Tameka Harris Cottle is an American singer and television personality. She was born on 14 July, 1975 in College Park, Georgia. She is also known as Lil Mama and Tiny, a nickname she has gotten because of her height. Tameka became famous during the 90s, when she was a member of an R&B group called Xscape. She sang lead vocals for the group in numerous hits, including “My Little Secret”, “Do You Want to Know” and “Understanding”.
After she had released three albums that went platinum with Xscape, Tameka wrote a song for a girl group TLC with her friend Kandi Burruss. The song was called “No Scrubs” and it gained huge success in 1999 which brought Tameka a Grammy Award for the Best R&B Song.
Grammy is not her only award – she has had a lot of successful moments throughout her career. This TV star has won two Soul Train Music Awards, A-Town Music Award for “The Best Group” and ASCAP Award for co-writing a song “No Pigeons”. In addition, she has won American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers Award for both Pop and R&B categories.
Even though she is famous for her musical career, Tameka is also recognizable because she is the daughter (and the niece) of the founders of The Tams. She was married to rapper T.I and had her reality show called “Tiny and Toya” and “T.I and Tiny:The Family Hustle”.
She is still active in music; she is the manager of her daughters’ band The OMG Girlz, while still releasing singles under her label Pretty Hustle.
| Height | 4 ft 10 in / 150 cm |
| Weight | 55 kg |
| Build | Voluptuous |
| Hair Color | Brown |
| Eye Color | Brown (surgically lightened) |
Childhood
Tameka Cottle was born on 14 July, 1975 in College Park, Georgia, as Tameka Dianne Pope. She is the daughter of Charles Pope, who is better known under his nickname Speedy, and Dianne Cattle. Her father is of African-American descent, and her mother is Caucasian. She grew up with her sister Michelle and her brother Red Pope.
During her childhood, Tameka was always surrounded with music, as her father and her uncle Joseph were members of an R&B band called The Tams. The group was very popular during the 80s. When she finished elementary school she attended Tri-Cities Performing Arts High School. During her days at high school she would perform in smaller events where she was spotted by the producer Jermaine Dupri who got her into Xscape in 1992. She signed a record deal for his So So Def Recordings.
In 2013 Tameka’s father died, and it took her a long time to recover. She has always been very close to her family.
Career
After the producer had spotted her at a birthday party and she signed a contract for a record label, the band Xscape was formed, with three members: Kandi Burruss, Tameka and LaTocha Scott.
The group’s first studio album Hummin’ Comin’ at Cha was released on 12 October, 1993, while their second studio album was published two years later. They are famous for their three albums called Hummin’ Comin’ at Cha, Off the Hook and Traces of My Lipstick, that are certified platinum. Tameka was the singer of “All I Need”, “Am I Dreamin” and “My Little Secret” that gained huge success during the 90s. The band won many awards, including Soul Train Music Awards for “Best New R&B Artist” and “Best R&B Album”.
In addition to being a lead vocal on six singles, she contributed to songs like “Bad Boys”, “Love Jones” and “Panther”. After Xscape released their third album called Traces of My Lipstick in 1998, the girls decided to take a break.
Even though Tameka had decided to focus on her solo career, she continued to work with her former band mate, Kandi Burrss, to make a song for a band called TLC. They received a Grammy Award for that project, named “No Scrubs”. Tameka was also awarded with The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers award for the song, as “The Best R&B and Pop Song of the Year”.
Tameka collaborated with Sporty Thievz on a track called” No Pigeons” which brought her ASCAP Rap Award for her contribution. While she was building her solo career, she collaborated with big music names like T.I, Lil Kim, Bow Wow and 8Ball & MJG.
After five years of solo career, she decided to reunite with her ex-band. Tameka Scott, sisters LaTocha and Tameka welcomed a new member, Kiesha Miles, and then released a new album called Unchained. Its lead single was “What’s Up”. It was published in February, 2005.
After that, Tameka and Kiesha Milles started their own project called OMG Girlz. They were managing the group while actively participating in song productions and performances. Tameka’s daughter Zonnique is a member of the band, as well.
Tameka became famous on mainstream television after she married the famous rapper T.I. Together, they had a reality TV show called “Tiny and Toya” which ran on BET TV in 2009. She also appeared in his music video for the song “Hello”.
Two years later she had a new show called ‘T.I. & Tiny: The Family Hustle’ which premiered on VH1.
On 22 July, 2014 she released her first solo single named “What The Fuck You Gon Do”. The single was published under her new label Pretty Hustle and it was a huge success. In less than a day it became number one on iTunes R&B/Soul musical chart.
During the same year she got another VH1 reality TV show called ‘Tiny and Shekinah’s Weave Trip’.
Besides singing she is known for writing songs for other artists, so it is not a surprise that she helped Ed Sheeran on his hit single “Shape of You”. Tameka is currently focused on spending quality time with her family.
Even when she is not working, Tameka is very active on her social media. She has over 1.4 million followers on Twitter and almost 5 million on Instagram. Her net worth is estimated to be around 8 million dollars.
Personal life
Eight years before getting married to T.I, Tameka was in a relationship with Zonnie Zeboe Pullins. They were together from 1992 to 1998. Tameka became a mother for the first time on 20 March, 1996 when she gave birth to her daughter Zonnique Jailee Pullins. The couple ended their relationship in 1998 when Pullins went to prison. He stayed in contact only with his daughter. Zonnique is a singer as well. She is a member of OMG Grlz, with her famous mother.
In 2000 she started a relationship with the famous rapper and actor Clifford Joseph Harris Jr or T.I. They were dating for nine years before finally getting married on 31 July, 2010. She became a mother for the second time on 25 August, 2004 after she gave birth to her first son King C Andre Harris.
2007 was a hard year for Tameka’s family. She gave birth to a stillborn on 21 March that year. During that period she took some time off to grieve the loss of her daughter. One year later she gave birth to her second son Major Philant Harris.
She is also a step mother since T.I has three children from his previous relationship. Their names are Domani, Messiah and Deyjah Harris. In 2016 Tameka and her famous husband had another daughter, Heiness Dianna, but the same year, she filed for divorce.
Tameka was involved in some legal issues in 2010. She and her husband T.I were arrested for the possession of marijuana and ecstasy. They were also charged for road raging. That wasn’t the first time T.I had troubles with the law. He was arrested in 2006 because he violated his probation. A few years later he was arrested again for buying illegal weapons. He was sentenced to one year in prison but got out earlier.
Tameka’s father died in 2013.
Facts and Net Worth
| Net Worth | $3 million |
| Real Name | Tameka Harris Cottle |
| Date of Birth | 14 July, 1975 |
| Place of Birth | College Park, Georgia |
| Profession | Singer |
| Facebook Page | N/A |
| Tameka @ Instagram | |
| You Tube | N/A |
| Tameka @ Twitter | |
| Sex-orientation | Bisexual |
| Marital status | Single |
| Children | 4 |
| Nationality | American |
| Religion | Unknown |