Tanika Charles

Biography

Tanika Charles is a Canadian soul and R&B singer, who released her full-length debut album Soul Run in 2016.

Life and career

Born in Toronto, Ontario and raised in Edmonton, Alberta. Charles is a first generation Trinidadian Canadian.
She moved to Toronto, Ontario in the early 2000s after an opportunity to sing backing vocals for Bedouin Soundclash was offered. Since then, Tanika has performed as a backing vocalist for Johnny Reid, Serena Ryder, Emmanuel Jal, and many others. Tanika performed as a solo artist under the stage name Ms. Chawlz, before releasing her debut EP What! What? What!? in 2010.
She released "Soul Run", the title track from her full-length album, as a preview single in Fall 2015, and followed up with "Two Steps" in April 2016. Both singles were playlisted on CBC Radio 2, and charted on the Radio 2 Top 20. The full album was released on May 10, and was supported by her first extensive toured concert and an advance appearance on CBC Radio One's Q. In June, the album was named to the longlist for the 2016 Polaris Music Prize, and in 2017 it was shortlisted for the Juno Award for R&B/Soul Recording of the Year at the Juno Awards of 2017.
Charles has also appeared on television, both as a reoccurring guest on CBC Kids, and as a lounge singer on the Global drama series Bomb Girls. Her music has been featured on HBO Canada's Less Than Kind, CBC's Workin' Moms, Global's Rookie Blue, Citytv's Seed, and CTV's Saving Hope.
In 2019, Charles released her second album, The Gumption, on Record Kicks.