Tatiana Mais (also incorrectly credited as Tatsiana Mais) is the birth name of 1990s British songwriter and rapper Q-Tee. She is also known as Tatiana Oriana and Tatiana Ellis.

Early life and education

Mais was born in

Kidbrooke Kidbrooke is an area of south-east London, England, in the Royal Borough of Greenwich south-east of Charing Cross and north west of Eltham. The district takes its name from the Kyd Brook, a watercourse which runs from Orpington to Lewisha ...

, in south-east

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. She is a graduate of the performing and creative arts college,

BRIT School BRIT School for Performing Arts and Technology is a British performing and creative arts school located in Selhurst, Croydon, England, with a mandate to provide education and vocational training for the performing arts, music, music technology, ...

Music career

Mais provided

rapping Rapping (also rhyming, flowing, spitting, emceeing, or MCing) is an artistic form of vocal delivery and emotive expression that incorporates " rhyme, rhythmic speech, and ommonlystreet vernacular". It is usually performed over a backin ...

vocals on two songs by Saint Etienne; the first of these being "Filthy" (

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph record, vinyl records and Compact cassette, cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a Single (music), single usually ...

to " Only Love Can Break Your Heart" and also released on '' Smash The System: Singles and More'') and the second being "Calico" (on '' So Tough''). At the time she recorded these songs she was 15 years old. In 1990, she was the featured vocalist on History's UK No. 42 hit, "Afrika". In 1993, Q-Tee provided rapping vocals on "Beautiful" by

Babble Babble may refer to: * ''Babble'' (That Petrol Emotion album), 1987 album by That Petrol Emotion * ''Babble'', 1979 album by Kevin Coyne and Dagmar Krause * Babble (band), a later incarnation of the Thompson Twins * Babble (company), a British ...

, who were essentially the last two remaining members of

Thompson Twins Thompson Twins were an English Pop music, pop band, formed in 1977 in Sheffield. Initially a New wave music, new wave group, they switched to a more mainstream pop sound and achieved considerable popularity during the early and mid-1980s, scori ...

. It was released on their

album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...

'' The Stone'' (Warner Bros./Reprise Records), and

remix A remix, also sometimes called reorchestration or rework, is a piece of media which has been altered or contorted from its original state by adding, removing, or changing pieces of the item. A song, piece of artwork, book, poem, or photograph ca ...

es were also released on the

double A-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of vinyl records and cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a single usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or ...

single, "Beautiful"/"Tribe". In 1995, Q-Tee co-wrote the song " Love City Groove", which the band Love City Groove took to Eurovision 1995. She was incorrectly credited as "Tatsiana Mais" for the event. She was signed to a

recording contract A recording contract (commonly called a record contract or record deal) is a legal agreement between a record label and a recording act (artist or group), where the act makes an audio recording (or series of recordings) for the label to sell and ...

to Saint Etienne's

label A label (as distinct from signage) is a piece of paper, plastic film, cloth, metal, or other material affixed to a container or product. Labels are most often affixed to packaging and containers using an adhesive, or sewing when affix ...

Heavenly Records Heavenly Recordings is a London-based independent record label founded by Jeff Barrett in 1990. Heavenly released the first albums from Saint Etienne, Beth Orton and Doves, and early singles by Manic Street Preachers. Current Heavenly artists ...

in her own right four years later, and released one song, "Gimme That Body" in January 1996. The single reached No. 40 on the UK Singles Chart. She also provided rapping vocals on

Mark Morrison Mark Anthony Joseph Morrison (born 3 May 1974) is a British singer, best known for his 1996 platinum hit song " Return of the Mack", which was immediately met with success upon its release in several European countries. In the following year, ...

's 1996 single " Horny".

Other activities

In 2008, Mais published ''Melodies of a Ghetto Princess'', which "deals with failed relationships and life changing decisions". As Tatiana Oriana, she founded the R.O.M.E.L. ("Realising Our Meaning Emancipates Life") Foundation, which seeks to bring about change through the arts, after her son died of a heart condition in 2005. She was later known as Tatiana Ellis.

References

External links

*
Q-Tee bio
Living people English women rappers Heavenly Recordings artists Rappers from the Royal Borough of Greenwich Black British women rappers British women rappers Year of birth missing (living people) {{UK-musician-stub