Tanya Stephens The quintessential Jamaican singer / songwriter, Tanya Stephens is equally adept at blazing the latest dancehall riddims as she is at blessing an acoustic guitar-driven ballad with lyrics that are insightful, relevant, comical, and often scathing...... life and love observed with the honest eyes of a child, yet processed and returned to her audience with uncommon maturity and melody. Tanya was born Vivienne Tanya Stephenson the second to last of 7 children in St. Mary, Jamaica. She was raised in St. Mary and in the tourist town of Ocho Rios. She began music as a hobby; in 1993 her first recording 'Is This For Real?' was included on the compilation Further East. In 1994 she gave birth to her daughter Kelly. Two years later she recorded her first album, 'Big Tings a Gwaan' for producer Barry O’Hare on the X-Rated label. The title song was a hit and she followed up with two other albums that included his such as 'Goggle' and 'Yuh Nuh Ready Fe Dis.' Her hits were melodical full of humorous wit yet served as commanding statements of female sexual empowerment. She moved to Sweden in 1998 to record the album 'Sintoxicated' for Warner Music Sweden. The album flirted with alternative rock music and was released in Sweden only, but after experiencing creative differences with her label and producers Tanya decided to return to Jamaica after 3 years in Sweden. She began writing and recording dancehall music immediately with her partner Andrew Henton releasing the hit "It’s A Pity" produced by Pionear on the Seeds (Night Nurse) rhythm. The song was a major hit and VP Records came calling for an album. In 2004 Tanya released her 5th album "Gangsta Blues" on her label Tarantula Records with distribution through VP Records. The album contained poignant lyrics of provocative subjects including "Little White Lie" and "Turn the Other Cheek". The former about a woman who becomes pregnant during an extramartital affair (with a white married man) and misleads her mate into believing the child is his (a practice called giving him a jacket in Jamaica) and the latter a stinging social cry singjayed on an acoustic guitar rhythm. Never one to shy away from controversy "Breathe" is a love/hate song written from the perspective of a female stalker. The album went on to become a major critical success and 2004 found Tanya performing constantly to support it. The obvious difference between Tanya and any other artiste coming out of Jamaica is her extremely varied fan base. Stephens' following represents age 8 to 80 and encompasses people from beyond every boundary. When asked what she considers to be her most valuable assets, Tanya replied "Honesty and consistency. I believe if people want to gamble they will go to a casino. There shouldn't be any risk involved in walking into a record shop and using your hard earned cash to buy an album. That's why I had to make sure I kept honing my craft until I could confidently invite you to pick up any Tanya Stephens album entirely off of trust, secure in the knowledge I will never violate it!" On the 1st single off her new album "Rebelution", "These Streets," an airy acoustic guitar track, Tanya pleads with her thug-love to realize that "these streets don't love you like I do." On this, her 6th LP, Tanya is poised to reach even greater international acclaim and finally be recognized by the masses as one of the greatest talents to emerge from Jamaica. "Rebelution" features the musings of a songbird who is vulnerable enough to feel the pain, but tough enough to live through it. With a militant swagger, "Rebelution" is an edgy narrative of a street smart guerrilla poet who continues to break the stereotype of what a female Jamaican artist should sound like. Smart and sexy, jagged and cunning, the lyrics flow out of the speakers and attack the unfortunate victims of her sharp tongue. This is not a passive listener's record, nor is it a record for the weak hearted. It screams and bites in the gentlest way possible, with back handed compliments and sometimes less-than-reaffirming opinions. Armed with a fervent voice and classy demeanour Tanya tells her truth the way she sees it, uncompromising and uncensored. The evolution from the love scorned "Gangsta Blues" is apparent, but does not stray from the autobiographical, if anything Rebelution is the next chapter in her story. Already a cult hero in the Reggae industry, this album has Tanya Stephens crying from the hills and streets of Kingston... "Viva La Rebelution!" When she is not performing she enjoys writing songs, poetry and stories as well as dabbling in fashion, graphic and web design (she designed the logo for her Tarantula Records label). She is also an avid reader.