Tracie Spencer

“This is my ‘coming of age’ album. It’s going to be surprising to some people when they first hear it but the music is very reflective of what I listen to when I’m hanging out with my friends at a club or I’m listening to the radio. I was being true to myself when I wrote songs for this record and I think it shows my growth from teenage girl to young woman.”

One listen to Tracie, the new project from Capitol Records’ Tracie Spencer, and it’s obvious that she’s on point, prepared and ready for the next phase in her career. Working with the team of Soulshock & Karlin (hitmakers for Whitney Houston, Mary J. Blige, Monica and Toni Braxton among others), Tracie has crafted an album filled with blazin’ jeep-styled jams and heartfelt ballads. “I would describe the music as sexy and edgy,” says the strikingly beautiful vocalist. “Working with Soulshock and Karlin was amazing: they didn’t study whatever I had done before as a recording artist. It was all about starting with something new and fresh and we spent a lot of time getting to know each other. I feel that they captured my musical vision on tape, they came up with tracks and songs that were custom made for me.”

From the hip hop flavor of the first single It’s All About You (Not About Me) to the late night feel of the sensual jam No Matter (one of the seven tunes Tracie co-wrote for the album), Tracie showcases the musical skills of this powerhouse vocalist in a truly contemporary setting.

“Over the last few years, I’ve gone through the things that all young girls and guys go through. You know, making new friends, the dating scene, typical teenage stuff. And yes, I’ve definitely been in love and had my heart broken. All of that helped me out in writing songs for this album. It’s more emotional for me than anything I’ve done before, a record that deals with love and relationships from the standpoint of a young woman.”

Tracie’s evolution as a recording artist and performer has its genesis in her early years growing up in Waterloo, Iowa. She began singing at the age of three and inspiration came courtesy her father, himself a singer with his own group (The Cavaliers) who opened for the legendary Jackie Wilson. Preparing for a full-time career in music, she would spend hours listening to musical legends like Billie Holiday and making home videos of herself singing tunes made popular by Diana Ross and ’80s R&B star Melisa Morgan.

One such video led to Tracie’s participation in Star Search in 1986 and within weeks, she was auditioning in front of Capitol Records’ executives in Los Angeles. Tracie’s auspicious self-titled debut – released in 1988 – contained three charted singles, Symptoms Of True Love, Hide And Seek and a showstopping rendition of John Lennon’s classic, Imagine. In 1989, Tracie hit the road for the first time and a year later, she completed work on her sophomore Capitol set, Make The Difference, which yielded five hit singles including This House, a No. 3 pop smash, the self-penned slow jam, Tender Kisses which gave Tracie her first R&B chartopper and Love Me, another Top 5 R&B smash.

Before settling in Los Angeles, I decided to take time out to finish school in Iowa, where I became involved with sports and began to have a life that was a little more normal! I wasn’t even a teenager when I started out and having a normal kind of childhood is difficult if you’re in this business. I wanted some time to experience life as a teenager…although I did keep writing through the years in preparation for when I would put out a new album.

Finally, in 1998 when she hooked up with Soulshock and Karlin, she was ready. “I’ve grown up a lot,” she reflects. “I come from a very closely knit family so when I first left Iowa for L.A., I kept wanting to run back home. But I had to learn to be out here on my own…and I’ve been learning! That’s what people will hear on my new album. I’m a young woman dealing with real life and all that involves.”

Whether she’s putting heart and soul into the Diane Warren-penned ballad Nothing Broken But My Heart, a song she says “I could definitely relate to!” or delivering a party-styled jam like Wanna Get Down (co-written by Tamara Savage), Tracie Spencer delivers with the self-assurance of a young woman schooled in a tradition of hitmaking.

Aware that there are new female singers who have made their mark since her last album, Tracie is upfront when she says, “When I first started, I was out here with young artists like Shanice and in some ways, I feel like we were originators in paving the way for some of the female singers who are out here now…and we’re both still here and we’re not going anywhere!” No doubt: one listen to Tracie and it’s clear that Tracie Spencer delivers a record that is a sizzling, up-close-and-personal fusion of hip grooves and smooth jams, destined to propel her career; putting her back at the top of the music scene.