Tiger Tiger

Tiger Tiger

L-R: Kenya, Nara, LaTreasa
Background information
Formed	2008
Origin	Brooklyn, New York
Genre	Alternative hip-hop, R&B
Years active	2008—2011
Label	Top Billing Records
Members
Kenya Harlem LaTreasa Morales Nara VeNay Saffiyah Compton (2008-2010)
Associated acts
DAMNED, Indigo Peak, Paige White, Paulo Araujo, Rouge, Vanessa Flowers

Tiger Tiger is an alternative hip-hop girl group comprised of Kenya Harlem, LaTreasa Morales, and Nara VeNay. The group formed in New York's Brooklyn Borough in late 2008 with Saffiyah Compton. The quartet achieved mainstream success with the release of their debut album From Rags to Bitches and its lead single "What It Is". They were honoured with the award for Best Newcomer at Urapopstar Awards 17. Following five top ten singles, their album was certified platinum three times. Following a year-long hiatus, the three remaining members of Tiger Tiger reunited for the release of their second album Tiger II. The album was critically acclaimed and initially commercially successful, but only one single was released from the album.

History[edit | edit source]

2008—2010: Formation and From Rags to Bitches[edit | edit source]

Nara VeNay was the runner-up of URAPS Idol 9, participating with the stage name Nara Venom. Disappointed by her Idol loss, VeNay moved back to Brooklyn and began working at Kenya's Cuts (their slogan: "You won't beweave it!"). Managed by Tiger Tiger co-founder Kenya Harlem, the beauty parlour soon welcomed a new customer, Saffiyah Compton. Compton was another aspiring singer from the Bronx. The final member to join the group was LaTreasa Morales, an Atlanta native who was left in Brooklyn after being kicked out of Rouge's original line-up. She was deemed too "ghetto" and "angry".

The girl group recorded demos and sent them to various record labels, but were either ignored or received a response explaining that their music was overly profane and "risky" for the company. They decided to release music via their own label, Top Billing Records, and sent their song "What It Is" to a number of music blogs in March 2009. The track received an overwhelming response. A mixtape, Brooklyn Etiquette: Volume 1 was made available to download for free on Tiger Tiger's official MySpace in July 2009. It was shortly followed by the release of "What It Is" as their mainstream debut single on July 13 2009, followed by their debut album From Rags to Bitches. Tiger Tiger exceeded expectations when both releases charted within the top five. They won Best Newcomer at Urapopstar Awards 17.

Tiger Tiger's second single, "Werewolf"/"AK47", was released in stores in October. It became the group's second top ten single. Kenya and Saffiyah also appeared on the SAVE URAPS charity single "Hold Fire". Prior to embarking on the Gladiator Ready 2010 tour, Tiger Tiger released a previously unheard track entitled "Blood Sisters" in January 2010, continuing their top ten streak. Their fourth single, "Gladiator Ready"/"Ike and Tina", was released just six weeks later. Following an intense promotional campaign, the single became Tiger Tiger's highest charting and fastest selling single to date. The group participated in the 2010 Tango Challenge, collaborating with Paige White on "Cage Fight". The single became the group's fifth top ten and another success for the group. From Rags to Bitches returned to the top five and eventually sold over 900,000 copies.

In August 2010, it was announced that Saffiyah would no longer be a member of Tiger Tiger as the band announced their hiatus. In October 2010, Kenya announced a solo career, scoring a slew of hits with her debut album Harlem Renaissance, including the number one single "Vodka Bomb". Saffiyah finally launched a solo career with "Glory" in June 2011.

2011: Tiger II[edit | edit source]

Following a year-long hiatus, the three remaining members of Tiger Tiger returned with new material. Their second album, Tiger II, showcased a softer, classier, more mature sound for the group. Kenya described the album as "classic, heartfelt, and timeless," as well as innovative. "We are truly exposing ourselves," said LaTreasa. The album was fronted by lead single "James Dean", a tender love song penned by Nara. The album was critically acclaimed and commercially successful, charting at number two, but a lack of further singles from the album meant little long-term success.