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Tank
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| "I want people to feel rolled on when they hear me, I want them to feel completely taken over," explains Tank, the sexy singer whose moniker refers to the unassailable military machine used to begin and end a ground attack quickly, decisively. "I didn't want to be confused with anyone else out there. I wanted to come out aggressive and forceful from the beginning." It's unlikely that Tank will be mistaken for anyone or anything out today.
Born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin to a father in the Air Force and a mother in the church; Tank learned early on what it meant to be disciplined. "My parents weren't strict, necessarily, they laid the foundation. I went through my rebellious stage, but I always ended up back in church." When he was eleven years old his family relocated to Clinton Maryland, a suburb just outside Washington D.C. He'd been singing since he could remember, but while other preteens were experimenting in the world, Tank's life became more deeply linked to the church. His earliest musical influence was his cousin Alphonzo Jiles, his choir's musical director and a graduate of Berkeley School of Music. "He introduced me to so much, he made choir music more than the traditional vocal quartet. He was a composer, musician and he really understood that it had come together in a way that was exciting to get the message across."
Tank entered high school a disciplined singer and musician but he also grew into an accomplished athlete; playing basketball and tight end for the school's varsity football team. Aggressively recruited by college football squads, Tank found himself one man away from going to the NFL. "It basically came down to me and this other guy. When he got picked, I was like 'good luck,' I knew what I had to do - my music. But a couple years later that guy ended up in jail and it was disappointing to see that kind of opportunity wasted. I vowed never to blow any chance that came my way."
So when he was invited to perform background vocals for Ginuwine on the Budweiser Superfest tour he made the most of the situation. He considered the chance to work with someone as dedicated a performer as Ginuwine a true blessing. "He's committed to giving the audience his whole, that was inspiring, just watching him work a crowd." Superstar Aaliyah noticed how hard Tank was working on the tour and invited him to perform vocals on her set as well. It wasn't long before Blackground Records founder Barry Hankerson and his son Jomo, the president of the company, decided to reward the hardworking talent with his own deal. They didn't rush his debut however, in fact, just the opposite is true. "I spent years working on my album, literally years. I'd be in the studio giving what I thought was my best, I mean I'd lay down like 20 songs and Barry would listen to them and say 'I like the second one a lot.' I thought I was gonna cry! But he knew what I was capable of and wouldn't accept anything less."
His first single, the smash "Freaky," with its grinding syncopation and unstoppable bounce, is a brave fusion of musical styles that, together, equal an entirely new sound. "Freaky" sets the mood for FORCE OF NATURE, a party album with real depth. "Bounce and Grind," "What What What," and "Shake It" are unabashed tributes to the syncopation of sex, the kind of rhythms that will inspire brand new dances. Blessed with one of the most powerful voices to debut in the past ten years, Tank has a voice that dominates with little effort. "Slowly," a sweeping ode to an all night lovemaking session, is an exercise in both musicianship and eroticism. He makes seduction feel like conversion.
"I Deserve," a song about love's karmic lessons, is testimony to Tank's sophisticated skills as a writer. In the song he casts himself as the cheater, a man who has been stepping out on his girl longer than he'd like to admit. The story is more than a confession, it's the paranoia of projection; about a man prepared to forgive his woman for hurting him, the way he's hurt her. What's brilliant about the conversation is that it's internal, a guilty man wrestling with his own conscience.
FORCE OF NATURE is the result of a lifetime of perseverance, dedication and a real love of music. The strongest debut by a male solo artist in years, Tank establishes himself as a champion contender straight out the gate. A true multi-talent, he is as entertaining a dancer as singer, as important a songwriter as producer. |
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Big Jon Platt
