Tierra Whack

Tierra Whack, raised in Philadelphia, has earned broad recognition for her dramatic and singular approach to modern rap and R&B. Her first full-length project, the 2018 album Whack World, featured fifteen tracks each lasting exactly one minute and moving quickly between playful, reflective, and frustrated tones. Further evidence of her distinctive wit surfaced on standalone releases such as the 2020 song “Feel Good” and the 2021 track “Walk the Beat.” Three EPs issued in 2021—Rap?, Pop?, and R&B?—examined her resistance to simple genre labels. That same commitment to concise yet layered material shaped her next album, 2024’s World Wide Whack, which revolved around a namesake alter ego.

She began composing poetry during childhood and took up rapping in her teens under the name Dizzle Dizz. A 2011 freestyle clip produced by the Philadelphia underground collective We Run the Streets brought her initial notice, prompting online releases and local performances. Dissatisfied with her output and still searching for a personal voice, she relocated with her family to Atlanta to complete high school. After moving back to Philadelphia in 2015, now using her given name, Whack renewed contact with Kenete Simms, an engineer and producer she had known since adolescence, and the pair started collaborating. Several 2017 singles followed, among them “Child Please” and “Mumbo Jumbo,” the latter a pointed take on mumble rap.

The EP Whack World arrived in May 2018. Released with a separate music video for each of its fifteen short tracks, the project drew strong critical praise and landed on numerous year-end lists. Whack later shared a Philadelphia stage with her self-described idol Lauryn Hill, joined 6LACK on an international tour, spent time on an artistic retreat in Japan, and guested on Temi Oni’s “Pull Up on You.”

Early in 2019, “Mumbo Jumbo” received a Grammy nomination for Best Music Video at the 61st Annual Grammy Awards. That February she launched the weekly single series “#whackhistorymonth,” issuing five tracks over five weeks that included “Only Child” and “Wasteland.” Additional 2019 appearances encompassed “Yellow Belly” on Flying Lotus’s album Flamagra and multiple festival sets. After teaming with Melanie Martinez on “Copy Cat,” contributing to Lil Yachty’s Hot 100-charting “T.D.,” and joining Alicia Keys on “Me x 7,” Whack closed 2020 with her own releases “Dora,” “Feel Good,” and “Peppers and Onions.” She partnered with Lego on the April 2021 video for “Link” and, that August, worked with J Melodic on the fashion-focused “Walk the Beat.” The year ended with the three genre-titled EPs Rap?, Pop?, and R&B?.

An instrumental version of Whack World that presented a markedly different experience appeared in 2022. Whack also contributed to the soundtrack for The Minions: The Rise of Gru that year and to Creed III: The Soundtrack in 2023. She starred in Cypher, director Chris Moukarbel’s hybrid documentary-fiction film—previously known for Lady Gaga: Five Foot Two. During the same period the club remix “Millions (Jumbo Sounds Mix)” and the single “Chanel Pit” emerged. “Chanel Pit” was included on her March 2024 debut album World Wide Whack, which introduced a character drawing from Donna Summer, the commedia dell’arte figure Pierrot, and fashion designer Elsa Schiaparelli, with visuals created by Philadelphia conceptual artist Alex Da Corte.