Tameka Foster Raymond has lived a life many would envy. She’s traveled the world and enjoyed the trappings of a superstar lifestyle. Part of that was when she fell in love with — and married — one of the biggest names in music. While Raymond acknowledges she’s been blessed, she also has endured some of the most painful experiences one could muster. In a heartbreaking accident she lost her son Kile when he was 11 years old and then almost lost her life in Brazil attempting to get liposuction after having her fifth son.
Raymond has always lived unapologetically but believes that her experiences styling some of the world’s biggest stars — including Lauryn Hill, Beyoncé, Jay-Z and Patti LaBelle — have provided her a perspective unique from others. Growing up in Oakland, California, Raymond says she enjoyed her childhood and got her self-confidence from the many amazing women in her life, including her mother and Aunt Sadie. All the confidence in the world wasn’t enough to prepare her for the backlash she would receive being married to Usher and having his fans disapprove of their relationship.
“It was a beautiful love affair, but we both allowed the outside world to affect us. Looking back I shouldn’t have paid attention to the outer noise,” she says.
Raymond’s memoir was re-released earlier this year, and she hopes the book will inspire others.
“The title is the same as his album, Here I Stand, but most people don’t know the album was dedicated to me,” she explains. “My book is titled, Here I Stand … in a Beautiful State, because I’ve learned — through all the heartache, disappointment and pain — to remain internally in a beautiful state of mind. I wrote the book hoping it would help others to find their own beautiful state and learn to remain there regardless of what is happening around them. ”
Dealing with the loss of her son is the heartache that Raymond says she will never get over.
“Grief is not something that you wake up one day and get over. I think about Kile every day, and I have reminders of him all around my home and always will. The thing that’s helped me the most is creating Kile’s Foundation in his honor so that we can help other children that share the same interest as Kile,” Raymond says.
Kile’s World Foundation will hold a Run/Walk in Kile Glover’s honor on March 30 from 9 a.m. to noon at Chastain Memorial Park in Atlanta. For more information visit: kilesworldfoundation.orgW
Watch Tameka Foster Raymond every Thursday on WE tv at 9 p.m. EDT on “Bold & Bougie.”
