Tamara Johnson-George
Tamara Johnson-George | |
|---|---|
 Johnson-George (left) performs with fellow SWV member Leanne "Lelee" Lyons, 2005. | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Tamara Antrice Johnson |
| Also known as | Taj |
| Born | April 29, 1971 |
| Origin | Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, New York, U.S. |
| Genres | R&B, Hip hop soul, new jack swing, house |
| Occupation | Singer |
| Instrument | Vocals |
| Years active | 1990–present |
| Spouse | Eddie George |
| Website | http://tajgeorge.com |
Tamara Antrice "Taj" Johnson-George (née Johnson, April 29, 1971) is an American singer, actress, and author. Best known as one-third of the R&B singing group Sisters with Voices (SWV), she was also a contestant on Survivor: Tocantins.
Background
The youngest of six children, Tamara Johnson was raised in Brooklyn. Her father died of pancreatic cancer when she was nine. Johnson grew up in an abusive household; her mother, who was sick with bone cancer, was beaten regularly by her drug-addicted stepfather.[1] When Johnson would intervene on her mother's behalf, she was also beaten.
When Johnson was 14 years old, her mother died, which caused Johnson and her siblings to be parceled amongst several relatives; Johnson wound up with a cousin who molested her,[2] adding to the sexual abuse she had experienced over the years with other male relatives.[1] Johnson graduated from high school and attended Baruch College to study accounting, but left college because of a physically abusive boyfriend,[3] as well as to join singing group Sisters With Voices, better known as SWV.
SWV
Johnson was recruited into SWV (then known as Female Edition) by Cheryl “Coko” Gamble, who would become SWV's lead singer.[4] She was so shy that she auditioned with the lights turned off.[5] Johnson was known as the background dancer/model in the music video for Big Daddy Kane's "Ain't No Half Steppin" and had a bubbly, upbeat personality. This caused friction between Taj and Coko, who felt that Taj's recognizable face and cheerful demeanor shielded her from criticism from the press.[6][7]
Originally, Johnson was both a singer and an emcee; she can be heard rapping the bridge over the original version of Right Here and I'm So Into You, and is the primary female performer on the song Blak Pudd'n. She co-wrote a number of SWV songs, including Right Here from their debut album, It's About Time, and You're the One, which also features Gamble as a co-writer.[8] Johnson ceased rapping when New Beginning was released in 1996, shortly after the end of the new jack swing era, and began to sing leads (It's All About U, Give It Up) and co-leads (Lose My Cool, Use Your Heart). The group went on to sell more than 20 million albums, making them one of the best selling girl groups of all time. Taj can be seen on the upcoming January issue of STS Entertainment And Fashion magazine.
Life after SWV
After SWV officially disbanded in 1998, Johnson was signed to a two-year contract with the Ford Modeling Agency. Shortly after this contract ended, Johnson began dating Tennessee Titan Eddie George, whom she'd met at a shopping mall in 1994.[9] Johnson contributed to the anthology Souls of My Sisters: Black Women Break Their Silence, Tell Their Stories and Heal Their Spirits, which was published in 2000.
In 2002, Johnson enrolled in Belmont University in Nashville, earning a Bachelor of Business Administration in May 2004.[10] The following month, Johnson married Eddie George in Rockleigh, New Jersey, thus adding his name to hers. Their son, Eriq Michael, was born in 2005[11] after a difficult pregnancy that left Johnson-George bedridden for the first five months of her pregnancy.[12] Johnson-George is stepmother to Eddie's son, Jaire David, whom she refers to as her oldest son,[13] and the godmother of Coko's oldest son, Jazz.[14][15]
Along with Katrina Chambers, Johnson-George wrote the book Player hateHER: How to Avoid the Beat Down and Live in a Drama-Free World in 2007. That same year, Johnson-George and husband Eddie George starred in the reality TV show I Married a Baller, which depicted five weeks in the George household over a course of nine shows. The show focused on Johnson-George and her marriage to Eddie George, her struggle to lose her "baby weight,"[16] and performing with SWV, who came together to perform the theme song of the show. Baller also highlighted Visions with Infinite Possibilities, the Georges' not-for-profit charity for survivors of domestic violence and their children. [citation needed]
On March 7, 2012, Tamara Johnson's husband was present in the vehicle of then 21-year-old professional golfer Rachel Connor when she was arrested for a DUI at 2 a.m. after a charity golf event held in Florida.[17] In April 2012 the home Johnson-George owned in Nashville, Tennessee was served a foreclosure notice due to non-payment. To address media speculation about her marriage, she gave an expletive-laden interview in May 2012, in which she claimed her son was afraid that his father would be going to prison over the affair, and that her house had been on the market for several months prior to the scandal.[18] After a bank negotiated settlement, the auction of the home was halted and she was allowed to remain in her home.[19][dead link]
Survivor: Tocantins
Johnson-George was recruited to Survivor after answering a casting call specifically looking for an NFL wife.[20] Prior to casting, Johnson-George had never watched Survivor and could neither swim nor fish. However, she turned out to be one of the strongest competitors of the season, and came in second to J.T. Thomas in the fan favorite vote.[21][22][23] Despite letting it be known that she was married to Eddie George, blowing up at her tribe mates and locking horns with Survivor host Jeff Probst, Johnson-George was one of only four Jalapao members (out of 8), as well as the only woman from her tribe, to make it to the merge. At the final episode Johnson-George was blindsided by her tribe, coming in 4th and became the 6th member of the jury. In the end she voted for J.T., who won in a unanimous 7-0 vote.[24]
References
- ^ a b "Tamara's Story". Visions with Infinite Possibilities. Retrieved December 3, 2014.
