TEMMORA

Where are you from originally? How did you become interested in music?
Temmora: I’m originally from Memphis, born and raised I started singing when I was five in the church choir doing talent shows statewide. Later I was in the school choir. I guess you could say that music has always been in my bloodlines; several people in my family are in the music industry.

Who were some of your musical influences?
Temmora: Janet Jackson. I like Phyllis Hyman, I learned about her a couple years back. Aretha Franklin, Tony Braxton, Anita Baker. I love Erykah Badu and Jill Scott. There’s not too many artists that I don’t like. I think they’re all incredible in their own right.

How would you describe your music?
Temmora: Mainstream. It’s hard to classify.
Arthur Lezy (Temmora’s manager and CEO of her label, LEG Records): It’s a little jazz, believe or not a little country, firmly rooted on an R&B/hip-hop foundation. People from all walks of life like her music. It’s a mixture of a lot of things. She’s very in-your-face, very emotional with her music. When she sings you can tell that she’s singing from the heat. That’s one of the things that really impressed me when we first met.

When you started singing was it just a hobby or was it a career plan?
Temmora: Actually, it’s been a lifelong dream. It started with me and my mom. We used to watch the Grammys when I was little, and we used to dream, “Oh, that’s what you’re gonna wear at the Grammys!” and “What are you gonna say when you win?” So it actually started when I was little, I always wanted to be a singer. The talent shows started grooming me. Winning some, losing some, floppin’ on my face, learning from each and every show and event that I got into helped develop me into a better artist. You’ve got to know that you can’t win ‘em all, but you can put your best food forward. And you must always practice, no matter how good you are.

When I saw you perform at the Billboard Awards, you had a whole crew of backup dancers. Do your shows usually involve choreographed routines?
Temmora: Well, yeah, it’s not so much that it’s choreographed, but I do train with my dancers and my vocal coach and my physical trainer to be able to hold the stage. There’s a lot of work that goes into it, getting my shows together.
Arthur: She usually travels with dancers, or sometimes when she’s performing slow ballads she’ll hold the stage down solo.

After doing talent shows, did you start getting paid shows and opening up for other artists?
Temmora: I’ve opened for quite a few people, or sometimes they’ll call me in to do a break. I’ve actually headlined some shows, which was interesting. I’ve done a lot of industry conferences, behind-the-scenes type things, to let the industry know that I’m here.

You opened your show with an Usher song. Do you normally do that to get the audience’s attention with something that’s familiar to them?
Temmora: If it’s a conference I usually do original material, but when I’m doing a show for the general public I’ll do a cover or two to get them familiar with my voice.

Do you write most of your original material?
Temmora: I write a lot of the material, and my manager writes as well. Sometimes we have other writers come in and collaborate.
Did you release your first album independently? What was the main single off that album?
Temmora: “Tryin’ to Play a Player” was the single off the first album, Talk to Me.
Arthur: We released it through Southwest Distribution, but they went under and the rest, as they say, is history. So the remainder of the time, we sold albums out of the trunk of our vehicle. This time, with this next album, we’re working on locking in a national distributor. One of the labels we’re looking at is Thump/Universal, they’re really strong because there’s such a resurgence of old-school R&B. While everybody else is out chasing the rap, R&B is slowly bubbling under the surface. That’s evident with the success of Prince and Teena Marie and even most recently Anita Baker. We’re also looking at some of the larger national independents, as opposed to a major. That way she can get the attention she deserves. We need somebody who’s gonna aggressively work on the retail side as aggressively as Temmora works on the consumer side.

How would you describe your new album?
Temmora: “There’s No Me Without You,” with Howard Hewett, is the first single.
Arthur: The best way to combat downloading is to make sure the album has more than just that one song, so we’ve spent a lot of time making sure that we give people their money’s worth. There’s a few uptempo tracks in particular that are particularly strong, and we’d like to add verses from a rapper who’s already on the verge.

What type of challenges have you dealt with? Do you think it’s more difficult to break into the industry as a singer than as a rapper?
Temmora: I believe if it’s your destiny it’s gonna happen regardless. There have been a lot of obstacles, people not wanting to give me respect. They say you have to deserve and earn it, which I understand, but at some point you’re just pounding and pounding and something’s gotta let up. It’s a struggle, and you’ve got to let these people know that you’re not backing down. I don’t think it’s any harder or easier whether you’re talking about R&B or rap. With R&B it’s a little harder streetwise, ‘cause you can’t get the street notoriety that you can get with rap.

Are most of your shows in the Memphis area?
Temmora: Actually, we’ve done shows just about everywhere. Wherever the opportunities pop up.
Arthur: The #1 urban mainstream station in Lafayette, LA, requested that Temmora come perform the first week in October. So she’ll be there, then the Carolinas, then Birmingham, and then Arkansas. She has a strong fan base in Arkansas, believe it or not. We go wherever the opportunities arise: malls, schools, wherever. We have to be more creative because the competition is greater than ever and [major label] budgets are shrinking. It’s becoming more and more difficult to attain or maintain the consumer’s attention. We try to be creative with our marketing, as far as partnering with other companies who are trying to reach the same fan base as Temmora.

For a lot of females, it’s difficult to break into the industry without being sexual or explicit. Do you think that’ll be a problem for you?
Temmora: I plan on just letting my music speak for itself. I believe I do have sex appeal, but I don’t believe I have to be naked to sell an album, no. I think that just because everybody else is doing it, I’ll stand out more because I’m not doing it. I can be sexy without being naked.

