This Is ~ King Tatie

King Tatie - born as Tatiana Chipondaminga in London, England - is a fifteen year old British rapper, songwriter, actress and model; she is also currently teaching herself to play the guitar and piano. At an early age, she displayed a huge passion to perform and entertain around the house, at school talent shows, and around any audiences who were willing to listen. Her parents, upon seeing King Tatie's passion, started enrolling her in vocal, modeling, dancing, and acting training; simultaneously with her training, King Tatie would perform in showcases, pageants, and competitions to help build her stage presence and to help with being comfortable performing in a crowd.

In July 2010, King Tatie flew to Los Angeles to compete in The World Championships of Performing Arts; this competition is an international competition, with 47 countries and 70,000 competitors competing to win. At the time, King Tatie was the first and only competitor from the United Kingdom to compete in the World Championships, and she came out with five medals. King Tatie says that, "Entering the competition really made me realize that performing is something I wanted to do for the rest of my life, and that no one would stop me from achieving my dream.”

Upon moving to Los Angeles in 2012, King Tatie starred in the documentary, The Audition, about child actors in Hollywood, (which has been shown worldwide in America, Europe, Australia, and Africa) and also starred in the feature film, Dance-Off, with Shane Harper (Good Luck Charlie, Happyland) and Chelsea Tavares (Zoey 101, Just Jordan).

While in Zimbabwe for a promotional tour, King Tatie performed and presented at the Hip Hop Awards 2012, did radio interviews with Zimbabwe’s three top radio stations - PowerFM, ZiFM, and StarFM - and TV interviews with their number one TV station, ZBC TV, as well as a radio commercial for Nugget Shoe Polish.

King Tatie has also opened up for Soulja Boy in Denver, Colorado, Ice Prince in Africa, and has embarked on a world tour in America, Africa, Dubai and England. King Tatie has appeared as a front page, feature and cover spread for newspapers in Zimbabwe, South Africa, and England.

RW) Tell us about your name, King Tatie, it is a great name and unique since you are a female music artist. How did you come up with that as your music name?

KT) Thank you! Yes, that's normally the first thing notice about me–I'm a female who calls myself "King" [laughs] but that's exactly why I love it! Anyone who knows me will tell you that I'm always thinking outside of the box and trying to create concepts outside of the realm of what's considered "ordinary or normal", and that's how my stage name originated.

Everybody assumes that because I'm a woman, I HAVE to call myself Princess or Queen–but who's to say I'm either? Who is to tell me I'm not a King when I feel like one? Whether I'm in the studio, on the stage, or in front of the camera, you'll always see me give my 200% because I love what I do and am extremely passionate about my music and career.

Not to be cocky or disrespect to anyone at all, but I'm the best at what I do and, when put to the test, I'll always come out #1 because I'm a fighter–I'll never stop, never give up until I end up on top, and for that, I feel like I earned the right to call myself a King. I want to empower young people, especially young girls, that they can do anything they set their minds to, regardless of their gender. Never limit yourself, ever, because anything and everything is possible in this world as long as you say and believe it is.

RW) You are still very young, when did you first know you could rap and were you like a baby bouncing around to beats on the radio? ;-)

KT) Funny you should mention that [chuckles]. My mum has always told me that when she was pregnant with me, my dad would play R&B and Hip Hop music in the house, the car etc. and my mum could literally feel me bouncing around to the beat inside her belly!

Then, apparently after I was born, if my parents tried to play lullabies or nursery rhymes to help me fall asleep, I would just cry and throw tantrums. But as soon as they played R&B or Hip Hop music, I would drool on the couch watching the music videos until I fell asleep [laughs]. And funnily enough, I actually started out as an R&B singer! That was my primary genre, but I've always been writing as long as I've been singing. At some point in my music career, I just started developing a good ear for writing rap songs and would write them with specific artists in mind; but then my mum was actually the one who said "These are such great songs, why are you wanting to give them to other people? You should try performing them for your own records." And voila! "King Tatie" was born! [laughs] No, but in all honesty, I do owe it to my mum to changing my career–for the best!–because my dad and I weren't keen on me switching to rap at first, we were rigid on me being an R&B singer. But fast forward seven years later and I can't see myself NOT rapping! It's my passion and I'm just so in love with the whole genre, history, and artistry of it, and I truly believe it's my calling.

RW) I notice a bit of a British accent when you speak. Tell our readers where you grew up? And, when did you come to this country?

KT) Yes, you heard right! I'm from England originally. I was born in London and raised in a small town outside of the city called Worthing, in West Sussex county. I came over here when I was twelve but it's funny because when people ask where I'm from, I always reply "everywhere" [chuckles]. I've lived in Virginia, Atlanta, Los Angeles, and now here in Las Vegas. My soul is a free spirit!

RW) Who was your biggest influence as a kid musically? Are your parents musicians?

KT) Definitely Beyoncé! I still remember it clear as crystal day–five year old me was sitting on the floor watching music videos (as usual), and then I see Beyoncé and Jay-Z's "Crazy in Love" music video premiere appear on the screen. I remember being absolutely mesmerized by her–she exuded so much confidence and was so powerful, resonating all that through a television screen!

