Thara Natalie Prashad (born January 16, 1982), also known as Thara, is an American R&B singer and

model A model is an informative representation of an object, person or system. The term originally denoted the Plan_(drawing), plans of a building in late 16th-century English, and derived via French and Italian ultimately from Latin ''modulus'', a mea ...

. Her father is

Indo-Guyanese Indo-Guyanese or Indian-Guyanese, are people of Indian origin who are Guyanese nationals tracing their ancestry to India and the wider subcontinent. They are the descendants of indentured servants and settlers who migrated from India beginnin ...

while her mother is part

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

and part

African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...

. Formerly signed to the

Desert Storm The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Iraq were carried out in two key phases: ...

label most known for rapper

Fabolous John David Jackson (born November 18, 1977), better known by his stage name Fabolous, is an American rapper. Raised in Brooklyn, he first gained recognition while still a senior in high school, when he performed live on American music executive ...

Early life

Born and raised in

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

, Thara started singing at 16 and began taking modeling jobs in the hopes of getting closer to the music industry. She landed a

Reebok Reebok International Limited () is an American fitness footwear and clothing manufacturer that is a part of Authentic Brands Group. It was established in England in 1958 as a companion company to J.W. Foster and Sons, a sporting goods company ...

commercial campaign followed by a Verizon campaign. Shortly after the Verizon commercial, she met Jeremy Skaller, then an up-and-coming producer, who would eventually become a close friend and business partner.

Career

Thara would go on to appear in more music and commercials videos, including Jay Z’s “

Excuse Me Miss "Excuse Me Miss" is a song by American rapper Jay-Z. It released on February 4, 2003, as a single for his seventh studio album '' The Blueprint 2: The Gift & the Curse'' (2002). It was also written alongside producers the Neptunes, whose Pharrel ...

” in 2003. From there, she did a commercial for MTV 2 and met La La Vasquez, who was then a VJ for the network. La La introduced Thara to DJ Clue, to whom she gave her demo CD and after listening to it, he had Thara meet with the rest of his team, and then signed her to his label,

. While working on her debut album, with Jeremy Skaller as the producer, Thara worked with Fabolous,

John Legend John Roger Stephens (born December 28, 1978), known professionally as John Legend, is an American singer, songwriter, pianist, and record producer. He began his musical career by working behind the scenes, playing piano on Lauryn Hill's " Ever ...

Kanye West Ye ( ; born Kanye Omari West ; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, and fashion designer. Born in Atlanta and raised in Chicago, West gained recognition as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records in the ea ...

, Rodney Jerkins, and

The Neptunes The Neptunes are an American songwriting and production duo composed of Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo, formed in Virginia Beach, Virginia, in 1992. Williams often provides additional vocals on records and appears in the duo's music videos, ...

among others. In 2007, she released her self-titled debut album ''Thara'', which featured the hits “Jump On” with

Fatman Scoop Isaac Freeman III (born August 6, 1971), better known by his stage name Fatman Scoop, is an American rapper, promoter and radio personality famed for his on-stage rough, raw loud voice. He is known for the song "Be Faithful", which topped the ch ...

, and a duet she co-wrote with John Legend called “Maybe". Following the release of the album, Thara toured throughout Australia, the UK, and Germany, enjoying international success. When she returned to the States, Jeremy Skaller booked her for a show in Miami as the opening act for the British-Asian, R&B/pop sensation

Jay Sean Kamaljit Singh Jhooti (born 26 March 1981), better known by the stage name Jay Sean, is a British singer and songwriter. He debuted in the UK's Asian Underground scene as a member of the Rishi Rich Project with "Dance with You", which reached ...

. The two instantly clicked and their magnetic chemistry as artists led them to collaborate on the single “Murder", and travel across the globe performing the song. "Murder" was also included on Jay Sean's second album '' My Own Way'' in 2008. She featured in the video for Sean's "

Stay Stay may refer to: Places * Stay, Kentucky, an unincorporated community in the US Law * Stay of execution, a ruling to temporarily suspend the enforcement of a court judgment * Stay of proceedings, a ruling halting further legal process in a tri ...

" on his second album. She collaborated with Sean again on the song "Love Goes" that leaked in January 2010. She was featured with Desert Storm rapper

on the song "Ghetto", produced by

Scott Storch Scott Spencer Storch (born December 16, 1973) is an American record producer and songwriter. He started off as a keyboardist for the group the Roots. Early life Storch was born on Long Island, New York. He was raised in South Florida and Phila ...

. "Ghetto" and the album '' Real Talk'' went on to sell over a million copies since its release in 2006.

Personal life

She married singer

in August 2009. Thara gave birth to their daughter, Ayva Loveen Kaur Jhooti, on December 13, 2013. They had a boy named Aaryan on August 15, 2018.

Discography

Studio albums

* '' Thara'' (2007)

Extended plays

* ''The H Is Silent'' (2008)

Other appearances

References

External links

Thara Prashad
on Myspace
Thara - Desert Storm's First Lady
- South Asian Life style
Thara Aims High
MoraFire - July/August 2007

about.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Prashad, Thara 1982 births Living people American people of Guyanese descent American women singer-songwriters American singer-songwriters Indo-Guyanese people 20th-century African-American women singers African-American female models American female models African-American models American people of Irish descent American musicians of Indian descent American female models of Indian descent American people of Indo-Guyanese descent Female models from New Jersey Indian people of Irish descent 21st-century American singers 21st-century American women singers African-American songwriters 21st-century African-American women singers