What subjects do you talk about on your album?
Temmora: Mostly relationships, but there’s no male-bashing. Can’t beat up on the guys forever (laughing). It’s just telling it from my heart, my perspective, things I go through on a daily basis. I’m not married, but the first song happens to be a wedding song. I didn’t write that one, but it was so beautiful I couldn’t pass it up. The album is called “Any Other Girl,” cause I’m no different from any other girl. One of the songs, “She Takes the Long Way Home,” is basically about a person who is in a stressful relationship. Her house isn’t far from work, but instead of driving straight to the house she takes the long road home to get her head together. It’s about feeling trapped in a relationship.
Arthur: It’ll be released next spring.

Aside from relationships, what other topics do you discuss?
Temmora: Well, my mother is deceased, and this is one of the main reasons why I do this. It was our dream together. There’s a song on the album called “Missing You,” it’s just letting my mom know that I miss her dearly. Anybody who’s missing someone can relate to that song. We wrote the song, but the idea came from a Grammy-nominated writer. I also have a contemporary Christian song called “Mary Did You Know?” talking about Jesus, which is the closing of the album. I also sing in Spanish, so one of the songs, “Victim of Summer Love,” is on the album in both English and Spanish. I have a strong Latino fan base.
Arthur: She wanted to identify with the fan base so much that she began taking lessons to learn how to sing in Spanish. People already think she’s Spanish with the name “Temmora,” but she does have sort of a Spanish look to her also. That’s a common perception, so she began taking lessons to sing in Spanish. That’s another way that Temmora shows how dedicated she is to her fans.

Do you ever get to the point where it feels like “work” and you don’t wanna do it anymore?
Temmora: I think that with anything you get to that point. So yeah, I am human, and sometimes I wanna quit. Sometimes I feel like it’s too much. But when I walk out on stage and see faces and fans and people that believe in me and what I’m doing, all that just goes straight out the window and I get that energy boost. I get tired sometimes, but at the end of the day it’s my passion. I love it.

You said you’re “mainstream.” Are you worried about being labeled as a “pop” singer?
Arthur: No, she’s definitely urban. That’s who she is and she sings from the heart. When you hear her sing it’s definitely urban, but there’s a strong amount of crossover appeal.
Temmora: It’s interesting how people in charge can predict what’s “urban” and “not urban.” When people on the street hear it, they can make their own decision.
Arthur: It’s always interesting how people try to tell us what we like to listen to. For example, there’s a song on the first album that was a jazz tune she remade called “Peel Me a Grape.” Most people said, “Oh, that’s too adult.” But she would go into junior high schools and elementary schools and they all liked the song. Ultimately, it’s all about good songwriting. People categorize what’s “urban” and what’s “not urban.” Last week we were in a Little Rock with a group of producers who wanted to hear some of the album. When one track came on I said, “Skip that one, you probably wouldn’t be interested.” It’s sort of a country/bluesy song that I thought they wouldn’t like. They listened to it and were like, “No, that’s the hit!” That surprised me. Temmora says “mainstream” because she doesn’t like to be pigeonholed. It’s interesting because now with the internet people have access to so many different types of music and cultures than ever before. You can’t deny the impact that urban culture has had on today’s music, though. Even if you’re talking about pop stations, you’ll see the urban influence in their playlists. But this all goes back to the definition of “urban.”

Being independent, has it been difficult getting radio airplay?
Temmora: Sometimes, but I have to give big ups to some of the program directors who do show mad love for independents. I had twenty BDS stations that jumped on the first single, “Tryin’ to Play a Player.” It’s harder, yes, than being on a major label. But it’s a fight in anything you do.

Are you interested in doing hooks and features for other up-and-coming rappers?
Arthur: She’s had many artists approach her for hooks, but a lot of people don’t follow through. We have no problems with that, if it’s the right material. I can be reached at 870-550-4100.

How did you end up meeting your manager Arthur, and signing to LEG Records?
Temmora: It was at a talent contest I heard about on the radio shortly after my mom passed. I checked it out just to see what was going on in Memphis. It was a tri-state talent competition, and Arthur knew the guy who was holding the competition.
Arthur: I was in a group at the time, and the guy who produced for us invited me to come over and watch the talent competition. It’s funny, because I’ve seen her grown and develop so much since that point. I’m proud of what she’s done. I don’t think people realize how much time this takes. Weight training an hour a day, vocal lessons twice a week, choreography several hours a day multiple days a week, not to mention traveling at the same time and trying to complete the album? That’s a full-time job. I think it’s a common misconception people have, whether you’re talking about R&B, rap, or pop: This person was so talented they sang one song and sold a million units and it happened overnight. People don’t realize the years they’ve spent. Anyway, I had missed her performance, but I saw her doing the hook to a rap song. Even through that, with her head down, I could hear the pureness of her tone. I tapped my friend on his shoulder and told him, “Dude, that’s your next superstar. He said, “Yeah, I’m gonna use her for some hooks.” I just questioned that statement, because she was someone good enough to go solo. [Temmora and I] exchanged phone numbers after the show, and I taught her what I know about the business. Slowly, over time the relationship developed. It’s been almost five years now. I was in a group called Esquire at the time. I don’t wanna say it was modeled after Boyz II Men, but it was around that same time. It was supposed to be a group of articulate, fairly attractive, well-groomed gentlemen. Unfortunately, it didn’t work out because the guys in the group didn’t understand the amount of time and energy and effort it takes to create something like that. The group disbanded, but I still had the love for music so [managing Temmora] is something that’s a hobby for me. But it’s not something that’s a hobby for Temmora. This is what she does.

- Julia Beverly, jb@ozonemag.com
(Photo: J Lash)