We recently had the privilege of getting a chance to speak to the sultry sweetheart from Lotmusik, Tanya T6. One word comes to mind when listening to this R&B/Pop/Hip Hop artist: talent. Not only has Tanya T6 got the voice, she has got the look and the personality that won us over. You couldn’t ask for more of a total package here. We’re really excited about her forthcoming release entitled, “Holidays At Home.”

As we spoke to Tanya T6, every answer was well-crafted and genuine, and you don’t get that from every artist today. It is surprising that T6 is able to keep it so real even though she has so much going for her.

Tanya T6 communicated a lot of love for her family throughout our conversation, we all know that family has a special place in our hearts, regardless of any drama along the way.

It’s quite fitting that Tanya T6 is releasing her album “Holidays At Home,” in the near future, because she has the ability to make you feel all warm and cozy inside with her melodic voice and kind heart. Destined for big things, we are looking forward to future music from Tanya T6.

Hipsterwave: So how are ya doin’?

Tanya T6: I’m good, how are you?

Hipsterwave: I’m good. So, the first question actually comes from one of my producer friends: what is your writing process for songs and or what inspires you when it comes to lyrics?

Tanya T6: Basically, most of the time, it’s probably stuff that I’ve been through or that I’d want to happen. So that inspires me. And then also, sometimes I just write without music. Then there are other times where, if I’m really feelin’ a beat, I can write really quickly. Most of the stuff that I write about is definitely inspired by what I’ve been through or that I’d love to happen.

Hipsterwave: Okay, so sometimes maybe you’ll just be sitting, with a pen and paper or whatever, no music…

Tanya T6: Exactly.

Hipsterwave: And just write without even thinking about it?

Tanya T6: Yeah, I’ll come up with an idea, and I have the track right then and there, but I know that I work with a lot of hot producers and if I just sing a melody to them, they’ll be able to come up with a beat. So, I never wanna lose a good idea I have about a different kind of song. Whatever I have in mind, I just jot it down.

Hipsterwave: That’s really cool. Do you ever record it? Like, call yourself and send yourself a voicemail or something?

Tanya T6: [laughs] All the time! My phone is a Blackberry and it’s actually stuck a lot because I have so many voice notes. Any time I have a melody, any time I have an idea, I record it so my Blackberry is screwed-up because of that. [laughs]

Hipsterwave: [laughs] It’s just overloaded. Okay, so the next question is, I know Dame Grease produces for you and he’s the mastermind behind a lot of the tracks you’ve got so far, and so my question is how did you meet Greasy and what was going on for you when you two first met?

Tanya T6: We met about six or seven years ago, when I was just sending out my demo, which I sent to him—to Lotmusik Studios—and whoever was with A&R at the time gave it to Dame Grease, who brought me in and basically from there we started working. He found interest in what I was doing—in my music—and I’ve only been out for about two years right now. Prior to that, it has all been artist development, like he guided me to the right direction as far as my music image and everything, so even though I’ve only been out for two years, I’ve been working on this for what seems like forever.

Hipsterwave: Oh, okay. So it wasn’t like you were friends with him or anything before, it was like you sent in your demo and the rest was history. So, growing up though, I read that you always knew you were going to be a star, and with your involvement in choir, it seems like you had a passion for singing at an early age…

Tanya T6: Yeah.

Hipsterwave: So I was wondering, how do you think your upbringing affects the way you view music today and makes your work as an artist different from the other artists out there?

Tanya T6: Well, honestly when I was younger, we were not allowed to listen to music or to watch music videos or anything. So it’s funny because a lot of stuff I know about lots of artists in music that have been out there for a while, but it was just something I had a love for, and you know my dad or my mom would not allow us to listen to the stuff so a lot of stuff—if Grease or anyone from the camp would mention someone—sometimes I’m a little clueless because I wasn’t exposed to music but I’ve always had it in me. I was the one sneaking out to listen to music. I started off listening to Whitney Houston, and then from there Denise Williams, and Roberta Flac, and stuff like that. Then I had a vocal coach who introduced me to a lot of different music and because of them, it helped me to widen my range.

Hipsterwave: And so it sounds like you were kinda sheltered, huh?

Tanya T6: Yeah, but you know what, I’m one out of four girls and I have one brother. So, the boy always got to do what he wanted, but at the same time I kind of thank them for doing that, because I would’ve been in a different place in general right now, so yeah I’m glad they did that actually.

