Bangladesh, the super producer behind Beyonce’s “Diva,” Lil Wayne’s “A Mili” and Rihanna’s “Cockiness (Love It),” has crafted a banger for Crystal Tamar. The booming, 808 anthem “U Gon Love Me” is available on Apple Music, iTunes, Spotify, Google Play, Amazon Music and Tidal and featured on her self-titled solo debut EP out on August 16.
The R&B vocal powerhouse and former member of T-Pain’s girl group Sophia Fresh turns up on the song written by Racquelle Dolore. “This is an anthem,” Crystal Tamar says. “It’s something to sing out loud. It’s saying, ‘You gon love me. You gon love me. You won’t put no one above me.’ You can take it as a love song or take it as your anthem. It’s saying, ‘Hey I’m me. I can’t give you anything else. And you are going to love it.’”
R&B and hip hop worlds collide on the slick-talking club record showcasing a new sound for the Houston-bred artist now based in California’s Bay Area. “This one is a little bit more uptempo than the first single,” she says. “‘U Gon Love Me’ is definitely the track that people are going to want to ride to.”
Crystal Tamar recently filmed the music video (SEE CLIP) that showcases her raw, hip hop dance skills. The EP’s first single “Nowhere,” written by Kalenna Harper (Lady Gaga, Aretha Franklin, Fantasia) and Cam Wallace (Beyonce, Lil Wayne, Chris Brown), now available via digital service providers, has been receiving support from music influencers. The video is featured in Vevo’s Incoming R&B playlist and it was also covered on sites Urban Bridges, RnB Junkie, RnB Hits.com and The Urban Music Scene. The live, acoustic version of “Nowhere” released last year was praised in articles on The Source, SoulBounce and Pop Dust. Even beauty outlet Sheen Magazine has shown Crystal Tamar love.
After years of performing in a La Marque, Texas family singing group with her sisters and cousin, being a member of Prairie View A&M University’s legendary Marching Storm’s “Black Foxes” and serving as captain of the NFL’s Houston Texans’ cheerleading squad, Crystal Tamar landed an opportunity to join Sophia Fresh, a girl group signed to T-Pain’s Nappy Boy Entertainment imprint on Atlantic Records. The group achieved modest success, working with Kanye West, CeeLo Green, Marsha Ambrosius, TI, Kandi Burruss, Tyga and a dozen others.
Their 2008 single “What It Is” featuring Kanye West received heavy airplay on West Coast radio stations and their 2010 single “This Instant” with T-Pain appeared on the Step It Up 3D soundtrack. Crystal Tamar performed on a number of national road shows including T-Pain and the Family – Playlist Tour 2008, Pastry Tour 2009, Graduation Party Tour 2009 and Seventeen Magazine Tour 2009. After leaving Sophia Fresh, Crystal Tamar relocated to California’s Bay Area to pursue her solo career and has since been featured on Bizzle’s “Feel Good” and “Did For Me,” the latter featuring Canton Jones. She has also appeared as a voiceover actress in the animated comedy Freaknik: The Musical with T-Pain, Snoop Dogg and Rick Ross as well as the CG-animated film The Sky Princess starring Vivica A. Fox.