Proving to be more than a chip off the old block, Tiffany Bynoe, is walking a path to destiny with her music.
Groomed by the best in the business from a young age, Tiffany took guidance from pioneering crooner, Howard Hewett, and her grandmother, who was nicknamed The Lady with The Golden voice.
Even though Tiffany grew up surrounded by pioneers, she blazed a trail with hard work, to get her where she is today in the music industry.
“Seeing my uncle on stage, and seeing folks like Stephanie Mills, Anita Baker, and people like that, it was just overwhelming," she shared.
"There were three things that I said I wanted to do when I was a little girl. I wanted to win the Apollo Theater, I wanted to do Soul Train, and I wanted to win a Grammy.”
Tiffany is a native of Akron, Ohio, who went to Los Angeles and performed with R&B group, Shalamar. She left from there and traveled to New York where she performed at The Apollo Theater just as she manifested.
Tiffany won at the Apollo three times. “They offered me a record deal,” she exclaimed. “My mom wanted me to finish school. Two weeks after I graduated high school, I left and moved to New York, because I knew that was the place for me. New York was so welcoming, even when I did the Apollo Theater.”
Tiffany didn’t rub the lucky log before leaving the Apollo, the magical wood, that granted everyone super powers before they hit the stage to perform.
The songstress didn’t need that luck, and she inked a deal with Tantalum Records, which allowed her to record a single called "Give Him a Love He Can Feel." That single landed at #3 on the Billboard top 100 under her stage name, Tene Williams… “That song took me all around,” she says. “I traveled with SWV, JADE, H-Town, Big Daddy Kane, and the New Jack Swing. I did that and I ended up getting pregnant with my daughter.”
Tiffany’s daughter was born with a rare heart condition, that affected three kids total out of the entire U.S. Tiffany shifted gears from music, to focus primarily on her daughter. “That really put a pause on my career because I didn’t breathe life, so it wasn’t about my life anymore. It was about her life being whole, and nothing missing, and nothing broken in her world.”
Tiffany stood on the word of God, that He could save her daughter, who had multiple surgeries in that timeframe.
“Even with everything stripped from me, I knew the decision that I made to pause my career was so worth it because I remember at my daughters last surgery, when they gave her the oral anesthesia, she said, “I’m not scared, Mom.”
She said, “Don’t you want to know why?” I said, “Yeah, Gabby (Gabrielle), tell me why.” She says, “I know God is with me.”
‘When my nine-year-old said that to me, I knew that it was all worth it, and that God would redeem everything that he had promised me, and it would be okay.”
That experience served Tiffany the most throughout her musical journey, where her daughter overcame by the grace of God. Her daughter is now in her twenties and living her best life.
Tiffany took a hiatus for as long as she deemed necessary, for her daughter to heal and grow. She appeared as a guest vocalist on a few gospel records. She founded a nonprofit called Gabby's Heart, an advocate for families dealing with children's heart conditions.
Tiffany released a project in 2011, "Your Love Completes Me," with "Blessed by the Best" in 2013, and "Seasons."
Now, she’s back in the studio with angelic perspective… “I always say that God used her heart, to heal my heart. That experience allowed me to evolve and know so much more about myself than just stopping at that one place. It’s interesting. I finished a book," she shared. "My book is titled “Ugly Duckling, No More. It really deals with the matters of the heart, and not the outward [appearance] when we’re talking about ugly, but when we’re talking about the issues of the heart.”
The songstress said that "Ugly Duckling, No More," is inspired by her upbringing where she had low self-esteem, extreme eczema, and acne.
Because of her musical family, Tiffany met models and other influencers, beautiful women from around the world. They intimidated her with their flawless and glowing skin…
“I’m looking at this and that, and I’m not seeing myself,” she admitted. “It wasn’t until my mom took me to watch the Wiz, and when I saw Diana Ross, I saw myself, because I’ve always been this thin framed woman or girl, and I’ve always been this soft-spoken person. To see someone like her, onstage, it made me see that I could do it too. She was the first one that, as far as the arts and acting, that just really captivated my heart in a way that just spoke so much to me. It gave me so much courage, to know that the things I was seeing, that I could do it.”
Tiffany agrees that it’s important to have self-love…”That’s what I had to really get to, as a mom, as a wife, going through these journeys, and going through all these things. I found it okay to put myself third, and fourth, and fifth. Once I got to that place, I realized I had nothing to give [out of depletion], and then I’m not happy, and I can’t give you the fullness of who I am, if I’m not tapping into the greatness within myself.”
After that sobering break, Tiffany released a splendid rendition of the Isley Brothers “Say it Again Girl,” with "Make Me Say It Again."
“It’s just been really making a lot of noise and getting a lot of attention,” Tiffany talked about the single.
Tiffany said that she didn’t learn the business side of the record industry, and that was her greatest mistake that she ever made…
“You need to know how the business is running. Don’t learn the business just to conform to it, but learn how the business is running so you can judge what you need to do, and bring the newness to it.”
Tiffany isn’t classified as a straight R&B genre; she makes music for people to enjoy…
“It’s just music for me and it depends on what the lyrics are saying for me at that movement, whether or not I enjoy it. That’s how it is for me. I call myself a conscious artist, which is one that’s very concerned with the energy that I put out in music, and all that. I am very conscious of all that and right now, I’m in the process. I just finished my new CD. The CD is entitled 11:11. That number is my birthday, and it’s also just a number that God has given me for seven years. I believe that sometimes, God is speaking to us, but we don’t sit still long enough to hear what He has to say. He uses his other avenues, which could be in numbers or other ways, because there are still revelations behind those things, you know.”
In addition to the numeral signs, Tiffany felt inspired by Howard Hewett, when he acknowledged her as a professional singer.
“This is why I say, even with family, surround yourself with people. That’s why the school of the arts is so important, because I had a family that was musically inclined, so it felt like that.”
Tiffany says that it’s important to go back to a musical platform, to gain bravery, to do that thing that you were scared to do. “It sets the stage,” she said. “Just think about it, had I never taken the steps to do that, where would that have led my music career? I was a shy and bashful little girl, but when I saw Diana Ross, that’s who I became. When I would get onstage as a little girl, I was Diana Ross.”
Tiffany concludes that when you have people around you, speaking negativity, you must understand the importance of what you’re speaking to the younger generation, "And that’s what my books are about,” she finished the statement.
The singer, songwriter and author, has written two books that talks about the importance of self-love and positive affirmations called “The Ugly Duckling No More,” and ME (Made Extraordinary).”
The book ME is a sidekick to “The Ugly Duckling” where you can journal your life and your progress, with things in your life that you want to change.” Tiffany adds.
In closing, Tiffany shared a message with the creatives and artists abroad:
"Stay true to your craft, stay true to yourself, and always keep room, and always keep God first. Even as you stay true to yourself, always keep room for others to teach you. A lot of times we say, "stay true to your craft," but that doesn't mean to lock yourself into complacency. Teamwork makes the dreamwork, and when a dream comes together, and puts that whole piece together, it flows so much better. Take heed, and know when to submit and listen. Know when to stand your ground through compromises, and that's what I would say."
You can follow the bomb vocalist here @Tiffanybynoeme and grab copies of the books as soon as they drop this summer.
Email Tiffanyiammusc@gmail.com just to converse.