Gorgeous singer Tamia recently chatted with HuffPost Black Voices about her new album Beautiful Surprise, her marriage to baller Grant Hill and what she thinks about “Basketball Wives.” Here are the highlights:
Since you’re married to an athlete, what are your thoughts on the perception of the “Basketball Wives” franchise?
Well, I think the perception is definitely not a reality. I think, to be fair, a lot of those women [on the show] aren’t wives. And I’m good friends with Shaunie. And as far as business is concerned, I applaud her, but I think that it’s definitely very misleading in terms of what our lives are about. I do have a lot of friends who are married to athletes, and a lot of these women are involved in charities, doing all kinds of things behind the scenes and are supportive wives, and — believe it or not — have supportive husbands who are really great guys. I think not only for the women, but I think it just paints a really bad picture about the men as well. I think for athletes in general, people are like, “Why would you want to marry an athlete?” And that goes back to what I was saying to you: what works in one person’s marriage, may not work in the next. So keep your eyes focused on yours! I guess it’s interesting TV, but it’s definitely not reality.
I’m hearing that Grant [Hill] is also featured in your upcoming video for “Beautiful Surprise.” What was it like to work with him on the set?
Yeah, after 15 years. He’s like, “I finally made it in the video!” Now, he’ll tell you that I choose him because he was cheap! [Laughs] But we had a lot of fun. And it was interesting just seeing him in that mode. Obviously he’s done lots of commercials and bouncing basketballs in sweatpants. But this was a totally different thing.
What are some things that you guys do to help keep your marriage thriving?
I always say, “What works in one marriage may not work in the next. So definitely keep your eyes focused on your own relationship.” I think it’s important to understand that you guys are going to grow. Obviously, I’m not the same person that I was at 24, and he’s not the same person that he was. But we also together allowed each other to grow as well and stay connected at the same time. And I think that’s important. And obviously, communication is super important. And at the end of the day we just love being with each other and being really good friends