Hipsterwave: So it was good parenting?

Tanya T6: Yeah.

Hipsterwave: So, so far, what has the most enjoyable part about being an artist in the music industry today?

Tanya T6: Um, an enjoyable part would actually be getting out and having DJs to support me because I think you definitely need that DJ support and I’ve been given support by labels that the artists that are signed to major labels get. That’s probably what I love the most and that’s probably my biggest accomplishment. Also, just listening to my voice just get better and better and my music get better and better every day is good. So, just seeing myself grow within all this music stuff is definitely something that keeps me going. It’s something that I enjoy: just progress, pretty much.

Hipsterwave: Yeah that’s the only way to do it I hear, is just hours and hours of work…

Tanya T6: Yeah it’s just non-stop. My friends tell me I have no life and that I’m young, I don’t date, I don’t do anything because I’m focused. I’m focused on getting to where I need to get, and I’m almost there, I just have one more step you know?

Hipsterwave: Right, right, so just one day yeah everything comes together, all the hard work I think.

Tanya T6: Yeah.

Hipsterwave: But it helps though in today’s industry, I think you kinda have to have the look, which helps and can be a big deal.

Tanya T6: Yeah, I think so too. It does come with the whole package, but I definitely don’t want my looks to be dominant thing. I want people to focus more on talent than that. Then again, talent doesn’t even matter nowadays: it’s getting worse and worse. So…

Hipsterwave: [laughs] Right, right. Okay, so you’ve got some classic influences, like um Bone Thugs, Ella Fitzgerald, Denise Williams, and your musical style is unique. So how do you keep it unique and how do you incorporate the music from the past that you love into the songs that you make today?

Tanya T6: I kinda try to do a mixture of all those artists that you named. Some of my music is more—I used to do gospel as well—so some of my music is more ballads and stuff. I definitely keep a lot. I think all of the artists you named are kind of a mixture of me, but I kinda don’t wanna sound like anybody else, so every time I hear something I try to just dodge it and make it sound different. Like I basically make everything sound like my own so that no one can say that I sound like somebody or whatever. But I think that all these people that inspire me have made me into just one person that’s different from everybody else out there right now.

Hipsterwave: Right.

Tanya T6: With the whole Bone Thugs ‘N’ Harmony, I know it’s a little weird [laughs] but that’s one of my biggest inspirations because I love there harmonies and I love their fast rapping. If you listen to some of my music, I don’t rap fast like that. I don’t rap. I don’t see myself rapping, but you can hear some of the influence in some songs.

Hipsterwave: Okay, well and the fact that you get to work with Grease is like—for me, I love instrumentals, and I feel like if the production isn’t right, then it kills so many songs because the production is wack. So I think it’s really great that you got to link up with somebody as talented as he is.

Tanya T6: Yeah, but he’s definitely a hard-worker and he’s definitely a humble guy. He’s spectacular as far as—every, every beat that comes—it’s not even because I know Grease, like every beat that I listen to that he gives to me is hot.

Hipsterwave: Yeah.

Tanya T6: So, he’s great. He’s great.

Hipsterwave: Yeah, there’s this great energy to his music, I really like it.

Tanya T6: Yeah.

Hipsterwave: So the next question is, do you ever think you’d work on a project with Grease doing a production with your vocals and also like the Auto-Tune? Because I know he’s got the Blanket Jakson…

Tanya T6: [Giggles] Yeah.

Hipsterwave: [laughs]

Tanya T6: Yeah…

Hipsterwave: Like do you think you’d ever do like a collabo. with Blanket Jakson or is that too crazy, or have you already done something like that?

Tanya T6: I actually already, yeah, my new single features Blanket Jakson and Jae Millz, and it’s called “Get It Off.” Grease is on the hook as Blanket Jakson, so yeah.
Tanya aka T6 – Get It Off Feat. Jae Millz

Hipsterwave: Oh okay.

Tanya T6: So yeah, that’s on my single that’s out. It’s so cute, I love it. Plus, I’ve got my new Christmas EP dropping this Wednesday, 12/9/09!

Hipsterwave: That single is on your Myspace right now, yeah? Oh man, I can’t wait to hear the Christmas EP! I love getting into the holiday spirit with good music. Exciting stuff.

