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Plus 1 Music Group/21 Entertainment/Entertainment OneAfter beginning her career in 1998 on Quincy Jones’ Qwest Records and switching to Elektra Records, Tamia now records for her own company, and she loves being her own boss.

The six-time Grammy nominee has released her last four studio albums — including her latest, Passion Like Fire — on her own label, Plus One Music. She says before she went independent, she had to deal with corporate bureaucracy. 

“In order to record something, it has to go through several people. Then they have to pay the bill,” Tamia tells ABC Radio. “Then they have to approve it, and then whether you like it or not, maybe they like it, and so it makes it on, and maybe it doesn’t.”

“Being independent, and saying ‘I’m gonna make this album and I’m gonna give it to you,’ there’s obviously more pressure when you’re doing something independently,” she explains.      

The singer from Canada in order to be independent and write the checks, she needs to be very confident.

“It’s a whole sort of different philosophy when you go in and you are essentially betting on yourself, because you’re spending money,” she says.

“This is all sort of upfront money. I’m saying I believe in the song. I’m doing it and handing in a final project,” she adds. “There’s no one else to blame. If you like it, it’s on me, and if you don’t like it, it’s on me too.” 

Tamia is enjoying success with her new album and its the first single, “Leave it Smokin’,” which hit number one on the Billboard Urban Adult Contemporary chart. She wrapped up her Passion Like Firetour last month in New York City, and recently released “It’s Yours,” the album’s third single.

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Hillsborough County Sheriffs Office(TAMPA BAY, Fla.) — The San Francisco 49ers wasted no time in kicking linebacker Reuben Foster off the team following his arrest in Tampa Bay, Florida, on suspicion of battering a woman — the second time this year he’s been jailed in a domestic violence incident involving the same victim.

The 49ers posted a tweet Sunday morning saying Foster, 24, was being released from the team.

Foster was arrested after Tampa police officers were called to investigate a domestic violence complaint just after 9 p.m. on Saturday at the Grand Hyatt hotel in Tampa, where the team is staying as it prepares to play the Tampa Buccaneers Sunday afternoon.

Foster — a 6-foot-1, 280-pound linebacker — got into a heated argument with his former live-in girlfriend Elissa Ennis, 28, that allegedly escalated into a physical confrontation, according to a criminal report affidavit obtained by ABC News.

“The victim stated that during the altercation Foster slapped her phone out of her hand, pushed her in the chest area and slapped her with an open hand on the right side of her face,” the police statement said.

Officers took Foster into custody after they noticed an inch-long scratch on Ennis’ left collarbone, according to police.

Foster was booked at the Hillsborough County Jail at 11:11 p.m.

He appeared at a court hearing Sunday morning and bail was set at $2,000. A judge ordered him to have no contact with Ennis.

During the investigation, police learned that Foster and Ennis had previously lived together and were involved in an on-again-off-again relationship over the past three years.

Earlier this year, Foster was arrested on suspicion of battering Ennis at his home in Los Gatos, California.

Ennis initially told police officers who responded to the Feb. 11 domestic violence call that Foster hit her at least 10 times, dragged her out of his house, threw her to the ground and spit on her, broke her phone and threw their bulldog at her, according to police.

Ennis later recanted her story during a court hearing, telling a judge that she concocted the story in an attempt to ruin Foster’s career because she was angry at him.

Santa Clara County, California, Judge Nona Klippen dismissed charges of domestic violence against Foster, citing “insufficient cause.” Foster pleaded no contest to a weapons charge that was reduced to a misdemeanor and was sentenced to 232 hours of community service, placed on two years of probation and was barred from possessing any guns or ammunition.

At the time, San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan said the team had a zero-tolerance domestic-violence policy.

“We can promise you guys — if there’s someone whoever hits their significant other, girlfriends, some person like that, that person is not going to be on our team,” Shanahan said.

After Foster was cleared of the charges, the 49ers welcomed him back on the team.

In 2017, Foster was the 49ers’ first-round draft pick.

Foster was suspended for the first two games of this season for violating the NFL’s conduct and substance-abuse policies stemming from his arrest in Alabama on a misdemeanor charge of possessing marijuana.

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iStock/Thinkstock(MACAU, China) — Sophia Floersch’s race car was blazing down the Macau Grand Prix track at 170 mph on Monday when she struck another race car, went airborne and smashed into the photographers’ pit.

It took doctors 11 hours to repair the 17-year-old Formula Three driver’s fractured spine.

The heart-stopping crash shocked racing fans across the globe. Yet Floersch was one of the lucky ones — she dodged paralysis and will be back behind the wheel “after some time,” Van Amersfoort Racing owner Frits van Amersfoort told the BBC.

The implementation of new safety protocols in recent years has driven down the number of motorsports fatalities. But Floersch’s perilous accident was a stark reminder of the risks to drivers competing in the fastest sport in the world — where death and glory race neck-and-neck around every curve.