I wanted to be exactly like her–a superstar. That's when I really fell in love with the concept of music itself. Then, as I got older within my childhood, I discovered Michael Jackson and was absolutely blown away by his vocal and dance skills, and how creative he was. I wanted to do that too! I've always admired how both MJ and Beyoncé were just so out of the box and revolutionary throughout their music careers. I guess watching them subconsciously instilled in me a desire and passion to have that "one of a kind" touch within my own career.

RW) Who are some of the Rap artists out there now on the music scene you most admire?

KT) There's so many it's hard to keep track! One of the things I love about music is that its ever-changing and super innovative. Rap artists like J. Cole and the late Nipsey Hussle (rest in peace to him, so heartbreaking) are among current rap artists I really admire because of how they tell stories within their music and inspire people to make a change, to go and chase their dreams. And then there are other rap artists like G-Eazy and Cardi B who I had been following and fans of their music for several years before they became mainstream, so it's really amazing for me that I was fortunate enough to see their music journey from the beginning to their huge successes now, but there's also so many other up and coming rap artists that I keep tabs on and its like, wow, they're young like me and achieving an abundance of success! That's so cool and inspiring, and only motivates me to continue pushing and work harder.

RW) If there is one music artist out there you could do a duet with, male or female, who would that artist be and why?

KT) Oh gosh, only one? [laughs] Hmmm, that's a tough one [chuckles]. Here, let's make a deal: I'm going to play coy for now and keep it a secret, and when I do actually end up doing a duet with the very artist I had in mind, I'll come back and tell you who it was in a follow-up interview! [laughs].

RW) I know from speaking with you and your manager (mom), that you have had some bumps in the road with your professional music pursuits. What has been the most difficult part about pursuing this dream of yours, and what have you learned from those experiences?

KT) Yeah, I mean, definitely one thing I've learned is that no matter what industry the career you're pursuing is in, failures and setbacks are inevitable. I would say the most difficult part about pursuing the dream is when you think you're at the peak of your success and can finally think "I made it", "My family and I's lives are going to be changed forever" only to have that kind of ripped from underneath your feet, right when it seemed to be at the grasp of your palm. It definitely does make you want to just quit and feel like maybe you're in the wrong profession. But what I learned from those experiences is that I'm meant to go through them to help me grow strong, learn more, become wiser and smarter for the future. My mum and I always say to each other that what didn't kill us made us stronger and wiser, and only even more determined to continue pursuing this career. Giving up isn't an option for me anymore at this point, I've sacrificed too much, put too much blood, sweat, and tears into my music career to even think about wanting to turn back now. It's all or nothing and I'm confident to bet on myself, I'm all in 100%.

RW) What are you working on currently that you feel will get you on the radar for labels to take you on and for a career launch? Do you also have any plans to maybe act professionally, or what are some of your other interests of pursuit?

KT) I'm consistently active with music! If I'm not releasing my own original music then I'm looking at what's hot right now in the Rap/Pop/R&B charts and I'm putting out a remix to that ASAP. So far I've released remixes for Thotiana by Blueface (which has received great response online–look out for the music video release coming later this month!), Taste by Tyga, and my upcoming remix of New Drip by Soulja Boy.

I also have upcoming remixes for songs by City Girls, Lil Yachty, NBAYoungBoy, Young Herb, another Tyga song and more. I'm constantly in the studio, writing, or performing! If I'm not doing one then best believe I'm most definitely doing the other two. I also have a HUGE show coming up on May 2nd for the House of Blues! I'm so excited and feel incredibly blessed to be able to have this opportunity of performing on the main stage. House of Blues is a venue I've dreamed of performing at and never would've thought possible to achieve at least this early into my career, so I'm really hard to make sure I give everyone a show to remember! I'll be releasing the full details on all my social media platforms as the date gets closer so make sure to keep an eye out because I''l be giving away free tickets and the concert is for all ages!

RW) I realize you are new to the business, but if you were asked to speak to a group of young girls say in middle school or high school, who are considering a career as a professional musician, what do you think you would say to them as encouragement?

KT) Definitely first and foremost–Never give up. And it sounds so cliché but I promise you, it's true! This year marks my tenth year pursuing a career in the entertainment industry, and I'm only just beginning to feel like things are happening for me left right and center. It takes time–some may be fortunate enough to take fewer years than me or even months to succeed, but for the large majority more than often it takes several years to find success. But as long as you truly love what you're doing, every second and every minute of it, and you can't see yourself doing anything else in this world but that one thing, then that's the exact thing you should strive for each and every day until you get to where you want to be because, when you love what you do everyday, it doesn't even feel like a job or a career–it's just simply you having fun and getting paid for it. But none of that can be achieved by being handed to you on a silver platter–you need to work hard, stay dedicated, motivate yourself even on days where you feel like you can't continue. Keep pushing and fighting tooth and nail for what you want and I promise you'll achieve your goals and dreams. I'm a strong believer that whatever you want in life is already yours; the universe has conspired to put all the odds in your favor–now it's your job to put in the work to get there.

Be patient and believe in yourself, trust in your dreams even when other's don't, but above all, make sure to fall in love with the journey towards reaching your destination, that's the most important part of it all because that's where you grow and appreciate everything that comes your way, both the good and bad.

RW) Please tell our readers where they can find you on social media?

KT) Everything is super simple so you can easily find me! My handle for all social media is @kingtatie. So instagram, twitter, Soundcloud etc. Everything!

Thank you King Tatie! I am sure many of our readers will follow your career path, and we look forward to hearing and seeing a lot more of you soon!