Tamar-kali

Tamara Colletta Brown, better known as Tamar-kali, is an American rock singer-songwriter and composer based in Brooklyn, New York.

Early life Tamar-kali was born and raised in Brooklyn, a second-generation musician through her father, who was a band leader and played bass and drums in local funk and soul bands. Her father had studied with Keter Betts in Harlem, She grew up with an eclectic appreciation for music with influences from home and choral classical training at school. While in high school, she studied choral singing and music theory.

In the early 1990s, Tamar-kali began performing in the East Village with the bands Funkface and Song of Seven. After fronting the band Song of Seven with men, Tamar-kali teamed up with three other Black women to organize a series of shows known as Sista Grrrl Riots. The Sista Grrrl movement was foundational to contemporary Afro-punk.

The "kali" in her performing name is inspired by the Hindu goddess Kali.

Career After tenures as a member of Funkface and Song of Seven, Tamar-kali became a solo writer, musician and composer in 1997. According to MTV.com, Tamar-kali was considered a "favorite" on the New York City underground punk rock music scene. She rose to prominence starring in James Spooner's award-winning documentary Afro-Punk (2003). The indie film spotlighted her performances and made her the official face for the DVD cover artwork. Her work as a vocalist and composer are influenced by other disciplines including literature, philosophy, visual art and cinema. She has shared the stage with Paramore, Roger Waters, Meshell Ndegeocello and The Roots. She has also shared the stage with Dub War, Joi, Carl Hancock Rux, Cassandra Wilson, Saul Williams, The Dirtbombs, Jean Grae and Earl Greyhound.

Tamar-kali has performed in such venues as Brooklyn Academy of Music and Lincoln Center, sometimes paying tribute to Nina Simone, Betty Davis and Odetta. Tamar-kali was the Musical Director for the Black Rock Coalition's Tribute to Nina Simone which held concerts in New York City (2003, 2009 and 2010) as well as Paris and the South of France (2009). In August 2009 she performed at the BRC Orchestra's "Four Women: A Salute to Miriam Makeba, Eartha Kitt, Abbey Lincoln and Odetta" at Damrosch Park in Lincoln Center.

In 2006 Tamar-kali released her first music video for the single "Boot" off her debut EP Geechee Goddess Hardcore Warrior Soul. Her "masterful guitar playing" combined with various types of self-representation in the video suggested "multiple possibilities of women's gender performance." The theme dealt with a young black girl lacking awareness of her own beauty, being left vulnerable to sexual exploitation. In 2007 Tamar-kali toured Europe. This experimental chamber ensemble performed at the Museum of Modern Art. Billboard said the work "explores the Biblical roots of misogyny through a combination of rock, gospel and blues suffused with classical and African roots music." The film marked Tamar-kali's third collaboration with the director after appearing in Pariah (2011), which was Rees' first feature film, and writing a song for Bessie (2015) on HBO. The Lie (2018), The Assistant (2019), and Shirley (2020). Tamar-kali composed the score for the 2023 documentary Little Richard: I Am Everything. Hollywood Music in Media Awards (HMMA) has nominated several of Tamar-kali's film scores for Best Original Score. In 2021, Shirley received a SCL Award nomination from the Society of Composers & Lyricists for Outstanding Original Score for an Independent Film.

During a 2019 interview for BBC Music Magazine, Tamar-kali discussed how her career as an independent artist contributed to her career in film scoring, while also learning about technology to a greater extent, in addition to working with a director.

Tamar-Kali has also composed and arranged music for her string sextet and voice project Psychochamber Ensemble.

Discography

Albums Geechee Goddess Hardcore Warrior Soul EP, (OyaWarrior Records, 2005) Black Bottom LP, (OyaWarrior Records, 2010)

Singles "Boot" (2006) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-6-WQTjiIyU "Pearl" remix f/ Jean Grae (2010)