Why More Musicians Should Be Like Philly Rapper Tierra Whack

Tierra Whack, whose new album comes out on March 15th / Photograph via Interscope Records/Universal Music Group

Philly rapper Tierra Whack (yes, her real name) came from out of nowhere in May 2018 to make quite the splash in the music industry. Whack, who was 22 at the time, released her debut album, Whack World. It wasn’t exactly your standard hip-hop album.

To begin with, the 15-track recording came in at 14 minutes and 56 seconds, with 13 tracks lasting precisely a minute and two running for 58 seconds each. Second, Whack World was released as a visual album. Sure, you could just listen to the audio, but it was really meant to be enjoyed — or perhaps absorbed — in combination with the accompanying 15-minute video, a wildly surreal trip of a thing.

Initially, the music world wasn’t quite sure what to do with all of this. And then the music world fell absolutely in love with it. The song “Mumbo Jumbo” soon earned a Grammy nomination for Best Music Video. (It understandably lost to Childish Gambino’s “This Is America,” which truly took the world by storm.) NPR called Whack World the 10th best album of the year. Not hip-hop album — album, period. Hip-hop outlet Okayplayer placed it second, in front of Travis Scott, Cardi B, Janelle Monáe and Nicki Minaj. Billboard: 19th best overall album of the year.

After that, we waited with bated breath to see what on earth Tierra Whack was going to come up with next. And we waited. And then we waited some more. She tossed out a couple of singles here and there, but she didn’t seem to have any big plans. Some minor collaborations with Beyoncé and Alicia Keys. She even suggested in 2021 that she was thinking of quitting music entirely, though it was unclear why.

I’m not going to put out bullshit. It’s gonna be stuff I really care about.”

Well, fast-forward to now, and Tierra Whack is finally back with a full-length album, World Wide Whack, due out March 15th. Her label, Interscope, is calling it her debut album, since Whack World was really an EP by industry standards. There will be plenty of visuals to go along with World Wide Whack, with Whack teaming up with critically acclaimed painter, sculptor and video artist Alex Da Corte, a Camden native, for those.

Tierra Whack, whose new album is entitled World Wide Whack, rings the bell at a Sixers game in 2023 (Getty Images)

In late January, Whack released the single and video “Shower Song,” a whimsical tale of her daily, well, hygiene routine. “I gotta get fresh, gotta exfoliate,” she explains, then proclaims, “You know Dove is the best.” Fans gave high praise and much enthusiasm.

The label describes Whack’s character on World Wide Whack as an “alter ego both untouchable and vulnerable, superhuman and painfully human.” Interscope also says the character is a sort of composite of disco­ diva Donna Summer, the late fashion designer Elsa Schiaparelli, and — because of course — the 17th-century lovesick clown known as Pierrot. As for those song lengths? Well, Whack is really stretching it, with the oh-so-funky “Shower Song” video clocking in at a whopping 86 seconds.

So why the long wait? At a recent conference, Whack explained that the videos just take so long to complete. (If you watch them, you’ll understand why.) Plus, “I just wasn’t making stuff that I wasn’t proud of,” she said. “I’m not just going to put out bullshit. It’s gonna be stuff I really care about.” More musicians should follow suit.

Published as “Tierra Whack Is Back” in the March 2024 issue of Philadelphia magazine.