‘Music Is A Ministry:’ Tichina Arnold Set To Host First-Ever Paramount Music Showcase In NYC

Award-winning actress and singer Tichina Arnold will be bringing her hosting prowess to the upcoming Paramount Music Showcase in New York.

The first-of-its-kind event is set to take place on Thursday, October 27, at Chelsea Music Hall, where three rising artists from historically underrepresented groups will have the chance to perform and shine.

The Neighborhood star, who recognized her love and natural talent for singing at an early age, is honored to help launch the next phase of the artists’ musical journey.

“Singing was my first, well, is my first love and it’s the first gift that I realized that God gave me,”  Arnold told BLACK ENTERPRISE.

“It’s important that young emerging talent and gifted people have a platform, so Paramount is giving that to them.”

She continued: “So many people that love music, they live and breath it. I’ve always had a huge respect for music. So to have a platform for individuals, for them to showcase their talents and their gifts, what better way to do it than me host it?”

This invaluable experience also granted an opportunity for the selected artists, Pardo, Rellz, and Synead,  to receive mentorship with various influential figures in the music and media business. They were each assigned to Jessie Maldonado, SVP, Promotion & Operations, RCA Records, Charlie Adelman, Marketing Director, Crush Music and Bianca Nicole Edwards, Director of Marketing, Roc Nation.

“We as artists, these artists, you learn along the way, but you learn from the people who’ve already paved the path for you,” Arnold explained. “You have a lot of up and coming artists that have never even hit the stage. How do you know how to present yourself on stage? How do you know what to do on stage? Just because you know how to sing doesn’t mean that you know how to present yourself as a brand.” 

“Music is a ministry. I think that the artists that do express themselves through music should have an opportunity at that and they should have an opportunity at being seen and recognized so they can culminate and grow,” she added.

Well established in the New York theater scene, the Queens, NY native attended the Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts. Her theater credits include “The Me Nobody Knows,” “Hair,” “Romance and Hard Times,” and “Haggadah.”

Although she didn’t pursue the music industry, Arnold’s singing gifts have translated to television and film, like Little Shop of Horrors and her first award-winning iconic role of Pam on the hit sitcom Martin

But her success wasn’t without inspiration.

“I think it’s wonderful to have mentorship, but it’s important,” Arnold explained. “You can’t do it without mentorship. I’ve had mentorship from people that didn’t even know me, but I’m watching their careers. I’m watching how they move, I’m watching the choices that they make in their careers, and I’m allowing them to influence me and my decisions because I like the path that they’re taking or I see something in myself in them. 

“And I think it’s important that each one teach one, so I just always wanted to be representative of a Black woman who did the best that she could.” 

Throughout the years, the 53-year-old mom has devoted to supporting the arts and paving the way for many, including her teenage daughter, Alijah Kai Haggins. 

“My daughter, for instance, she’s pure example of she wants to be in the music industry. She wants to be a music artist, so I’m always looking out for opportunities for her as well,” said Arnold.

When advising young talent, she said she tells them: “You see the end result, but it’s all the work and steps and the process that it takes to get to the end result, but you always want to do good work. You want to be able to enjoy what you do.”