The glamour of champagne showers after a podium win and lucrative paychecks come with the risk of losing it all with one wrong move.

Wannabe race car drivers start as young as 8 years old, facing off against their school peers in go-karts. The talented will train for years, spending thousands of dollars to race and get noticed by wealthy teams for Formula One, NASCAR and IndyCar. Competing in the world’s most prestigious races requires extraordinary levels of commitment and patience.

Race car drivers Jack Hawksworth and Dominik Baumann talked to ABC News about the mind-boggling number of split-second decisions a driver makes in a race and the long, hard road each traveled to reach the upper ranks of their sport.

Hawksworth, 27, and Baumann, 25, recently finished the 2018 season with 3GT Racing, which partnered with luxury automaker Lexus in 2016 to race the Lexus RC F GT3 in the IMSA WeatherTech Sports Car Championship’s GTD class.

Hawksworth, a native of Bradford, England, started racing go-karts in 2004 at the age of 13. He spent three seasons racing in the IndyCar series before signing with 3GT Racing.

Every week, he’s on a plane, flying to the next track: Daytona. Watkins Glen, New York. Road Atlanta in Georgia.

“It’s your life. It’s what I spend all my time doing,” he said. “You want to have to do it.”

Routine tasks like shopping and laundry have become “boring,” he admitted — especially so after racing at speeds close to 240 mph.

When he’s behind the wheel, strapped in tight and laser focused on the track, Hawksworth is managing real-time data coming from the team’s manager and engineers.

“I am constantly bombarded with info,” he said. “They can see a lot more of the race than I can. There’s a very limited view in the car.”

The crew tells him when to pull over for a pit stop or to save fuel. He might be instructed to try a new anti-lock braking system. The gap between him and his nearest competitor is calculated and relayed instantly.

“It can be very distracting,” Hawksworth said. “I have to be able to use that information and still maintain a high level of performance.”

There can be zero distractions on the track for Baumann.

“There’s nothing going through my mind during the race,” he said. “I am focusing on my turning and braking points.”

This year marks Baumann’s first time competing in the U.S. His parents, who live in Austria, closely follow the team’s demanding schedule, live-streaming the races at home.

“My mom watches everything,” he said with a laugh. “Even the practice sessions. They’ll stay awake to watch.”

Baumann rarely sees his parents during the season, but he’s had no regrets about joining the team.

“It has always been a dream to race in the U.S.,” he said.

And it certainly hasn’t been easy for him. Racetracks in the U.S. “have more natural elevation changes, more blind corners and the walls are really close to the tracks,” he explained. “In Europe, the tracks are more flat.”

With a different race every weekend, neither Baumann nor Hawksworth get extensive time to practice beforehand. Baumann spends his evenings learning a course from simulations. Hawksworth screens video of past races, taking notes on when to accelerate or how hard to press on the brake. But watching how other drivers have successfully tackled a difficult course only helps so much.

“It’s hard to actually replicate what they’re doing,” Hawksworth said. “You look at the data and try to dissect it so you can get faster and better.”

Baumann had one serious crash 15 years ago. He broke his collarbone when his go-kart flipped and slammed into a wall. Hawksworth has been involved in a number of crashes, though none were serious. For him, the qualifying laps and actual start of the race are the most intense.

“I do a lot of mental preparation to get in the right mindset,” he said. “Before every single race, I visualize all of the laps. I try to visualize all the different situations and potential things that can happen.”

Both drivers acknowledge the inherent risks and danger of the sport, yet neither could imagine doing anything else.

“It’s an emotional roller coaster,” said Hawksworth. “One million things go into the performance of the driver. I love what I am doing.”

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BETIt will be a Martin reunion as Tichina Arnold and Tisha Campbell reunite to on the 2018 Soul Train Music Awards Sunday night on BET.

The two actresses, who starred with Martin Lawrence in the ’90s sitcom Martin, co-host the show which will feature appearances and performances from Bel Biv DeVoe, Jon B., Donell Jones. Carl Thomas, Kid ‘n Play, Al B. Sure, and many more.

H.E.R. leads all artists with seven nominations. Bruno Mars and Cardi B are both up for six awards, and SZA received five nods.

Erykah Badu will be honored with the Legend Award, and Faith Evans will receive the Lady of Soul Award.

The Soul Train Awards air Sunday, November 25 at 8 p.m. ET on BET.

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ABC NewsAs Tekashi 6ix9ine faces a possible life prison sentence after being arrested on federal racketeering, firearms and robbery charges, Fat Joe says he tried to warn the rapper to watch his back. 

Joe interviewed Tekashi nine months ago for a podcast, and at that time, he told him that he suspected that the feds were after the younger rapper. Joe was speaking from personal experience, having served two months in prison in 2013 for tax evasion.

