Tamara Johnson-George

Tamara Antrice Johnson-George ( Johnson; born April 29, 1971), best known by her stage/nickname Taj, is an American singer and rapper. She is best known as one-third of the R&B singing group Sisters with Voices (SWV). She also competed on the eighteenth season of '' Survivor'', '' Survivor: Tocantins''.

Background

The youngest of six children, George was born in Brooklyn, New York, as Tamara Antrice Johnson. Her father died of pancreatic cancer when she was nine. George grew up in an abusive household; her mother, who was sick with bone cancer, was beaten regularly by her drug-addicted stepfather. When George would intervene on her mother's behalf, she was also beaten.

When George was 14 years old, her mother died, which caused George and her siblings to be parceled amongst several relatives; George wound up with a cousin who molested her, adding to the sexual abuse she had experienced over the years with other male relatives. George graduated from high school and attended Baruch College to study accounting, but left college because of a physically abusive boyfriend, as well as to join singing group Sisters With Voices, better known as SWV.

SWV

George was recruited into SWV (then known as Female Edition) by Cheryl "Coko" Gamble, who would become SWV's lead singer. She was so shy that she auditioned with the lights turned off. George was known as the background dancer/model in the music video for Big Daddy Kane's "Ain't No Half Steppin" and had a bubbly, upbeat personality. This caused friction between George and Gamble, who felt that Taj's recognizable face and cheerful demeanor shielded her from criticism from the press.

Originally, George was both a singer and an emcee; she can be heard rapping the bridge over the original version of '' Right Here'' and ''I'm So Into You'', and is the primary female performer on the song ''Blak Pudd'n''. She co-wrote a number of SWV songs, including '' Right Here'' from their debut album, '' It's About Time'', and '' You're the One'', which also features Gamble as a co-writer. George ceased rapping when '' New Beginning'' was released in 1996, shortly after the end of the new jack swing era, and began to sing leads (''It's All About U'', ''Give It Up'') and co-leads (''Lose My Cool'', ''Use Your Heart''). The group went on to sell more than 20 million albums, making them one of the best selling girl groups of all time. Taj can be seen on the upcoming January issue of STS Entertainment And Fashion magazine.

Post-SWV

After SWV officially disbanded in 1998, George was signed to a two-year contract with the Ford Modeling Agency. Shortly after this contract ended, George began dating Tennessee Titan Eddie George, whom she'd met at a shopping mall in 1994. George contributed to the anthology ''Souls of My Sisters: Black Women Break Their Silence, Tell Their Stories and Heal Their Spirits'', which was published in 2000.

In 2002, George enrolled in Belmont University in Nashville, earning a Bachelor of Business Administration in May 2004. The following month, Johnson married Eddie George in Rockleigh, New Jersey's oldest son, Jazz.

Along with Katrina Chambers, George wrote the book ''Player hateHER: How to Avoid the Beat Down and Live in a Drama-Free World'' in 2007. That same year, George and husband Eddie George starred in the reality TV show ''I Married a Baller'', which depicted five weeks in the George household over a course of nine shows. The show focused on George and her marriage to Eddie George, her struggle to lose her "baby weight," and performing with SWV, who came together to perform the theme song of the show. ''Baller'' also highlighted Visions with Infinite Possibilities, the Georges' not-for-profit charity for survivors of domestic violence and their children.

''Survivor''

George was recruited to '' Survivor'' after answering a casting call specifically looking for an NFL wife. Prior to casting, George had never watched ''Survivor'' and could neither swim nor fish. However, she turned out to be one of the strongest competitors of the season, and came in second to J.T. Thomas in the fan favorite vote. Despite letting it be known that she was married to Eddie George, blowing up at her tribe mates and locking horns with ''Survivor'' host Jeff Probst, George was one of only four Jalapao members (out of eight), as well as the only woman from her tribe, to make it to the merge. In the final episode, George was blindsided by her tribe, coming in fourth and becoming the sixth member of the jury. In the end she voted for J.T., who won in a unanimous 7–0 vote, against Stephen Fishbach.

References

External links

Tamara Johnson-George biography
for '' Survivor: Tocantins'' at CBS.com

{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson-George, Tamara
1971 births
African-American Christians
American contemporary R&B singers
Belmont University alumni
Living people
Musicians from Brooklyn
Survivor (American TV series) contestants
21st-century African-American women singers
20th-century African-American women singers