Tami Chynn – Dancehall’s Princess of Pop

by M. Peggy Quattro

Kingston, JA – Tammar Anika Chin, now known as singer Tami Chynn, was born June 14, 1983 in Kingston, Jamaica, to a multi-talented, musical family. Her parents, Richard and Christine Chin, were in a band called The Carnations and Tami grew up with the sounds of R&B and Jazz. Her mother, the daughter of a white British woman and a black Jamaican man, is a singer and one of Jamaicas first female trumpet players; her father, whos Chinese and a bit of American Cherokee, plays bass guitar and drums. This unique mixture of Black, Chinese, White, and African-American-Indian has resulted in a cultured young woman, acutely aware of musics universal power.

Growing up in the parish of St. Andrew, Tami attended St. Peter and Paul prep school, later attending Campion College. Tami recorded her first single at age 17, and was signed to a major label at 24. Along Tami’s career climb, she has appeared on recordings with international Reggae stars Sean Paul, Beenie Man and Lady Saw. In addition, she has collaborated with Assassin and appeared in Wayne Marshalls video Why. Prior to pursuing singing professionally, she toured with Shaggy as a backup dancer.

Tami Chynn is the older sister of famous Reggae-fusion singer Tessanne Chin. Brought to the publics attention via the internet in 2005 with her songs Hyperventilating,” “Touch Me,” “I’d Like to Know,” and “Show Me Now,” the young singer/songwriters career suddenly took off. Her debut album, entitled Out Of Many…One, was released in Japan in 2005, achieving #41 in the charts, and in the US in August 2006.

In 2008, Tami Chynn released “Frozen,” her new dance/club single featuring Hip-Hop star Akon, and released by her new label, Universal/SRC Records. The song is produced by Akon and Red One. The style is eclectic dancehall, as Tami call it, which combines Hip-Hop, Jazz, Dance, and Reggae. The video was shot the end of March, so look for it soon!

Tami Chynn made her first UK performance on March 22, 2008, when she appeared with Akon on stage at BBC 1Xtra Live in London. She looked comfortable on stage and is a gifted, natural performer. Her look is young and edgy, yet classy and smart. On BBC 1Xtra, Akon implied that Tami Chynn is Jamaicas answer to Madonna, Gwen Stefani and Rihanna. We will be watching and reporting as this young star continues her rise.