Tanya Stephens To Release New Album In July
Acclaimed Dancehall artist and songwriter Tanya Stephens’ 10th studio album is scheduled to be released in July. Produced by Tad’s Records, throughout the course of the lockdown due to the pandemic, it comes eight years after her last album, Guilty, which was released in 2014.
“Junior Tads and I have been talking about it for a while. We kind of ended up being an outlet for each other during the pandemic. Tads studio became my space for grounding. I am a picky person when it comes to my professional home, and Tads Records carry my exact thoughts and ideas. This is somewhere that can nurture that. We are right on schedule,” the St. Mary native told The Gleaner recently.
Tanya, who turns 49 in July, is rated among Jamaica’s finest lyricists. She broke onto the Dancehall scene in 1996, with Yuh Nuh Ready fi Dis Yet , on Dave Kelly’s Joyride riddim.
After that success, she thereafter began working with such acclaimed producers as Bobby “Digital-B” Dixon, Barry O’Hare, Harvel “Gadaffi” Hart, and Tony Kelly, later voicing singles such as Draw fi Mi Finger, Freaky Type, and Cry and Bawl a collab with Bounty Killer.
In addition to writing songs for herself, Tanya has written songs for other artists, among them Spread Love, which was featured on Etana’s Grammy-nominated album Reggae Forever as well as Rock The Cradle which she wrote for Sanne Salomonsen from Denmark. She also contributed backing vocals on Garnett Silk’s 1998 album Journey which included hit songs such as Mama and Every Knee Shall Bow.
In 2019 the Jamaica Reggae Industry Association (JaRIA) honoured the hitmaker for her contribution to the music industry as a songwriter.
Tanya’s first album was Big Things A Gwaan, which was released on October 1, 1994. That 12-track album included songs such as Love How Yuh Body Tan, The Diner, featuring Yami Bolo, Hurt For Pleasure and Kick Weh.
Her next album the 11-track Too Hype was released by VP Records on November 25, 1997 and contained the hits Yuh Nuh Ready Fi Dis Yet, Big Tings Ah Gwan and Goggle, as well as the title track Too Hype, Nuff Man Flop, Good Man featuring Don Yute , Big Heavy Gal and Mi And Mi God.
The St. Mary High School old girl, followed up with Work Out, which was also released in 1997, a 13-track production which included Big and Serious, Pick Up the Phone, Respect, Nothing But a Fool and the title track Work Out.
In 1998 Tanya scored big with the salacious Ruff Rider, which had a slew of her biggest hits including Handle the Ride, Big Ninja Bike, Draw Fi Mi Finger, Cry and Bawl which featured Bounty Killer , Man fi Rule. and Wuk Fi Gwaan.
Tanya later moved to Sweden, where she signed a record deal with Warner Music Sweden and recorded the 2001 pop album Sintoxicated. That album consisted of 12 tracks, among them Banging In Gray, Lying Lips (Words I Should Have Said), No More, Tonight and I Can See a Storm Coming.
After returning to Jamaica, Tanya released the critically acclaimed Gangsta Blues album in 2004, which was described by her label VP Records as the “culmination of two years work, this album chronicles the travails of a thinking woman in a male dominated culture”. Among the hit tracks were Boom Wuk, Good Ride, Little White Lie, Its a Pity, This is Love featuring Whyclef Jean, Gangsta Gal featuring Spragga Benz, What’s your Story, Cant Breathe, What a Day and We a Lead.
The 20-track Rebelution followed two years later with the mega hit These Streets. Released on August 15, 2006, it also carried tracks such as Damn You, Still a Go Lose and Who is Tanya.
In 2010, she released Infallible, which she offered for free download to all her fans. It included tracks such as Illusion, Still Alive, 4 DA Pain, Siddung Pon It and the title track Infallible.
Her last was Guilty released in 2014, and which included songs such as Pon Di Side, Hit and Run, Bible or the Gun, Broken People and Unapologetic.