About this artist
London native and Motown Records signee Tiana Major9 broke through in 2019 when “Collide,” an organic contemporary soul ballad recorded with EarthGang for the Queen & Slim soundtrack, began a six-month stay on Billboard’s Adult R&B Songs chart.
Born and raised in a Jamaican household in the London Borough of Newham, Tiana Thomas absorbed numerous styles of music, sang in church, and was particularly drawn to jazz and R&B. Naming herself Tiana Major9, after one of her favorite chords, she gained some notice in 2014 as a finalist in MOBO’s UnSung competition. Her first commercial recordings arrived in 2017 and 2018 with the singles “Merry Go,” “Levee (Let It Break),” and “Mr. Mysterious” baring inspirations such as Lauryn Hill, Marsha Ambrosius, and Jazmine Sullivan. A busy 2019 began with the Rehearsal @ Nine EP, which contained the latter two singles, and continued a few months later with the finalization of a Motown deal. “Collide,” a collaboration with Dreamville affiliates EarthGang, appeared that November on the Motown-issued soundtrack for Queen & Slim. The track entered the Adult R&B Songs chart the same month and remained for 26 weeks. Thomas’ profile back home was raised during this period with a featured appearance on Stormzy’s number one U.K. album Heavy Is the Head. ~ Andy Kellman