million copies and stayed on the charts for almost three years. Her current album is the jazz flavored Fi - JET Magazine

White was honored for R&B song of the year by a male vocalist for Practice What You Preach and best R&B album The Icon is Love. Ms. Baker's Body and Soul was named best R&B album by a female. Boyz II was named best R&B album, by a group and their single I'll Make Love to You was named top R&B single by group, band or duo.

Other Soul Train Award winners were R. Kelly, Aaron Hall, Sounds of Blackness, Norman Brown and Brandy. When Snoop Doggy Dogg won his award, he held it up for the audience and proclaimed "this is the Black folks' Grammy."
Highlights of the show included a tribute to Diana Ross, who received a special career award. Her honor, the Heritage Award, was presented by Motown Records founder Berry Gordy Jr. She was joined on stage by her family for the presentation.

Patti LaBelle, Eddie LeVert, Gerald LeVert (Eddie's son) and newcomer Tanya Blount got together and sang Endless Love as a tribute to Ms. Ross.

Queen Latifah was presented with the Sammy Davis Jr. Award for Entertainer of the Year.

Other highlights included Anita Baker's rendition of her hit Body and Soul and Brandy's performance of her song I Want To Be Down, She was joined by MC Lyte, YoYo and Queen Latifah. - JET Magazine

District youth had an opportunity to discuss a wide range of topics, including HIV and AIDS prevention, conflict resolution, and the depiction of women in music videos, last week at the Second Annual Dare to Make a Difference Hip-Hop Summit held at Friendship Collegiate Academy in Northeast D.C.

The concert portion of the event featured a star-studded roster headed by Trey Songz and Russell Simmons?f artist Black Buddafly. Also featured were independent artists Hueman Prophets and Loonatyk. Said Loonatyk ?gI like events like this. You can tell the kids had fun.?h

Summit participant Cokie Carter waited in a crowded hallway with dozens of other young people hoping to catch a glimpse of Trey Songz after his performance. ?gI love the way the workshops were set up and the acts they had on showed that D.C really does have talent - and of course I loved Trey Songz and Black Buddafly,?h Carter said.

D.C. native Tanya Blount, a singer and actress, received an award for her outstanding accomplishments in the entertainment industry. She has released a few CD?fs following her CD, ?gNatural Thing,?h and she has numerous acting credits, including appearances in ?gWhat Every Woman Wants?h and ?gSister Act Two.?h But Blount?fs message to young women was that they can find success outside of the entertainment industry.

?gThe thing is for these girls to become a star?c.but there are stars in every field. There are star engineers, star doctors, and star journalists. We have to give them the outlet and let them know you don?ft have to be in a video to be a star.?h

The event was attended by local political figures D.C. Ward 7 Councilmember Vincent Gray, Councilmember at large Kwame R. Brown, and D.C. Ward 8 Councilmember Marion Barry. Addressing the youth, Barry said, ?gA lot of people in the media they got the game twisted they think we got nothing but hustlers and prostitutes over here [but] we?fve got some outstanding young people.?h



Seven O Entertainment ?œ 2000 N. Avenue ?œ Baltimore, MD 21234
info@tanyablountonline.com ?œ www.tanyablountonline.com
PAGE 1


TANYA BLOUNT
◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊


The Summit, which last year was organized by the East River Family Strengthening Collaborative, this year was organized by several organizations, including the Far Southeast Family Strengthening Collaborative and Marshall Heights Weed and Seed to expand the event and include a greater number of artists and youth participants.

Jean Wilks, board chairperson for the East River Family Strengthening Collaborative, and Perry Moon, executive director of the Far Southeast Family Strengthening Collaborative, explained their reasons behind creating the event.

Said Moon, ?gOur basic belief is that young people who are involved in structured, adult-supervised activity, are productive and have a better chance of being free of violence and other destructive behavior.?h

With the success of this year?fs event the collaborative is already looking forward to next year. Wilks said the organizations have been asked to organize a city-wide summit next year. ?gI have a vision I see it becoming a lot broader than it is and going beyond the scope of our schools,?h Wilks said. ?gI told them last year I can see the convention center around the corner.?h - Washington Informer