- ^ "episode #3 ("Road Trippin'")". I Married a Baller.
I was molested as a child. There was a cousin in the family, who would ... who would make me do things.
{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires|journal=(help) - ^ "Story: Taj". SoulTracks.com.
- ^ "Lelee's MySpace page".
After several members and name changes, Cheryl knew a girl from Brooklyn named Tamara. Tamara was a cute Chinky eyed chocolate girl who was a background dancer/model in Big Daddy Kane's video for "Ain't No Half Steppin" and we all just grew to love. After a few rehearsals Tamara was in.
- ^ "The WTF Comeback of SWV".
- ^ "Player hateHER": 69.
{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires|journal=(help) - ^ "Melody Charles interview with SWV's Taj". August 7, 2008.
... Coko really loved [Player hateHER]; at the end, she actually apologized to me because she didn't realize how mean she was being in the early days that we would sing together. I was always considered 'the nice one', and the girls felt resentful toward me because they felt like 'no one ever complains about Taj and the things she does, she's not perfect!
- ^ "SWV's Music". SWV Online. Retrieved December 3, 2014.
- ^ "Eddie & Taj George". TCA INTV. 2007. Retrieved December 3, 2014.
- ^ "SWV's Tamara "Taj" Johnson". HHNLive.com.
- ^ "Taj Gives Birth!". SWV Online.
- ^ "The Longest Yard". The Nashville News. March 17, 2005.
- ^ "episode #3 ("Road Trippin'")". I Married a Baller.
I got my sons with me ... my youngest is hyped. He's ready and excited, and my oldest is just excited to be on a bus.
{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires|journal=(help) - ^ "Coko Talks About SWV Breakup". Yahoo! Music. July 21, 1999.
- ^ "episode #4 ("So High or Solo")". SWV Reunited.
{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires|journal=(help) - ^ "episode #7 ("California Dreamin'")". I Married a Baller.
I'm still trying to get my little 17-month-old son's weight off!
{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires|journal=(help) - ^ Eddie George/Rachel Connor DUI arrest, tmz.com, March 7, 2012; accessed December 3, 2014.
- ^ Johnson-George interview, lipstickalley.com; accessed December 3, 2014.
- ^ Eddie George foreclosure halted, blog.foreclosure.com; accessed December 3, 2014.
- ^ "Taj Johnson-George". Reality Blurred. February 6, 2009.
- ^ "Jeff Probst blogs 'Survivor: Tocantins': episode 5". Entertainment Weekly.
Word on the street: People like Taj and I can see why. She's coming across as a likable, hard working, and industrious player.
- ^ "Jeff Probst blogs 'Survivor: Tocantins': episode 7". Entertainment Weekly.
By the way - so many people got upset last week because I said Taj was 'second tier' smart. It had nothing to do with her being a woman, it had to do with the way she is playing the game.
- ^ "Jeff Probst blogs 'Survivor: Tocantins': episode 11". Entertainment Weekly.
Okay, I'll admit it. I had no idea Taj would be this well liked, even by me! ... Taj is also smarter than I realized. She has mastered the art of staying out of the way.
- ^ Feinberg, Daniel. "Recap: 'Survivor: Tocantins' Finale - And the winner is..." Hitfix. Hitfix, Inc. Retrieved 9 August 2015.