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The Newest
Celebrity "it" Couple
I have been informed by a
very reliable source that songbird Teairra Mari and teen crooner Sammie
are an item. I promise you I'm not making this up. You may remember
Sammie as a 12 year old star 6 years ago. His hit song "I Like It" made
him very popular with the teenage girls.
Sammie is signed to Rowdy Records, Dallas Austin's label, and they are
expecting big things from him this year. Sammie and Teairra were
together on Tuesday on the set of Sammie's hit new single "You Should Be
My Girl". I love this song. It's another Jazze Pha production and it is
hot!
Teairra plays a Princess of Morocco who is celebrating her 18th birthday
at the fabulous Biltmore hotel ballroom. Her date is a double agent
played by singer Lloyd who is planning to kidnap poor Teairra. The
video's director Dallas Austin pulls double duty as an agent who enlists
the aid of another agent (Sammie) to rescue Teairra. The Fatcats also
co-directed and produced the video.
The video also features rappers Big Boi, Sean Paul, producer Jazze Pha
and Da Backwudz. You will love the ballroom dancing scene. They finally
got around to shooting the ballroom dance scene at 5 AM but it was worth
the wait! Big thanks goes out to Malcolm Lee of MEG for inviting me to
the video shoot. |
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It's been one
crazy summer for Teairra Mari
The
slightly mischievous grin, the baby-doll eyes, and playful voice remind
you of someone’s little sister.
You know the one, the girl the neighborhood looks out for, because she
seems like she’s destined to do something big.
That “around the way” girl who’d one day pass those confines but never
forget them.
That’s what L.A. Reid, chairman of Island Def Jam Music Group, saw last
year in Detroit teenager Teairra Mari, after listening to her demo.
Soon after, it was what caused Shawn “Jay-Z” Carter to pen her to Roc-A-Fella
records in his first artist-signing as president of Def Jam Music Group.
Mari blew into Philadelphia recently for a day of promotional events and
a performance at WPHI’s Back-to-School Jam, between appearances in Miami
and Hartford, Conn. |
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Pharell and
Friends
Thuursday, February 23, 2006
8:00 p.m., at the Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim, multi-platinum, Grammy
Award winning artist Pharrell, Def Jam recording artists Teairra Mari
and Bobby Valentino will deliver unprecedented performances. Comedian,
Guy Torry will host the event.
Pharrell, an industry icon, has worked with just about every major urban
artist and crafted platinum-selling melodies including: I Just Wanna
Love U for Jay-Z, Drop it Like it’s Hot for Snoop, Hollaback Girl for
Gwen Stefani, Rock Your Body for Justin Timberlake, Hot in Herre for
Nelly, U Don’t Have to Call for Usher. Known for forming The Neptunes
and Wreckx-N-Effect, and composing the hit Rump Shaker, Pharrell,
Esquire magazine’s “Best Dressed Man in 2005” makes his solo debut.
Crowned Princess of the ROC by Roc-A-Fella Records, Teairra Mari’s debut
single, Make Her Feel Good, topped the charts. Her music represents a
young woman’s point of view on life – appealing to young ladies and
intriguing young men. |
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Teairra
Mari - Crown Jewel
What good is a dynasty
without a reigning queen… or perhaps a princess in the case of Roc-A-Fella
Records? Meet Teairra Mari, a 17-year-old Detroit native who is the sole
female artist on the label, and is currently the only R&B act. She may
not be old enough to vote yet, but don't get it twisted - Teairra's been
on the grind for a minute now.
At the ripe age of 12, she began recording rough demos in her cousin's
basement. It wasn't long until her talent was noticed, and Teairra
scored a radio hit with one of those earlier demo songs. Four years went
by without much progress, until Teairra's demo landed on the desk of
Island Def Jam Group Chairman, Antonio “L.A.” Reid. After hearing her
voice, Reid signed her on the spot, and soon Mr. Shawn Carter himself
caught wind of the teen sensation. He immediately recruited her to
Roc-A-Fella Records.
While Teairra’s debut album is being prepared for release and her first
single “Make Her Feel Good” is burning up the charts, this princess
wants AllHipHop.com Alternatives to know that fairy tales do indeed come
true.
AllHiphop.com Alternatives: Congratulations on your newly appointed
position as the "Princess of the Roc". How did this all come about?
Teairra: I was working a long time recording me demo with this local
production company, KISS Productions. That demo landed on the desk of
L.A. Reid and I was signed to Def Jam for about a year. Then Jay-Z had
just got his position as president of Def Jam and L.A. wanted me to meet
him formally as the president. |
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Teairra Mari
- Royal Introduction
Crowned
the “Princess of the Roc” by Jay-Z, Teairra Marí is on the verge of
making Detroit’s 8 Mile stretch famous for something other than Eminem.
Lounging in Atlanta’s swank Silent Sound Studios, the petite starlet
knows the weight of the responsibility she carries: to be the first R&B
darling to come out under Shawn Carter’s watchful eye. “Right now, my
sound has to be different,” she says. “It’s gotta be edgy and a breath
of fresh air.”
Inheriting her sultry pipes from her gospel-belting grandmother,
Veronica Lake, who, Teairra says, once sang backup for Aretha Franklin,
Teairra Maria Thomas sang her first solo in church at the age of 12.
That same year, Teairra, who attended Aaliyah’s alma mater, the Detroit
School of Arts, cut a demo with local producer Mike Litt called “You
Thought,” which nabbed airplay throughout Detroit. Though raised on the
good gospel, Teairra, now 17, has since decided on a more secular
musical path. “I sang in church my whole life,” she recalls. “But I
loved R&B.”
Eventually her demo made its way into the hands of Atlanta producers
Daryl Simmons and Anthony “T.A.” Tate. Soon after meeting Teairra, the
duo arranged an audition with LA Reid, chairman of the Island Def Jam
Music Group. Impressed with her performance, Reid signed her to Def Jam
in July 2004. |
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