Tiara Thomas

Tiara Nicole Thomas (born 12 September 1989; Indianapolis, Indiana) is an American singer-songwriter and record producer.

Early Life

Thomas grew up in Indianapolis as a self-described hardcore fan of hip-hop and pop music, developing her sound early by fusing pop, alternative and ballad influences with rap and live instrumentation. She attended Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana, graduating in June 2012.

Career

Thomas's career began when she crossed paths with rapper Wale at an Atlanta club and handed him a recording, leading to her opening for him and signing with Wale and Le'Greg O. Harrison's Board Administration. She appeared on "The Cloud," from Wale's More About Nothing mixtape, ahead of her featured spot on his 2013 single "Bad," which reached number three on Billboard's Hot Rap Songs chart, entered the top 40 of the Hot 100, and was later certified triple platinum by the RIAA.

That June, she left Board Administration to sign with producer and songwriter Rico Love's Division1 label, an Interscope Records imprint, releasing her five-song EP, Dear Sallie Mae, that October, followed by the 2014 single "One Night." She also lent guest vocals to further Rico Love productions, including "To My Ex" and the remix of "They Don't Know" alongside Ludacris, T.I., Trey Songz and Emjay, as well as Rick Ross and French Montana's "Another Day."

By 2015, Thomas had reclaimed full creative control of her output, going independent with the EP Up in Smoke, followed by Don't Mention My Name (2017) and FWMM (2018). Alongside her own recordings, Thomas built a significant career as a songwriter, working with artists including John Legend, Kaytranada and Mary J. Blige, and becoming one of H.E.R.'s principal collaborators, co-writing nine songs on H.E.R.'s 2021 album Back of My Mind. In 2021,

Thomas won the Grammy Award for Song of the Year for co-writing H.E.R.'s "I Can't Breathe" alongside producer D'Mile, and, the same year, won the Academy Award for Best Original Song for co-writing "Fight for You," also with H.E.R. and D'Mile, for the film Judas and the Black Messiah, a win that came alongside a Golden Globe nomination for the same song.

She has continued to release solo material in the years since, including "So Necessary" (2019), "Don't Talk Back" (2022), "Hit You Right Back," featuring Tone Stith (2023), "Keep Going" (2024), and, in 2025, the singles "Kiss Me," "A Hug," "Never Been to the Parties" and "Move," a reunion with H.E.R. produced by Non Native and Luis Bordeaux. In May 2026, Thomas released her latest EP, Make It Make Sense, featuring the tracks "Seeing Red," "Don't Go Messing with Your Ex" and "Distractions."

Personal Life

Based in Los Angeles, Thomas has spoken about balancing her career as a recording artist with her work as an in-demand songwriter for other performers, describing her ongoing creative partnership with H.E.R. as one of the defining collaborations of her career.

Her back-to-back wins at the Grammy and Academy Awards within the same year rank among the most significant achievements by a songwriter of her generation, cementing her reputation as one of contemporary R&B's most respected behind-the-scenes voices.