Born in Philadelphia to parents with Jamaican and American heritage, Tia was raised to appreciate their different cultural roots. That can be heard on her reggae cover of If You Could See Me Now, made popular in the mid-1970s by soul singer Millie Jackson.

Like most of her recordings, it is produced by Earl Messam, a Jamaican who operates Wildfire Records in The City of Brotherly Love.

“She has a great voice, and although she was born in America, loves reggae,” said Messam in an interview with Observer Online.

Tia (real name Sheneil Smith) first recorded for Wildfire Records in 2007. Her initial song for the label was Ready to go To Heaven, a duet with Peter Brown.

If You Could See Me Now is among a rush of songs recorded by Wildfire Records during the past 18 months. The company has three compilation albums scheduled for release this year, with Tia featured on several tracks.

Those albums are Champions in Action, Ready fi di World and Champion.

Tia collaborates with veteran singer Roland Burrell (best known for the hit single, Johnny Dollar) on a cover of My Conversation, originally done by Slim Smith and The Uniques in 1968. They also covered You Have Caught Me, a hit for The Melodians in 1967.

She also shares the mic with Doniki on Just The Two of Us, a monster hit in the early 1980s for Grover Washington Jr and Bill Withers.

– Howard Campbell