Tamia Hill was born Tamia Marylin Washington on May 9, 1975, and goes by her stage name Tamia. Hill is a Canadian-American Grammy-nominated R&B singer who first gained prominence when she was 19 for her contributing role to the song "You Put a Move on My Heart," the first single off of Quincy Jones' 1995 album Q's Jook Joint.
Tamia grew up in Windsor, Ontario, Canada, and began singing in a gospel choir. Early on, Tamia aspired to be a vocal coach, but after several performing gigs she began to gain both recognition and awards for singing, including a Steve Ross Music Scholarship from the American Academy of Achievement in 1994. Hill soon traveled to Los Angeles, where she caught the attention of legendary producer Quincy Jones, and soon after Hill contributed to his single, which was later nominated for a Grammy Award.
In 1998, Hill released her debut solo album, Tamia. The album went gold, and spawned two hit singles. “Imagination” went to #37 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #12 on the R&B charts, while “So Into You” peaked at #30 on the Hot 100 and #7 on the R&B chart. In 2000, Tamia released her sophomore effort, A Nu Day, which also went gold in the U.S. and included the singles “Can’t Go For That” and “Stranger in My House,” which hit #10 on the Hot 100 and #3 on the R&B chart. The track was also #1 on the Billboard Hot Dance chart for ten weeks. Hill has gone on to release three more albums, More (2004), Between Friends (2006), and A Gift Between Friends (2007).
Hill is also the wife of Detroit Pistons player Grant Hill. The couple married in 1999 and had their first child, a daughter named Myla Grace Hill, in January of 2002.