Artist To Look Out For: Tierra Whack

When you think of female rappers right now, undoubtedly artists like Cardi B and Nicki Minaj come to mind. 

With quick-witted lyricism and the classic catchy beat to accompany it, both female rappers make hits that are impossible not to put on repeat. Yet walking our own Philly streets, there is a lone soldier in the field of female rap. She does supply both quick whits and catchy beats, but Tierra Whack adds her own colorful twist to your average rap song. 

Her debut album “Whack World” consists of 15 songs and the entire album is only 15 minutes. Sounds strange, doesn't it? Who wants to listen to a song that’s only one minute long? In an interview for The New York Times, Whack describes this concept by saying, “I’ll listen to a new song and I only want to hear 30 seconds of it before I tell you, ‘Nope — trash.’” 

When considering her point it makes a lot of sense. We can all admit to skipping to the middle of a song in order to see if it’s truly good, or giving up on a song we don’t like a few seconds into it. Whack uses our short attention spans to her benefit. 

Before we can decide if we like it or not, the song is over and it’s on to the next. Some songs on this album you’ll be begging for a full version, and some you may find it’s perfect at its simple, short length. It’s best to hear the album from start to finish, yet you don’t have to. Whack creates each song with its own personality. 

Every song Whack puts her name on is guaranteed to be a lyrical roller coaster. Her song “Hungry Hippo” flips stereotypes and tells a story of how she “provides swag” for her man by buying him fancy things. 

“Pet Cemetery” describes the sad story of her dead dog. Although this song’s concept sounds depressing, the playful beat is lead by repetitive piano notes and dog barks. 

Whack has a song called “Dr. Seuss” where the autotune fluctuates from high to low pitch, clearly drawing inspiration from the quirky books she read as a child. Whack even created a 15-minute visual album that shows a story for each song. This music video currently has over 2 million views, continuing to grow along with the world’s curiosity about Tierra Whack. 

Whack’s approach to music defies all boundaries. Her growing success shows all artists that creativity is still welcomed in the music industry. By creating short and playful beats to accompany her playful lyricism, she gets her messages across while still remaining pleasing to the ear. If you are looking for new music and would like to support North Philadelphian artists, I highly suggest the sensational, Tierra Whack.