It’s been clear for years now that Tyler Reese has something special — she just needed the right place to showcase her gifts. A church-trained, powerhouse vocalist who once dreamt of performing on Broadway, Reese works behind the scenes as an audio engineer and vocal producer at Studio X, an independent recording studio in East Oakland.

On a recent, rainy Sunday evening, a fashionable crowd about 200-deep packed into the Black-owned vintage boutique ReLove to watch Reese step into the spotlight. To her surprise, fans not only belted the lyrics to her first-ever single, the sultry neo-soul track “Secondhand Smoke,” but also immediately caught the vibe of her new EP, WHTVR, a five-track collection of flirty, dance floor-ready house songs that showcase Reese’s dynamic vocal range and playful

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