Touts of benefits of networking
The path to the entertainment industry was less linear than in the 90s and early 2000s. It’s different today. Creatives and content creators can put out material that goes viral and build their fanbase before a company or brand ever hears about them or supports them. Tamara Jade’s journey into the industry is an example of talent and hard work coming together.
Jade is a multi-talented creative that can sing, act, write songs and produce television shows. Jade, 31, described some of her talents at an early age when her mom decided to let her join her church choir.
“I started singing at church because my mom was the choir director, and after a few years, I joined a community choir at eight,” Jade said. “The choir and their teachers were professional, that’s where I learned how to read and write music, and I worked with gospel artists Richard Smallwood, Donne Mcclurkin, and Yolanda Adams, and was also a background singer for them at eight years old.”
From there, Jade continued singing throughout high school and college, where she learned some things about herself and her talent.
“High school was awesome because that’s where I found my tribe, and they also offered a musical arts program, so I was surrounded by people who could also sing.” Jade said. “I went to college for music as well, but that took the joy out of it because everybody was so serious all the time, so I dropped out and taught special education for three years, and song on the side.”
While singing wasn’t Jade’s main focus as a teenager, she said she vault a “void” in her life that only “music could fill.” She and her mom saw a Broadway production of “The Color Purple” in 2016 and she said it was the first time she’d seen “women like me” singing in a way that delighted her. That’s when, she said, “I needed to figure out a way back” in fostering a new understanding that music was an integral part of her life.
In short order, Jade decided not to renew her teaching contract and moved to New York City from Maryland to pursue her dreams of being a singer. She worked in several theater shows at the Apollo Theater from 2016-2020, she auditioned for a spot on NBC’s hit show “The Voice,” where she made it to the semifinals before being eliminated.
Also, during her four-year stretch, Jade worked with singer and songwriter Lizzio as a background singer and dancer at the 2019 MTV Video Music Awards. Jade also released her debut album in 2019 called “ Self Aware.”
Jade is now the newest cast member of the hit HBO series “A Black Lady Sketch.”
“I was able to land a casting audition because of the content I started to create after my journey on ‘The Voice,’” she said, and I also started working on comedy content that people liked.”
You can watch the show on HBO and, you can also keep up with Tamara Jade by visiting https://tinyurl.com/w92cuvy5.
