Baby Tate's Mom & Dad: Her Parents Are Famous Musicians Though She Does Not Like to Talk About Them

Regarding Baby Tate's mom and dad, there's no denying their musical fame. They are both renowned musicians who have impacted the industry. However, despite their notable achievements, Baby Tate prefers not to discuss her parents openly even though they have backed her musical ambitions.

Baby Tate's career parallels her mother, Dionne Farris' in that their careers got a boost by being included on a soundtrack, singing in choirs, and going through a name change.

2019 was a big year in the singer, rapper, songwriter, and producer's career, with the release of her first full-length studio album, and she was featured on the Grammy-nominated "Revenge of the Dreamers III."

Baby Tate contributed a few tracks to the fourth season of "Insecure" and was signed to the show's creator and star, Issa Rae's Raedio label.

The best advice she has gotten from Issa aligns with what she had already been telling herself, "keep doing me and keep being dope as myself."

Mindful of her parents, especially her mother's musical legacy, the "Go Girl" songwriter rarely speaks about them in interviews as she wants to carve her path without using her parents' influence.

Baby Tate Has Famous Parents

Tate Sequoya Farris cried her first notes on May 13, 1996, in Decatur, Georgia, near Atlanta, to musicians Dionne and David Ryan Harris. Born December 4, 1969, in Plainfield, New Jersey, Dionne Farris showed an aptitude for performing at an early age.

She led an "Annie" production and served in the Bordentown, New Jersey, school choir. In her teens, she performed solo and was part of the girl group Onyx in Manhattan's club circuit. At the dawn of the '90s, she moved to Atlanta, Georgia, to stay with her father.

Through her drummer boyfriend, Rasha Don, the burgeoning starlet connected with his hip-hop group, Arrested Development. She chose not to join the group officially, but her vocals helped them break out with the track "Tennessee."

Dionne broke away from Arrested Development and turned down a record contract from their record company, Chrysalis. She contacted the former members of Follow for Now, David Ryan Harris, who became the father of her daughter, and Milton Davis, to create a demo that sparked interest at Columbia Records.

She co-produced her debut album, "Wild Seed - Wild Flower," with Randy Jackson and Michael Simanga, while David provided production support and guitar work.

Dionne always had music in her life, and she exposed her child to different musical influences.

The single "I Know," released in 1994, was on the Billboard Hot 100 for 38 weeks, peaking at number four. Two years later, the Grammy's recognized her with a Best Female Pop Vocal Performance nomination.

Her rendition of Van Hunt's "Hopeless" became a hit after being included in the soundtrack of "Love Jones," the 1997 romantic comedy that launched the careers of Nia Long, Larenz Tate, and Lisa Nicole Carson in the mainstream.

On the 20th anniversary of the film, Dionne performed the cut at the BET Presents the American Black Film Festival Honors, which aired in February 2017. However, her follow-up record to "Wild Seed - Wild Flower" went unreleased due to the singer's and record companies' creative differences.

After being released from her Columbia contract, the new mom left the music industry to raise her daughter, Tate, who she homeschooled.

Through the church, Dionne always had music in her life, and she exposed her child to different musical influences. The Grammy nominee claims to have been the late Prince's muse for his studio album "The Truth" and that its fifth track, "Dionne," is about her.

Her truth was captured in her long-awaited sophomore record, "Truth is Not Love," in 2007. She backed herself by launching Free & Clear, an independent record label of which she was the first signee.

"Signs of Life" in 2011 became the label's first album release and Dionne's third full-length offering. Closing the gap between records even further, she collaborated with trumpeter Russell Gunn on "Dionne Get Your Gunn" two years later.

With Charlie Hunter, she made the duet album "DionneDionne" in 2014, which featured stripped-down covers from Dionne Warwick's discography.

Via her label's website, she announced in June 2016 that she was dropping her last name professionally and would be known by the mononym Dionne.

Like Dionne, David was born in 1969. He led the Atlanta rock band Follow for Now in the late '80s, which released only one self-titled album on Chrysalis before disbanding. Besides collaborating with Dionne's debut, he led her live band for a while.

Though critically acclaimed, David's eponymous debut album, released in 1997, did not gain much traction. He pivoted by forming a power trio with ex-Black Crowes bassist Johnny Colt and drummer Kenny Cresswell as Brand New Immortals.

They released a six-track EP produced by Brendan O'Brien, who has worked with Pearl Jam and Rage Against the Machine. The band broke up a year after their only full-length album, "Tragic Show," but her dad is still in the music industry.

Baby Tate Confirmed She Does Not Maintain Contact with Her Father

Baby Tate once highlighted her mother's support for her music, saying Dionne always attended her shows. However, on the subject of her father, she bluntly stated, "My dad, I don't even know that man."

Dionne encouraged her daughter to go about making music "the right way." Though she feels some familial pressure, she expressed that she prefers to do her "own thing:"

"I don't go around telling people [Dionne Farris] is my mom. [David Ryan Harris] is my dad."

"I kind of just stand on my own name, and I've always wanted my legacy to be my own," the rapper mused. The Georgia native added:

"It's an attachment to their legacy, but I wanted to frame that out for myself and not use them as a crutch or anything."

Baby Tate's maternal family contributed to her eclectic introduction to music. She told BET that she had constantly been exposed to music.

"And not just my mom, my mom's whole family, " she explained, "like my grandma, my aunt. Every time I would go up to New Jersey, we're listening to Al Green, and we're listening to house music."