Tika began her journey in acting when she was 17. While working as a cocktail waitress and guest-list host at the infamous New York City nightspot, Life, Tika was encouraged by her boss, Steven Lewis, founder of Life, to pursue acting. At first, it was just a way for her to earn extra income. She didn’t yet realize that acting would become her passion and career.
Lewis arranged a meeting for Tika with a boutique modeling agency. Although Tika wasn’t deemed tall enough for that agency, it introduced her to scouts at another agency, Booked, with whom she freelanced. Following her time with Booked, she freelanced with The Agent for the Arts agency and ultimately signed with her current agency Cunningham, Escott, Slevin and Dipene (CESD).
Her determination to strengthen her skills and add work to her resume with the smaller agencies is what poised her for representation by CESD. As Tika put it, “They had the right combination of national clientele and management know-how to take my career to the next level.†CESD recognized her passion to succeed in the industry and together they’ve made a profitable partnership.
Tika has since booked national commercials for international brands with household names that include Cascade, Liz Claiborne's Curve fragrances, Hewlett Packard,and Lowes Home Improvement. Tika’s also had roles that she’s very proud of in several public service announcements, including, Truth, an anti-cigarette/smoking campaign that aired nationwide, and an AIDS awareness campaign starring the acclaimed hip-hop artist, Common.
She has also played principle roles for Mobius Pictures’ educational films shown in high schools nationwide to address issues teens face such as pregnancy, sex, drugs, peer pressure and the general struggles that accompany the growing pains of the transition from adolescence to adulthood.
Tika’s textured, husky voice has helped her carve out a successful niche as a voiceover artist. Her national clients request her voice repeatedly to market their products and services. She particularly loves the fun of voiceover work because she has the opportunity to channel all of her artistic abilities and creativity into the sole instrument of her voice.
The summer of 2004 sizzled for Tika. She spent the first part of it taping in Los Angeles as the co-host of Best Friends Date, an original show for the MTV-owned, The N Network.
In July 2005, after several rigorous rounds of auditions, she landed her very first long-term job with the role of Layla Williamson, on the daytime television hit, One Life to Live.
The fourth child of a family of singers, Tika discovered her own vocal abilities at age 18. She started her singing career by co-founding the group, Twise (Tika with Precise). The femme fatale duo is one part R&B vocals and one part Hip-Hop. Tika croons the catchy hooks of the smooth and sexy vocals, while Precise delivers thought-provoking and humorous rap lyrics.
Twise was signed to Universal Records for one year and experienced a buzz of success.
Their first single entitled Think Twise, featured the no-nonsense track, “Uh-Uhh.†It aired all over New York radio stations. On Las Vegas’s radio station, KLUC, listeners voted it number one and Twise was subsequently invited to Vegas for an interview and a live performance.
One Twise track, Paint the World, America’s Anthem, is featured on the independent compilation album, One Life, Many Voices, featuring cast members from One Life to Live in the effort to aid the victims of Hurricane Katrina.
Tika is currently in the studio working on her next CD due to drop in 2008. She has also cut a sultry holiday favorite - "Even Santa Claus Gets The Blues" for ABC-TV's "A Holiday Affair CD" She will also be included on the ABC Valentine's compilation CD " A Love Affair" singing "I'll be There" which goes on sale January 29.
Tika remains active and very busy day to day as she continues to pursue her studies in acting, record her first independant CD, and performs as Layla on One Life to Live. She resides in New York City.