By Michael A. Gonzales • A SoulSummer Exclusive

Photograph by Anthony Powell

As one-third of Beyoncé’s back-up trio the Mamas, singer Tiffany Monique has been around the world like Lisa Stansfield: China, Africa, Russia and beyond. So the Brooklyn eatery Cheryl’s Global Soul Café seems to be the perfect locale to meet Tiffany and producer Kevin “Kwiz” Ryan, who are eager discuss not only their globe-trotting adventures, but also their recently released project, Nemesis.

“The first single and title track was influenced by meeting so many naysayers who told me I would never make it in this business,” says Tiffany, a Tennessee native who was raised in Newark, New Jersey. Writing her own lyrics and melodies, she also sings her own backgrounds on the five-song EP.

“Over the years, a few record executives told me that although I had the talent, I didn’t have the look,” she says with quiet determination. “Nemesis expresses my determination to prevail.”

Producer/musician Kwiz, who oversees the production company Digital Khaoss and recorded the Nemesis project at Rhythm Lab Studios in the Bronx, has also toured with Beyoncé. Working as a programmer, he was used to seeing Tiffany do her background thing. But it wasn’t until after hearing her stand-in for Lady B. in 2008, wailing “Dangerously in Love” during a sound check, that he realized the extent of Tiffany’s talent.

“Music is my passion,” says Kwiz, a studio rat who produced ’90s fem soulsters the Earth Girls. Although signed to Capitol Records, the group never released an album. “Prior to meeting Tiffany, I had lost my taste for producing.” Fired up by what he saw and heard, Kwiz was ready to go back to the lab and make Nemesis a reality.

Tiffany has been singing since she was a girl going to Catholic school. On Sunday mornings, her grandmother took her to Baptist church, where she sang with the choir. Later, when she wasn’t digging the sounds of Stevie Wonder and Aretha Franklin on the radio, she listened to her Aunt Beverly recounting stories of being on the road with Chaka Khan.

“I come from a very musical family,” Tiffany explains. “My mom had a desire to play and sing classical, but she became a teacher instead. She lost her [singing] voice from screaming at school kids.”

Awarded a music scholarship to Morgan State University in Baltimore, she was a member of the distinguished choir the Morgan Singers. It was during this period that Tiffany begun performing with a local girl group On Point that worked with Dru Hill member Nokio. “We had a record deal for about five minutes, but it fell through,” she says.

Returning home four years later with a degree in journalism, Tiffany soon made her way to the open mic nights at the Village Underground in Greenwich Village. Known as the spot that helped launch the careers of Blu Cantrell and Chrisette Michele, it was there that Tiffany met singer Melonie Daniels.

In 2003, Daniels hooked up Tiffany with a gig singing background for Mariah Carey. “There wasn’t much interaction with Mariah,” she recalls as the waiter brings a plate of fish and vegetables. “The show was a Christmas special for BET; it was a short stint, but it was fun.”

Afterwards, she was hired to sing background by an array of artists including Christina Aguilera, Kenny Loggins, Faith Evans and Carl Thomas. In 2007, the  NPR radio show “All Things Considered” interviewed her on the subject “What Makes a Great Backup Singer?”

“Playfully, Beyoncé started calling us the Mama’s and Poppa’s when she realized her background singers and dancers were parents,” says Tiffany, a single mother with a five-year-old son. (Her family helps her with the child while Tiffany is on the road.) “One of the first pieces of advice Beyoncé gave us was don’t read the reviews, because sometimes writers can be mean. The Mama’s are all full-figured women and the first review we read in Japan called us fat and tubby.” Other writers in various countries also chose to dwell on their body images rather than vocal talent. “We thought we had tough skins, but some of the reviews were just mean. The most flattering critics were in Europe, but elsewhere it seemed they were trying to tear us apart.”

However, after listening to the bubbly Motown inspired grooves of “Only Love” and unrequited passion of “Anytime,” it is obvious that Tiffany Monique is more than ready to step into the spotlight. “The first song I wrote for Nemesis was ‘When,’” she recalls. “I was so nervous, because with any new opportunity, one wants to impress.”

Without a doubt, Tiffany Monique achieved her goal.

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