Tanika
Tanika was born in her bedroom on Fiveways Road, Brixton. She was first raised on the Angel Town Estate and later on Myatt’s Field, just a few minutes down the road. Brixton in the 1990s was home to some notorious neighborhoods, with estates like Angel Town and Myatt’s Field—hotbeds of violence and crime—decaying behind the town’s cultural vibrancy. Despite the challenges of her upbringing, she found solace in music.
Using the art as a form of escapism during tough times, Tanika is one of five siblings who each carved her music taste from a youthful age. Listening to the likes of Aaliyah, TLC, Bob Marley, Smiley Culture, Tina Turner, Shania Twain, Mary J Blige, Faith Evans and many more, she wrote her first song “Crazy” and wandered over to Deni’s studio, a church going man, asking him to record it.
Fast forward many years later, Tanika released her first EP ‘Thoughts of Love,’ featuring Brixton local Sneakbo. Shortly after, Tanika was introduced to Naughty Boy at Ealing Studios where his acclaimed debut album ‘Hotel Cabana’, featured Tanika on both ‘Pardon Me’ and ‘Get Lucky’, a song that would go on to be the second most downloaded song from the album.
Heading on a nation-wide tour the singer-songwriter made friends with Sam Smith, Ella Eyre and Emeli Sande. Since then, Tanika has become a staple name in music working with the likes of Wretch 32, MNEK, Idris Elba, Stormzy and many more. Venturing into acting, Tanika featured in Idris Elba’s first directorial movie “Yardie'', which she later recorded the soundtrack for with Kranium and Idris. Tanika then took on another role in the UK’s movie “The Intent 2” alongside Popcaan and some other incredible artists/actors.
Meeting her now fiance, Kida Kudz on a trip to LA back in 2019, the pair now have two children and a love story for us all to hear. Heading back into the studio in 2021, Tanika has pushed aiding other artists aside and placed her career centre frame.
Juggling motherhood and working with musicians alike, the singer-songwriter has been in the studio fine tuning her forthcoming music. Channelling the 90’s R&B nostalgia in her recent EP
‘333’, Tanika has been gearing up for another year of incredible releases starting with “Fast Fwd” alongside Kida Kudz and Naughty Boy.