Teairra Mari takes no breaks in her run at success. No, Literally. While doing this interview, she was climbing up and down the 175 steps that make up the historic and increasingly popular Santa Monica Stairs with a few of her close friends. “Excuse me if I sound like I am out of breath or breathing heavy, I have to get this workout done,” she says. On the brink of her comeback, she is making sure that she is prepared for whatever is thrown her way.
Teairra has been singing for as long as she can remember. She didn’t have an epiphany about singing, she just turned to her mother who dubbed as her songwriter and told her she was ready and determined to pursue her dream. “My mom was such a great writer so she wrote me my first couple of songs,” Teairra reflects. “We took the songs and recorded them in her friends basement who is like family to us. We finally had something that was good enough to release on Detroit radio on the unsigned Hype section that they had and I became a local celebrity.”
With her music blaring through Detroit radio, Teairra gained the attention of Big Mike of KISS Productions and abandoned the basement beats that kicked off her career to progress to the high quality arrangements that landed her the iconic meet and sign audition for Island Def Jam Executive LA Reid. She dropped a hit single, then another, then another and was put on the national map. But at the peak of her success, the behind the scenes realism was beginning to eat away at the teen star.
“My team wasn’t put together well,” Teairra explains. “We were so new to the business and didn’t know much I was a minor so there were no frustrations. Everything was fun for me at that time. Some of the adults around me took that innocence and that fun away from me because they let me see too much. If I was managing my childs career she wouldn’t have saw a lot of the bullshit. I would have kept her up to part to know what’s going on but there is a way that you can do it to keep her encouraged and on the right track because one thing you don’t want to do is knock away that confidence because once you do it shows and it affects the project and the team. So whatever you need to do to keep the diamond safe that’s what you do. I feel like for me, I saw too much too early.”
While her environment was playing a huge role in the deterioration of her support system, it inevitably lead her to receive a call on the night of her prom from the label executives letting her know that she would no longer be an artist on Island Def Jam. In the midst of this huge letdown, she decided to mimmick the attitude of pop icon Janet Jackson and took control of her life and career. “I told myself that if anything happened this time I didn’t want to be able to point the finger at anyone except myself,” Teairra says with strong confidence. “If I mess it up I will take the responsibility but I would never know (what could happen) unless I give it that shot.”
With not having much to talk about outside of her album and what it felt like to work with Jay-Z, Teairra realized that when it came to her own projects, she had to end conversations. Nonetheless, this gives her more of a reason to, in her words, work her ass off. While using life and the things that she has been through to inspire and motivate others, she has taken her defeats and made them victorious. “I have been able to convert those feelings into beautiful music,” She says with a smile that radiates through the phone.” From my career troubles to my relationship trials, to just everything that I have been through has inspired where I am now, from the content of what I sing to the way that I sing it.”
That energy and work ethic along with her talent caught the attention of Hip Hop DJ, DJ Drama who reached out to Teairra about creating history. Teairra is the first female R&B artist that will release a mixtape entitled “Point of No Return” with the notable turntable wiz. With such a huge honor and blessing for her and her career falling at “the perfect time”, she is well on her way back to a place of comfort and musical success.
When doing anything for the first time, there is a learning curve that you have to take. Sometimes it works out with no flaws, and other times, the flaws are very evident. Teairra, took her curve with stride and is back on her straightaway. On August 17th, she released “Sincerely Yours”, her digital EP released through iTunes . Irrefutably, there are always those that will try to steal the sunshine from her. Instead of backlash, she has some very comforting words for her naysayers.
“I’m doing what makes me happy and I’m living my life,” Teairra says. “If you don’t like what I’m doing, too bad that’s your problem not mine. Hopefully you get your issues together with yourself. There is no reason that you should be that concerned in somebody’s business that you’re asking questions about why they are pursuing their craft. If you don’t want to hear my music then don’t listen to it. I just smile, God Bless you baby.”
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