Braxton was born in Severn, Maryland to Michael and Evelyn Braxton. The youngest of the Braxton's six children, Tamar started singing as a toddler. Evelyn, herself an opera singer, recognized her children's talents when one day, Tamar, sang "Can you please get me some toilet paper!" Evelyn quickly started training her girls, and eventually enrolled them in singing lessons. The Braxton children also would eventually enter in their church choir, where Michael Braxton was pastor.
Brought up in a strict Christian household, secular music was initially frowned upon, causing the children to sneak and sing along to Soul Train when the parents were out of the house. They would soon start harmonizing, forming a girl group. Tamar says of this period "I was always the highest note." Her voice was in sharp contrast to her older sister's husky contralto. One day, A Toni was pumping gas at a local gas station while singing along, when she caught the attention of a producer. He heard her sing and was amazed, and decided to pull the five sisters into a group; he envisioned a female version of the Jackson 5. They released a single on Atlantic Records in 1990 as "The Braxtons," and caught the attention of producers Antonio "L.A" Reid and Kenny "Babyface" Edmonds. The two had just started a then fledgling record label, LaFace, with Arista Records. The guys passed on the group, as they had just signed a new trio named TLC, but they were looking for a solo female artist and loved Toni's voice. So the girls talked it over, and Toni decided to embark on her now famous solo career.
The sisters worked as backup singers for Toni (you can see them in Toni's video Seven Whole Days). Eventually, the girls (minus Toni) would release an album for Atlantic, to which the group was still signed, in 1996 entitled So Many Ways.
In 1999, Tamar first explored her gospel side on T.D Jakes Love Songs album. Later, Tamar would meet up with Christopher "Tricky" Stewart, a rapper/producer (also famous for bringing Blu Cantrell to national attention) based in Atlanta, Georgia. She recorded her solo debut album, Ridiculous, so named because of the many different musical styles on the album. The album would be retooled and released by Dreamworks as Tamar on January 18, 2000. It was lead in by the first single for the album, "Get None" with guest appearances by Jermaine Dupri and rapper Amil and featured the second single, If You Don't Wanna Love Me. The singles failed to gain significant radio & video airplay and ultimately the album didn't sell well, and Tamar was dropped from her contract,it is also worth noting that tamar proved that she could do the whistle register on money can't buy you love on tamar's deut album.
Tamar sang for the Kingdom Come soundtrack, with Toni Braxton appearing in the movie as Juanita Slocumb. Currently she sang background for Toni's album More Than A Woman (released 2002),and 2005 album Libra and resides in Atlanta. She also negotiated a new contract with Tommy Mottola's Casablanca Records, and is working to record a new album. She also sang backup in her sister Toni's famous headlining show in Las Vegas entitled, "Toni Braxton: Revealed" but has been replaced by singer Sparkle. She is currently working on a new album and her own record company with fiance, producer Vincent Herbert.
Stay and Fight
Tamar Braxton Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
We could live and learn, set fire to this bridge and watch it burn
We can act like it was not even really love in the first place, no
We could throw out the pictures
And throw our dreams away
We could forget the words we were too afraid to say
And we could live with the mistake, tearing us apart everyday
But I wanna stay and fight for you
Fight til my heart is black and blue
Fight til there's nothing left not one single strand of the love we had
I wanna stay and fight for us
Fight like hell before I give up
'Til I'm the only one, the only one in love
I'd fight for you
We could turn off our feelings
And go about the days, put on the happy face
Tell everyone that we're OK
And we could just say you and me were probably never meant to be
Or we could be nothing more than a memory
But I wanna stay and fight for you
Fight 'til my heart is black and blue
Fight til there's nothing left not one single strand of the love we had
I wanna stay and fight for us
Fight like hell before I give up
'Til I'm the only one, the only one in love
I'd fight for you
Cause done went through the fight baby
Please just survive baby
If you know where I stand, then, I'll be away
Cause it'll never be my choice baby
To give up on us really
Women is so real you found in the first place
When you're the realest thing I've ever met
I wanna stay and fight for you
Fight 'til my heart is black and blue
Fight til there's nothing left not one single strand of the love we had
I wanna stay and fight for us
Fight like hell before I give up
'Til I'm the only one, the only one in love
I'd fight for you
The lyrics to Tamar Braxton's song Stay and Fight showcase the inner turmoil of someone who is trying to make a decision about whether to fight for a relationship or to give up and move on. The lines "We could live and learn, set fire to this bridge and watch it burn" demonstrate their willingness to walk away, but the chorus shows their resolve to fight for love. The singer is willing to fight until their heart is "black and blue" because they believe their love is worth fighting for. The lyrics "When you're the realest thing I've ever met" show their conviction that their partner is worth fighting for.
Overall, this song is about a person who is trying to make a difficult choice about whether to let go of love or to continue fighting to save it. The lyrics are emotional and relatable, and they demonstrate the complexity of relationships.
Line by Line Meaning
We could walk away from this mess we made
We could choose to walk away from this difficult situation that we created
We could live and learn, set fire to this bridge and watch it burn
We could learn from our mistakes and leave this relationship behind, completely letting go of any emotional attachment
We can act like it was not even really love in the first place, no
We could try to convince ourselves and others that what we had wasn't true love to begin with
We could throw out the pictures
We could dispose of all the physical reminders of our relationship
And throw our dreams away
We could abandon the hopes and aspirations we once had for our future together
We could forget the words we were too afraid to say
We could pretend that we never had any deep, meaningful conversations that we avoided out of fear
And we could live with the mistake, tearing us apart everyday
We could choose to accept our mistake and allow it to slowly destroy us from the inside with every passing day
We could let all the good just fade away
We could let go of all the positive memories and feelings we once shared and let them fade into nothingness
But I wanna stay and fight for you
However, I want to stay and try to make this work with you
Fight til my heart is black and blue
I am willing to fight for this relationship until I am emotionally drained and battered
Fight til there's nothing left not one single strand of the love we had
I am willing to fight until every last bit of love we shared is gone, but I want to give it my all before that happens
Fight like hell before I give up
I will fight with every fiber of my being before giving up on us
'Til I'm the only one, the only one in love
I will continue to fight until I am the only one left loving you
Cause done went through the fight baby
I have been through the battles with you before
Please just survive baby
Please hold on and make it through this with me
If you know where I stand, then, I'll be away
If you understand my position and still choose to leave, I will respect your decision
Cause it'll never be my choice baby
I will never willingly choose to give up on us
To give up on us really
To let us go and abandon our relationship completely
Women is so real you found in the first place
The loyalty and commitment I have shown you from the beginning is authentic and genuine
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group, Peermusic Publishing
Written by: CHRISTOPHER A. STEWART, LINDSAY NELL GILBERT, SERGIO M. VAN GONTER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind