The saying goes, “what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger,” and T’Melle does not take a second of her life for granted.
Born and raised in Philly, the singer, dancer, entrepreneur, and overall entertainer arrives with her own blend of R&B, soul, and modern-day trap, here to swoon audiences all over the world with her undeniable talents.
In describing herself, T’Melle states, “I’m from Philly so I have Philly all through my blood. I say Philly raised me, Atlanta made me, but I’m a R&B songstress that motivates, that had a lot of odds against her but I still stayed strong and I sing about that.”
A young T’Melle would get her start as part of a girl group, but in 2002 she fell victim to the car collision in Honduras that took the life of Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes, whom she called a mentor.
Having to overcome both mental and physical trauma, such as learning how to walk and dance again, T’Melle relocated to Atlanta to find herself as an artist and performer.
Now, she celebrates a partnership with Cinq Music, releasing her newest single titled “Work 4 It.”
The summer bop aligns perfectly with the launch of her own athletic clothing line called Tpantha Athletics, with a fire workout music video arriving in the near future.
AllHipHop discusses how T’Melle met Left Eye, the new single “Work 4 It,” her workout regime, studio essentials, forthcoming music, and more!
AllHipHop: I’m shook that you were in the car when Left Eye passed. Are you cool talking about that?
T’Melle: Yeah, it’s a part of my story. It was where I was, but I’m here now.
AllHipHop: On a positive note, how did you and Left Eye meet initially?
T’Melle: I met her when my parents split when I was 9. Me, my mother, and my sister moved into this apartment complex. We met this manager that was living in the apartment complex. Of course I’m a little singer so I was singing all through the building. He said “Yo, you need to be in my girl group!” Bam. To make a long story short, I joined this teeny bopper girl group. Shout out to Uncle Kyle, rest in peace he just passed away. Uncle Kyle was Left Eye’s uncle. They went to the same church and grew up together, the girl in my group’s uncle and Left Eye’s uncle.
We sang at the church one Sunday, Left Eye’s uncle said “You’ve got to meet these girls, oh my gosh!” She loved us ever since. She took us under her wing and we did some cool stuff.
At the time, we were shooting a reality, Making the Band type of thing. She definitely took the likes of us, that was an honor for her because she did what she did with Blaque. She was able to keep on doing what she did with TLC, then what she did with Blaque. It was going to all come down to us next, but unfortunately… that was definitely unfortunate.
AllHipHop: “Work 4 It” is a bop! When are you releasing the visual?
T’Melle: Very soon, very soon. I’m from Philly. If you know about Philly, you know about boxing, Rocky, you’re going to get all of that. You’re going to get a little twerking, you’re going to get some s### for sure with me. You’re going to get the swaggy, you’re going to get dancing. It’s a nice bop. It’s a nice vibe so stay tuned.
AllHipHop: What is your workout regimen?
T’Melle: Well I have a trainer so it changes. I ain’t gonna even lie, it changes. He always keeps me on my toes. It changes, it varies.
AllHipHop: Who do you like to listen to when you work out?
T’Melle: Besides myself, I like to listen to Meek Mill. “Dreams and Nightmares,” then I like Championships. I listen to that, I like listening to Meek. I like listening to hype music.
AllHipHop: 3 things you need in the studio at all times?
T’Melle: My candle, my wine and my purple light. The studio has to be completely purple, I have to have my candle and my wine.
AllHipHop: What’s the reality of launching your own clothing line? Was it difficult?
T’Melle: Actually easier than I thought. I did this during the quarantine so we were in the house doing nothing. That’s when I came up with it, I said “Look, I’ve got to be creative.” I’m in the studio, but fashion’s a big part of my lifestyle so how can I make all this come together? I can honestly say now a lot of my journey has been hard, but TPantha Athletics wasn’t too hard. I had the vision and I made it happen.
AllHipHop: What’s the best encounter you’ve had with a fan?
T’Melle: The best and the craziest was when I went on tour a few years ago. I was doing this dance with chairs and the dancers, this guy came on stage. He walked himself on stage to the point where I thought he’s security or something, then he started dancing on me. I started dancing on him, but then security got him off the stage. I’m from Philly so I wasn’t scared, but that was the craziest and funniest.
AllHipHop: What can we expect next from you music-wise?
T’Melle: I have another single dropping soon called “Where They At,” another female anthem. I have another song playing on the radio right now called “Do Me”, it’s picking up on it’s own so that’s been cool. I’ve been working man. You gotta follow me and see what wave I’m on because you might see me on TV soon. I’m talking to some movie producers right now, just working. I put in that work.
AllHipHop: What do you want to do in film?
T’Melle: Act. I took some acting classes, I learned some cool stuff.
