Vivienne Tanya Stephens, better known by her stage name Tanya Stephens (born 2 July 1973, Kingston, Jamaica

Kingston, Jamaica

Kingston is the capital and largest city of Jamaica, located on the southeastern coast of the island. It faces a natural harbour protected by the Palisadoes, a long sand spit which connects the town of Port Royal and the Norman Manley International Airport to the rest of the island...

) is an influential reggae

Reggae

Reggae is a music genre first developed in Jamaica in the late 1960s. While sometimes used in a broader sense to refer to most types of Jamaican music, the term reggae more properly denotes a particular music style that originated following on the development of ska and rocksteady.Reggae is based...

 artist who emerged in the late 1990s. Stephens is most known for her hits "Yuh Nuh Ready Fi Dis Yet" — the single was later featured on the Reggae Gold 1997 compilation album

Compilation album

A compilation album is an album featuring tracks from one or more performers, often culled from a variety of sources The tracks are usually collected according to a common characteristic, such as popularity, genre, source or subject matter...

 — and "It's a Pity", which achieved Tanya international recognition.

Biography

Stephens was born in 1973 and grew up in St. Mary

Saint Mary Parish, Jamaica

Saint Mary is a parish located in the northeast section of Jamaica. With a population of 115,000 it is one of Jamaica's smallest parishes, located in the county of Middlesex. Its chief town and capital is Port Maria, located on the coast. It is also the birthplace of established dancehall reggae...

 and St. Ann

Saint Ann Parish, Jamaica

Saint Ann is the largest parish in Jamaica. It is situated on the north coast of the island, in the county of Middlesex, roughly halfway between the eastern and western ends of the island. It is often called 'the Garden Parish of Jamaica' on account of its natural beauty...

, attending Zion Hill and Ocho Rios primary schools and St Mary High.

Her album Rebelution

Rebelution (Tanya Stephens album)

-Track listing:# "Welcome to the Rebelution" # "Who Is Tanya" # "Put It on You" # "The Message" # "Still a Go Lose" # "To The Rescue" # "Damn You" # "The Truth" # "Spilt Milk" # "Saturday Morning" # "Cherry Brandy"...

was released in August 2006, and the first single "These Streets" was a number one hit in the Caribbean staying on Tempo's Chart at number 1 for more than 4 weeks. The album was totally sold out in Jamaica and other parts of the Caribbean. The track "Rosa" is a tribute to Rosa Parks

Rosa Parks

Rosa Louise McCauley Parks was an African-American civil rights activist, whom the U.S. Congress called "the first lady of civil rights", and "the mother of the freedom movement"....

.

Her early material was lyrically typical of dancehall

Dancehall

Dancehall is a genre of Jamaican popular music that originated in the late 1970s. Initially dancehall was a more sparse version of reggae than the roots style, which had dominated much of the 1970s. In the mid-1980s, digital instrumentation became more prevalent, changing the sound considerably,...

 and drew comparisons with Lady Saw

Lady Saw

Lady Saw is a Jamaican reggae singer, known as the queen of dancehall.-Biography:...

, along with whom she was proclaimed "the top female artists in Jamaica" in 1998 by the Washington Post, but later developed beyond what she called "the same old four topics" to 'reality' themes and even lyrics critical of homophobia

Homophobia

Homophobia is a term used to refer to a range of negative attitudes and feelings towards lesbian, gay and in some cases bisexual, transgender people and behavior, although these are usually covered under other terms such as biphobia and transphobia. Definitions refer to irrational fear, with the...

. Social scientist Clinton Hutton said of her: "She is very intuitively intelligent and deftly tackles relevant social issues".

Her 2001 album Sintoxicated saw her sign to Warner Music Sweden and make "a Macy Gray-style pop album with two Swedish producers, Emil Gotthard and Peter Cartiers".