Tanya T6: Thanks about the EP, I had tons of fun making it! As for the single, it’s the first song on my Myspace. At first it was just me and Blanket, and then the remix is with Jae Millz and Grease, but the remix is kinda the one that we’re pushing as the single. So, um, yeah there goes Blanket for you.

Hipsterwave: Yeah, so I heard the Auto-Tune, but I didn’t realize that was Grease. That’s cool.

Tanya T6: Sounds good right?

Hipsterwave: Oh yeah! Also, the way he presented it, was like “This is my project, Blanket Jakson,” and it’s kind of funny to me though, just the name.

Tanya T6: [laughs] Yeah, I know, Grease is a comedian.

Hipsterwave: I was not expecting him to come out—like when I interviewed him—like “Check this out, it’s me rappin’ with the Auto-Tune.” And I was like “What?” Like I was surprised to hear that sound from him, but that’s cool, and it’s obviously working because I heard that track and thought it was T-Pain on the hook.

Tanya T6: Yeah.

Hipsterwave: Right, right. That’s cool… that’s definitely cool. So, the last question I had is what made you decide to become a vegan? Because I know a lot of people have different reasons…

Tanya T6: Yeah. [laughs] Well, this is a funny story. So, long story short, my dad one day 12 or 13 years ago decided that he wanted to take all the meat out of the refrigerator and throw it out, and we had no choice. So, because we were always sheltered, we kinda had to go with what my dad, you know, did or whatever. I just got used to being a vegan and we’re all vegans. [laughs]

Hipsterwave: Yeah? Wow, I hear it’s healthier…

Tanya T6: Yeah, definitely.

Hipsterwave: Yeah, like I was a vegan for six or eight months and I like fell-off, but people would always say like “Are you getting enough protein?” And all this, I’m sure you get that all the time…

Tanya T6: Yeah, it’s annoying because I never have any problem when I go to the doctor. They never say I need more protein, or that anything’s wrong. They say nothing about that to me. I feel like I have so much energy. You just have to balance it.

Hipsterwave: Balance it as far as what you eat and stuff?

Tanya T6: Yeah. You just can’t like say, okay vegans—people say “You’re vegan, so what do you eat?” I eat pasta, I eat peas, spinach. I eat a lot of vegetable and I eat a lot of carbs of course, because that’s pretty much all I can eat like rice, carbs, vegetables. Basically, you just have to make sure your intake is enough as far as vegetables and fruit and you’re good. You don’t necessarily—people always say protein—but that’s like the least of a vegan’s concerns. You can get protein from anything.

Hipsterwave: Yeah I didn’t realize that you can get it from vegetables…

Tanya T6: Yeah from peas, from beans.

Hipsterwave: Yeah I heard the average American gets something like five times the protein they need.

Tanya T6: Right, and it comes from bad stuff. And I’ve seen videos and stuff, you know I cheated like—when my dad first started—we cheated and would sneak and get some chicken and stuff. And then once he brought us to this vegan retreat and we saw these videos and that did it for me. I won’t touch a piece of meat again. I don’t care how good it smells. Now I’m about the humane part, as far as what they do to animals.

Hipsterwave: Yeah.

Tanya T6: But I still wear leathers. I’m not that into it, but as far as animal cruelty I don’t like that at all.

Hipsterwave: Okay, so you’re not like an extreme…

Tanya T6: No.

Hipsterwave: That’s cool. That’s how I’d be if I went back.

Tanya T6: Yeah you could do it. Take it slowly.

Hipsterwave: Yeah, just gradually work it in.

Tanya T6: Yup.

Hipsterwave: Probably have to learn how to cook a little better.

Tanya T6: Yeah, yeah that’s the only thing, but my sister has turned into a chef doing this stuff so she taught us a lot of recipes. It helps when you’re around other people, like if you’re doing this by yourself and you have no vegan or vegetarian friends, it may be a little hard. But if you have some friends and family that are the same as you then it makes it easier. So, I’m definitely looking forward to some family home-cooking over the holidays.

Hipsterwave: Yeah, I agree 100 percent. Me too!

Tanya T6: Yup.

Hipsterwave: Well, I’m out of questions. So, it’s been great talking to you and I really appreciate that you took the time out to talk to me today. Thanks for everything.

Tanya T6: No problem, and thank you!

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Check out Tanya’s record Holidays At Home in iTunes: