BIO
Tomeka Williams has always been comfortable with who she is. But with lyrics like these you can’t blame her for being a little unsure about how others would react. Indeed with looks that could easily land her in the “Super Diva” category, a voice that could earn her southern gospel praise and charged subject matter, her concerns were justified. I was nervous, like…’what are people going to think?” Tomeka says. “You don’t expect a young black woman to sing songs like this nowadays and actually mean it and have the genuine emotion behind it”.
But one listen to the Tacoma Washington singers dynamic debut album, the Black Hood and its clear that Tomeka’s distinctive soul inspired pop-rock blend serves as a perfect sonic platform for the talented singer to explore a wide range of the human experience with the type of potency seldom possessed by a first time artist. She lobbies for the safe return of America soldiers on the wishful “ Heroes ( a letter to Obama)” deals with subjects like a drug addicted mother leaving her child alone to chase the pipe and sexual abuse by priests in the ominous title track “ The Black Hood” and points out, not only how her ex became the ex, but that she knew about his philandering ways the whole time. On the bitter “ Think about me.” She also passionately deals with an issue that virtually all women have dealt with or will—loss of innocence ( aka the first time)—on the thought provoking “ What She Gave.”
Largely based on personal experience and beliefs, these songs gave Tomeka an opportunity to heal. “I am happy person but at the time there were so many frustrations that I had that I never really spoke about,” she reveals. “This was my outlet to do it”.
Other songs on The Black Hood provided Tomeka an opportunity to document happier topics: what she desires in a man (“Me Like”) and spending time with her family (“ Way Back Home, “ an update of the classic Jr. Walker and the All Stars Song). “ We talk about all these things that go on that stress us out. But we don’t look at the things that give us peace.” She says glowingly of the latter. “The one thing that gives me peace is my family. To be back in that southern hospitality and the food, I just love it. I go back to the South every year to get a good, strong does of family.”
Born in Jackson Mississippi, Tomeka spent her younger years in Tuscaloosa Alabama until her father received orders to report to Fort Lewis Army Base. She recalls sitting with her grandfather listening to the blues and playing the harmonica. While at home being around her Dad as he played funk and soul in one room and Momma playing some good ole Gospel in the other. The love of music came natural for the whole family.
Though she was unfamiliar with the Pacific Northwest, Tomeka made a relatively seamless transition thanks to her parents. Who encourage her love of music and entered her in a number of talent shows around the city. “When I was able to do it for the first time, it gave me a rush,” she recalls. “I was like; I don’t just want to do it at home.” I wanted to do it for real.” Taking her ambitions to become well versed in her craft Tomeka became classically trained and kept busy in the local talent scene and got a break when she was introduced to Sir Mix-A-Lot, the pioneering Seattle rapper. The two became friends and Mix featured Tomeka on his recording and gave a dose of touring the good and bad. All the while, Tomeka and Mix were experimenting with her sound. Given that she enjoyed soul as well as the alternative rock sound indigenous to the Pacific Northwest, they decided to combine the two and use live instruments to bring out even more emotion. The sound clicked and Tomeka and The Black Hood’s substantial subject matter.
“I really hope that my songs will have people talking and making a change within them selves,” she says. “There is a song on this release that is relatable to someone”. “The album was very therapeutic to me and it does bring a lot of conversation to the table. I hope that’s what it does, that it goes further and makes actions happen.”
Mission accomplished
