Chicago bred, but southern at heart, Tarrey Torae’s melodic presence springs from the crossroads of city living, southern geniality, essential womanhood, and passionate soul. No amateur to music, Tarrey is a 6x Apollo Winner and has appeared on 2 Grammy Award Winning Albums for her work with Kanye West on The College Drop Out album and John Legend’s debut Get Lifted album.
Her voice soars to heights unvisited by the average singer re-assuring you that this is classical music in the making. Though Tarrey Torae traces her earliest singing memories to childhood family pastimes, she had no plans of becoming a full time performing artist. With a passion that supersedes music, Tarrey had dreams of becoming Chicago’s first African‐American woman mayor. Preparing for that path, she graduated from Mississippi Valley State University with a B.A. in Political Science/Pre‐Law and was well on her way towards this dream, before discovering she was destined to sing.
Giving in to her life calling, Tarrey Torae left her Masters Program in Urban Planning, Policy and Development and began showcasing her vocal talents at Chicago’s former infamous jazz club called Rituals. After winning several talent competitions in front of some of the world’s most critical audiences, she soon became the lead singer for one of the city’s acclaimed bands Soul Fed and her first recorded single, “Still Will Love You,” was placed into WGCI’s (Chicago’s #1 Urban Station) weekly rotation for nine months and featured in Showtime’s Original Film “Rain.”
Tarrey has gone on to appear at numerous summer festivals and live music venues throughout the United States and beyond. She has held down stages, extensively on national tours, namely, a 55 City Coca Cola NAACP Tour, the Nissan/Essence Magazine Moyo Music Mix Tour, The Rock the Bells Festival Tour, and Lollapalooza.
This musical powerhouse has performed on stages with The Roots, Common, Talib Kweli, Patti Labelle and Stevie Wonder and has shared stages with the likes of Jill Scott, Mos Def, Nas, Usher, Anthony Hamilton, Faith Evans, Dave Chappelle, Lupe Fiasco, Cee Lo Green, Little Brother, El Debarge, Lyfe Jennings, Eric Roberson, India Arie’, Amel Larrieux, Erykah Badu, Miguel, Marsha Ambrosius, Roy Ayers, the late great Gil‐Scott Heron, Will iAm, Stevie Wonder, and many more.
Along with her audacious voice, her songwriting skills have been featured on Platinum & Gold records with Kanye West, John Legend, & Freeway. She’s also been on records with J. Ivy, Pete Rock, Freeway, and The Last Poets.
In addition, she’s done work in the advertisement world for brands such as AllState, General Mills, Ford, and Toyota.
Beyond singing and writing, her acting background has extended into theater, film and television, landing her the lead role on the Off‐Broadway play “Me and My Shadow,” an episode of the Emmy Award Winning Drama Series “ER,” her first film is an independent comedy called “Not Another Black Film” (released 2017 on Amazon) where she played the supporting role of Cecelia in a hilarious church scene. In addition, she has taking on a new role in the upcoming film “Hal King” and is playing the character named Madame Quickly. Hal King will be released in the summer of 2018.
Torae’s other current endeavors include her current House Music Single Release “Marching On” & an upcoming studio album not yet titled. She is also on tour with the legendary & iconic Slick Rick for the fifth year in a row. As well, she is on simultaneous tour with Legendary Award Winning poet J. Ivy, for his Dear Father Concert Tour and National Community Service Campaign.
Further, Tarrey works in the community with children and young adults giving self‐esteem and creative workshops. With such accomplishments to uphold Tarrey Torae’s talent and creative fervor, she is bound to leave a timeless mark on music and art.
Her presence truly is a gift wrapped in soulful wishes. Stay tuned!
Visit https://www.tarreytorae.com/ for more information.
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