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"I have no idea what I'd do if I wasn't doing hip-hop.” says Tara Chase, who goes by her given name. She was born and raised in Montreal and migrated to Toronto in 1995 where she earned a diploma in biotechnology. She became the only female MC in a collective known as The Circle. Tara has acted, hosted a radio show, and developed her own label Chase n' On Music, which proves her options are larger than what she lets on.
No stranger to awards, Tara won a Canadian Urban Music Award in the Best Hip-Hop Female Single category for her first solo release, Autonomy (feat. Saukrates). It was featured on Beat Factory's Rap Essentials Vol. 2. She received a VideoFACT grant for Autonomy and was the first Canadian female hip-hop video ever played on B.E.T. in the U.S. She also won a Much Music Video Award and earned a Juno nomination for her appearance in Kaybe's Natural High .
Her second solo release, The Northside , was another huge underground success for her. Armed with another VideoFACT grant, it received high rotation on Much Music. Her third solo release, Like it Like (feat. Roam) produced by Mr. Attic, exhibited an edgier side of Tara setting her place as a Canadian force to be reckoned with. It was featured on the Honey Drops CD, which was the 1st Canadian Urban Female Compilation from Phemphat.
Armed with much experience, Tara has embarked on her most ambitious project to date, the release of her mixtape The College Graduate . This is a project Tara had been groomed for her whole career. She engineered and mixed many of the songs; executive produced and is preparing for the release of the CD under her record label Chase n'On Music. The CD is proving to be a great move as it is creating a great buzz for her, which will help towards the release of her first solo LP.
Tara has lent her voice to such successes as 21 Answers (featuring Lil' Mo), a hard hitting reply to the 50 Cent summer love anthem 21 Questions , DL Incognito's Spit Forever 2 , What Dreams Are Made Of , Rascalz Dun Did It , Kardinal's Powerful , On Wit da Show , Put em Up , Choclair's Til Now , Just a Second Rmx , Michee's Love Em' or Leave Em' , Motion and Apani B Fly's 3 MC's .
Her intro to the Toronto scene was the now legendary performance at the all female showcase known as Honey Jam while initially working with producer DRK. While having countless shows under her belt, Chase has also proven herself to be more than just an MC. She has dabbled in acting making an appearance on a TV show called Drop The Beat, wrote for and performed in a Budweiser commercial, 2 MuchVibe commercials, and had a radio show on Illnoize.com.
She's traveled to Germany to record with Sonny Jones a Turbo Beat/BMG pop artist. She wrote 2 verses for a song entitled Follow You Follow Me , a Phil Collins cover song that Mr. Collins himself would not release unless he approved the rap lyrics, the only changes allowed to the original. The song charted in Germany and the U.K. She toured Germany and England appearing on Top of the Pops, MTV and in one of their largest performances they were billed alongside Enrique Iglesias, Montel Jordan, and Phats & Smalls.
Tara recently recorded with the Brazilian group ZUCO 103 who are at the forefront of the Brazilian music scene. The song, Get Urself 2gether (Chris Harrison Rmx, producer for Morcheeba), is on their latest album One Up One Down, a chart topping success.
Tara also performed in Jamaica for the How Can I Be Down hip-hop music conference with the likes of Kardinal, Xbizit, The Liks, & Beenie Man.
Giving back to the Toronto scene is important to Tara . She's been co-hosting a monthly open mic showcase called Open Mic Explosion with Marvel and DJ Kirk for 2 years. It's a place where local artists go to show their skills. She also lends her time to take part in community events such as HYPEIII, Adidas Flow Ball tournament and others.
Tara has come a long way from her skill honing days in Montreal to her career making days in Toronto . Rough and tattered, scathed but never broken her energy has only just begun to shine through. |
