Feisty would be an accurate way to describe the talented Cape Town-based Tia Black. Always with a smile on her face, Tia is quite clearly a girl on a mission in the local music industry. ZAlebs reporter Kelly Lodewyks chats to this rising star.

She has worked with Jody Williams, Miss Kay, Slikour, Jae and Kwesta and is well on her way to making a name for herself.

Her first single, Crusader (now available on iTunes), has been getting some big radio airplay and is now available on iTunes. 

She caught the eye of SAMA-nominated producer Ashley Valentine and is now signed to Silverado Entertainment / Universal Music Publishing Respect Music as her management and label partner.

You’ve probably heard of her, but in case you have not, have a read below to see why Tia Black is the next big thing for the South African music industry.

Has singing always been your dream and when did you first start out?

It actually hasn’t. My dad tried to get me to enter Idols, but I wasn’t interested in it. When I eventually started singing in the church choir, I realised that Idols and other similar competitions were not the platforms I wanted to launch my singing career. My first love has always been writing. As a child, I couldn’t express myself properly so I turned to writing. I started off with poems and scripts and then songs.

Who are your musical inspirations and whose sound do you think you are most akin to?

I love Christina Aguilera, Adele and Emily Sande, among others. I don’t like describing myself as R&B because the R&B market has become so saturated and it’s changed over time. Maybe R&B soul. I have an old soul and I enjoy making that kind of music. I’m not in it for the money, so I don’t want to make the conventional R&B that sells. I’m no bump and grind kind of girl.

Where do you see your career going?

To the Grammys. I would love to win an award for a song I’ve written for a big name in the industry. And I’d love the opportunity to work with some of these big names; people such as Christina and Brandy Norwood.

What do you do when you’re not singing?

I’m a homebody, so I love watching series, reading, painting and taking photos. I also have a day job.

Listen to her song with Silkour below