“I was just trying to school him ’cause I been through that,” the “Lean Back” rapper tells TMZ. “It’s my job because none of the OGs when I came into the rap game schooled me. They could have stopped me from a lot of trouble.”

When Tekashi was arrested Sunday in New York City, Joe realized his suspicions had become reality.

“Unfortunately I was right,” he says. “I prayed for him last night because I actually really like the kid. Unfortunately he got a serious situation on his hands, and I tried to warn him.”

The Terror Squad leader says he was with Tekashi two weeks ago in Dubai, and the young rapper told Joe that he felt he was about to be arrested.

“He had some shows. I had some shows. We actually had breakfast every day,” Joe recalls. “He was like, ‘Yo. I think I’m catching this case I think,’ and he was telling me everything I told him on the interview.”   

Tekashi’s birth name is Daniel Hernandez. His attorney, Lance Lazzaro, said Wednesday in a statement to Rolling Stone, “Daniel Hernandez is completely innocent of all charges being brought against him. An entertainer who portrays a ‘gangster image’ to promote his music does not make him a member of an enterprise.”

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Johnny Nunez/WireImageKanye West and wife Kim Kardashian West donated a half-a-million dollars to wildfire relief in California today, including $100,000 to a firefighter who lost his home.

Kim appeared on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, and made the $100K donation in person to a firefighter named Michael, and his wife, Lisa.

“To know that you lost your home, Kanye, Yeezy, and Adidas wanted to donate to you guys $100,000 so that you guys can begin to pick the pieces,” Kardashian told the couple.

She also announced that her husband, along with Adidas, are also giving $200,000 to the California Fire Foundation, and an additional $200,000 to the California Community Foundation’s Wildfire Relief Fund.

The 38-year-old reality star explained that she and Kanye hired private firefighters to protect their community.

“They saved our home and saved our neighborhood,” she said. “I don’t take that for granted. That was such a blessing that we were able to do that,” she added.

Kardashian revealed that she is not able to return to her estate yet because of smoke damage, but she’s extremely grateful that she and her family have survived. 

“We’re still not in our home now because the smoke smell is too intense and we have these machines everywhere to blow out the smoke smell.” Kim says. “We were lucky. I feel like we were really blessed to have the help of the firefighters that we did.”

As a result of the California wildfires, 84 people have died, over 800 people are unaccounted for, and more than 245,000 acres have burned.

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David HW Ricks IIIT.I. made sure hundreds of senior citizens will enjoy a happy holiday: He hosted his 13th annual Thanksgiving Turkey Giveaway Tuesday with Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms.

The rapper/actor held the event at the Adamsville Recreation Center in the A-T-L, and provided turkeys, as well as greens, apples, carrots, peppers, and more.

One person tweeted, “The King of the South aka @Tip handed out turkeys today to families before #Thanksgiving. Yet another reason he’ll always have my support!”

The turkey giveaway is conducted through TIP’s non-profit organization, Harris Community Works, which is dedicated to empowering and elevating the community through education, awareness, and opportunity.

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ABC/ Jeff NeiraToni Braxton is making a plea for the return of her stolen engagement ring.

After finally getting her luggage back from her Delta flight on Tuesday, Braxton says she noticed that her jewelry was missing, including her enormous yellow-diamond engagement ring from her fiance, Birdman.

“Hey everyone, @delta located my LV Train Case! Yay!” she tweeted. “Unfortunately most of my jewelry items are missing…including MY ENGAGEMENT RING!”

She continued, “Whoever BORROWED it…PLEEEASE return it!!!!  I promise, no questions asked!”

The singer later went on Instagram to send a more heartfelt message about the loss of her prized piece.

“Feeling back to my old self again, yay!” she wrote, referring to her recent bout with the flu. “But I’m sad today my engagement ring is missing but I’m optimistic that someone will find ‘Bonnie’ and return her home!”

There’s still no word on if Toni’s ring has been found or returned.

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Fabien MontiquePusha T is blaming Drake for a fight that broke out at his concert Tuesday night in Toronto, Drake’s hometown.

The Daytona rapper was performing at the Danforth Music Hall when drinks were thrown at him and several people rushed the stage, according to People.com. A brawl broke out and one man is in critical condition after being stabbed several times.

Pusha, who was not hurt, left the stage, but eventually returned to continue his performance. However, he then accused Drake of being responsible for the incident, saying “This n***a paid some n****s to throw beer. What the f**k is that?” 

Constable David Hopkinson of the Toronto police says the department received a call about an assault in progress at the event. He added that there were also multiple fights outside the venue.

The incident comes after it appeared that the Drake/Pusha-T beef had been squashed. In June, Pusha told Vanity Fair, “It’s all over with. These conversations have been had and, to my knowledge, it’s all over.”

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