In 2007, Stephens was awarded a scholarship by Resource Development International to study for a Business Management degree via the internet from the University of Sunderland

University of Sunderland

The University of Sunderland is located in Sunderland, north east England. The university has more than 17,500 students, including 7,000-plus international students from some 70 countries....

.

Her latest album Infallible, was released in 2010.

Stephens has a daughter, Kelly, born in 1994.

Bedouin Soundclash

Bedouin Soundclash

Bedouin Soundclash is a Canadian band currently based in Toronto. Their sound can be described as reggae and ska.-History:The band's current lineup consists of vocalist and guitarist Jay Malinowski, and bassist Eon Sinclair with Sekou Lumumba on drums. Their debut album, Root Fire, released in 2001...

 reference Tanya's hit "Yuh Nuh Ready Fi Dis Yet" in "Living In Jungles" from the album Sounding a Mosaic

Sounding a Mosaic

Sounding a Mosaic is the second album from the Canadian rock band Bedouin Soundclash. The album was released on September 7, 2004. Recorded in Montreal and produced by Darryl Jenifer of Bad Brains, the album has spawned the hit single "When the Night Feels My Song" which reached #1 on the Canadian...

.

Albums

• Big Things A Gwaan RUNNetherlands 1994
• Too Hype
  Too Hype
  Too Hype is a studio album released by Tanya Stephens on November 25, 1997 in the US on theVP Records/Madhouse Records label.-Track listing:# 'Yu Nuh Ready Fi Dis Yet'# 'Too Hype'# 'Goggle'# 'Mi And Mi God'# 'Nuff Man Flop'# 'Better Work'...
  
  VP Records 1997
• Ruff Rider
  Ruff Rider
  -Track listing:# "DRAW FI MI FINGER"# "HANDLE THE RIDE"# "PART TIME LOVER"# "MAN AH FRACTION"# "BIG NINJA BIKE"# "CRY BAWL"# "WUK FI GAWN"# "119"# "JOE GRIND"# "THINK IT OVER"# "SOMETHING BLUE"# "2000 YEARS"# "DEDICATED"# "MAN FI RULE"# "#2"# "HORNY"...
  
  VP Records 1998
• Sintoxicated Warner 2001
• Gangsta Blues
  Gangsta Blues
  Gangsta Blues is a studio album by Tanya Stephens-Track listing:# Intro# Way Back # Boom Wuk# Damn# Good Ride# Little White Lie# It's A Pity# Tek Him Back # I Am Woman# This Is Love # Gangsta Gal...
  
  VP Records 2004 Top Reggae Albums: #10
• Rebelution
  Rebelution (Tanya Stephens album)
  -Track listing:# "Welcome to the Rebelution" # "Who Is Tanya" # "Put It on You" # "The Message" # "Still a Go Lose" # "To The Rescue" # "Damn You" # "The Truth" # "Spilt Milk" # "Saturday Morning" # "Cherry Brandy"...
  
  VP Records 2006 Top Reggae Albums: #11
• Infallible Tarantula Records 2010

Singles

• "It's A Pity" (Doctor's Darling Riddim)
• "Yuh Nuh Ready Fi Dis Yet"
• "Cherry Brandy"
• "Draw fi Mi Finger"
• "Freaky Type"
• "Cry and Bawl"
• "Boom Wuk"
• "These Streets"
• "Dance 4 Me
  Dance 4 Me
  "Dance 4 Me" is the fourth single off Mark Morrison's album Innocent Man. VP Records recording artiste Tanya Stephens features on the song...
  
  " (Mark Morrison
  Mark Morrison
  Mark Morrison is a British R&B singer. He was the most successful UK R&B singer of the mid-90s and the first black male solo artist to reach number one in the 90s. His single "Return of the Mack" became a #1 or Top 10 hit in several European countries in 1996...
  
  featuring Tanya Stephens)

External links

• Interview with Tanya Stephens on Jamaican Observer (2003)
• Robbo Ranks interviews Tanya Stephens for 1Xtra (audio interview, 2006)
• Recent interview with Tanya Stephens (2008)