That paved the way for the release of her debut album in 1998.

Tamia was born and raised in Windsor, Ontario. As a child, she took acting and singing lessons, eventually performing in a number of local choirs and theatrical presentations. She soon earned a reputation and several awards, including the YTV Vocal Achievement Award in 1993. The following year, she won the Steve Ross Music Scholarship at the American Academy of Achievement's Annual Salute to Excellence in 1994. That same year, she attended a party her manager Brenda Richie held for Luther Vandross. At that party, she met Quincy Jones, who became taken with Tamia's talent.

By the end of the year, she had sung "You Put a Move on My Heart" for Jones' new album, Q's Jook Joint. The song became a Top Ten R&B hit and earned her a Grammy nomination for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance; another song on the album, a duet with Babyface entitled "Slow Jams," was nominated for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group. She also sang "Missing You" with Brandy, Gladys Knight, and Chaka Khan on the soundtrack for the 1995 film Set It Off. "Missing You" was also nominated for a Grammy, making for a total of three nominations for Tamia before she had even released an album.

Such exposure, plus nominations from the NAACP Image Awards and the Soul Train Music Awards, made Tamia a hot commodity in the music industry. She carefully crafted her debut album over the course of 1996 and 1997, taking time out to play a small role in Speed II: Cruise Control in 1997; she also sang "Make Tonight Beautiful" for the soundtrack. Tamia finally released her debut album, Tamia, in April 1998. The album boasted an impressive list of collaborators and producers, including Jermaine Dupri, Keith Crouch, Tim Kelly and Bob Robinson, Stevie J., Mario Winans, and Quincy Jones. It peaked at number 18 on Billboard's R&B chart.

Two years later and newly signed to Elektra, Tamia released her second album, A Nu Day, featuring production collaborations from Missy Elliott, Dallas Austin, and Shep Crawford. The single "Stranger in My House" became a surprise Top Ten Hot 100 hit, which helped push the album into the Top Ten of the R&B chart. More (Elektra, 2004) and Between Friends (Image Entertainment, 2006) maintained the streak of Top Ten R&B albums. Beautiful Surprise (Plus 1, 2012) was led by its title song, the video for which featured the singer's longtime husband, professional basketball player Grant Hill. The single was nominated for a Grammy award in the category of Best R&B Song and led to a recording contract with the Def Jam label. Love Life (2015), the singer's sixth studio album, was led by "Sandwich and a Soda," a collaboration with Andrew "Pop" Wansel and Warren "Oak" Felder. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine & Andy Kellman