TEMIKA MOORE: “The Closet: Intimate Conversations”
Once in a while if you’re fortunate enough, you run across a voice that stops you dead in your tracks. A voice that makes you turn up the radio and take notice and ask “who is that?” Well, that was exactly the reaction I had the first time I heard Temika Moore. In a world of lackluster vocals being thrown over mundane beats, it’s truly a pleasure to hear someone who can actually sing these days. Yes folks, there are still a few out there. Taking that even one step further, Temika Moore is actually saying something in her songs.
Born and raised in Philadelphia, where music seems to permeate the air and reside in the water supply, Temika attended the Philadelphia High School For Creative & Performing Arts, where she met Boyz II Men, Amel Larrieux, jazz bassist Christian McBride, Roots drummer Ahmir “?uestlove” Thompson and Roots bandmate Tariq “Black Thought” Trotter, among others. The recipient of the first ever scholarship named for jazz great Ella Fitzgerald, Temika graduated from the University of Maryland Eastern Shore and went on to hone her sound via live performances in the Washington, DC area and abroad.
Having been described as “a breath of fresh air,” “a voice that gives wings to the spirit,” and “a cross between India.Arie and Nancy Wilson, Temika has managed to blend a unique style of soul, R&B, jazz, acoustic rhythms, and gospel all rolled into one. Her melodiously unique contralto voice pulls you in, dances around in your head, and lodges in your ears…then you’re hooked. While she doesn’t like to classify or categorize her musical sound, one could call her music “Inspirational Soul” for lack of a better term, however, Temika explains, “Inspirational soul is organic. This music is built on the premise of vocal, instrumental, and lyrical freedom undergirded by spiritual truth.” She is happy to leave the rest to the listener to come up with their own interpretations.
Being inspired by the likes of Rachelle Ferrell, Anita Baker, Oleta Adams, the Clark Sisters, Natalie Cole, Angela Winbush, Will Downing, Commissioned, and Take 6, it’s clear that she has taken the best of all these artists, but developed her own unique style along the way. Make no mistake, she is like no other. There is a uniquely fresh approach to her music, that makes her sound unmistakably her own. “I started out singing in the church. I was later scouted by Teddy Pendergrass who was looking for a girl group at the time, but my heart has always been in the church. I’m a live performer at heart. I love performing live. I love that energy of connecting with people. My music is my conversation, says Temika. “I communicate that in a way that fits my personality. I realize that everybody is on a search for something, and my music allows people to see themselves in the music.”
She wrote and produced her current single, “Every Word”. In fact, she writes or co-writes all of her music in addition to arranging, producing, singing, and being involved in every aspect of her career. “Every Word” came to me, and I probably wrote it within fifteen minutes. It came from a dialogue between me and God. I keep it 100% with God. I’m the same on Monday as I am on Sunday. I’m not trying to preach to people, I’m simply attempting to share my story. I want to be candid in my approach to singing and songwriting, and this song and my music is something every listener of faith can give an “amen” to says Temika. “The song was inspired by my quiet times with God. I pour out my soul to God in prayer, and sometimes He answers with a song. ‘Every Word’ was the answer to my prayer, and I believe it can answer the prayers of others.”
Every Word” is the current single from Temika Moore’s forthcoming EP, The Closet: Intimate Conversations. “I found God in my closet, and much like in the movie “War Room”, I go there to talk to Him, and we have our intimate conversations. That’s how I got the title of my latest EP.” With her latest musical project slated for release in the spring of 2016, Temika Moore intends to spread the message of Inspirational Soul wherever “real” music is accepted and appreciated. “It is important for me to create music that is authentic and evokes a spirit of inspiration and empowerment. I create music that can lead to personal change, and I strive to be the same person onstage and offstage. I’m committed to making sure people know my strengths, and that I stand up to my own weaknesses.”
It’s hard to get more real than that. If you haven’t heard Temika’s music, go to: http://temikamoore.com/ * https://www.facebook.com/temikamoore * @temikamoore
Take a listen and be inspired.
Darryl Rembert
QOTS Magazine
