Tierra Whack facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Tierra Whack
Whack in 2018
Background information
Birth name	Tierra Helena Whack
Also known as	Dizzle Dizz
Born	(1995-08-11) August 11, 1995 (age 29) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Genres	Hip hop R&B experimental hip hop
Occupation(s)	Rapper singer songwriter
Years active	2011–present
Labels	Interscope

Tierra Helena Whack (born August 11, 1995) is an American rapper and singer. When she was a teenager, she performed as "Dizzle Dizz." In 2017, she started using her birth name, Tierra Whack. Her first mixtape, Whack World, came out in May 2018. It was praised by many critics. Her song "Mumbo Jumbo" was even nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Music Video. Tierra Whack has worked with famous artists like Beyoncé, Alicia Keys, and Tyler, the Creator.

Early Life and Musical Beginnings

Tierra Whack was born in 1995 and grew up in North Philadelphia with her mother and two younger siblings. As a child, Tierra was shy. She used writing to help her feel more confident. She loved the author Dr. Seuss so much that she would make her homework assignments rhyme!

Tierra remembers exactly when she fell in love with rhyming. It started with a homework assignment where she had to rhyme. She got good feedback and kept going with it. She asked her mom for notebooks to fill with rhymes and song lyrics. Soon, she began recording her own music.

Tierra went to The Arts Academy at Benjamin Rush for three years. She studied singing there. She was one of the few Black students in her class. With her friends, she convinced their principal to let them perform a rap song from the movie Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit at a school show. Later in her career, Tierra even toured with Lauryn Hill, who starred in that movie!

Around age 15, Tierra, known as "Dizzle Dizz," appeared in a freestyle video. This video was made by a music group in Philadelphia called We Run the Streets. Her mother saw the group freestyling and told Tierra to join them. She released some songs as Dizzle Dizz, like "Dizzy Rascvls." Even as a teenager, she became well-known in Philadelphia. But Tierra got bored. She felt she couldn't grow creatively or make money just freestyling.

Her mother decided they should move to Atlanta, Georgia, so Tierra could finish high school. In Atlanta, Tierra worked at a car wash. This job helped her save money to buy a Mac laptop. She then started recording her own music. She was often the only woman working there. Her old manager said she was very driven, a quality Tierra says she learned from her mother.

In Atlanta, Tierra kept a low profile. She wanted to focus only on her music. When she returned to Philadelphia, she had two years' worth of music saved on her laptop. She never shared those songs with anyone. Tierra eventually moved back to Philadelphia, leaving her family in Atlanta. For three months, she didn't have a permanent home. She stayed with friends but refused to go back to Atlanta. She believed staying in Philadelphia was best for her music career.

Building a Music Career

2015–2017: Getting Started

By 2015, Tierra Whack was back in Philadelphia. She reconnected with Kenete Simms, a sound engineer and music producer she knew from her teenage years. Tierra says Simms is her main helper in making music. He taught her how to mix her own songs and use recording equipment. In 2017, she signed a record deal with Interscope Records.

In March 2017, Tierra Whack officially debuted as "Tierra Whack." She released three songs, including "Toe Jam." In October 2017, she released "Mumbo Jumbo." This hip-hop song and its music video featured her rapping with a mouth prop. Most of the words in the song are hard to understand on purpose! She also toured with the artist Flying Lotus in 2017.

2018–Present: Whack World and New Songs

Tierra Whack's first mixtape, Whack World, came out on May 30, 2018. The music website Pitchfork called it "Best New Music." Critics loved how unusual the album was: each of the fifteen songs was exactly one minute long! She released each short song on Instagram with a short film. This project, combining music and video, was highly praised.

Many people call Tierra Whack the "Missy Elliott" of her generation. She is known for her very creative and unique music videos. Her song "Mumbo Jumbo" was nominated for Best Music Video at the 2019 Grammy Awards. In October 2018, Tierra went to Tokyo for a long break to focus on her art.

On a Genius YouTube show called The Cosign, famous rapper Remy Ma chose to support Tierra Whack. Remy Ma said, "I pick her because I feel like she brought the entire package... I feel like she did something that was super out of the ordinary, and I enjoyed it."

Tierra has recorded unreleased music with Meek Mill and Childish Gambino. In 2018, she toured with the artist 6lack. A writer for The Fader magazine said that popular rap music hasn't had a dark-skinned woman champion since Missy Elliott, and Tierra Whack seemed ready to be that person. Tierra knows that women in music often don't get to make art just for fun, but she refuses to let that stop her.

Starting in February 2019, Tierra Whack released one new song every week for five weeks. She called this series "#whackhistorymonth." These songs included "Only Child," "Clones," "Gloria," "Wasteland," and "Unemployed." She has said she isn't rushing to release a new album. She wants to have fun creating music. Tierra also worked with Flying Lotus on the song "Yellow Belly" for his 2019 album Flamagra. She was also named one of XXL's "2019 Freshman Class," which highlights rising hip-hop artists. She performed at many music festivals in 2019, like Coachella and Lollapalooza. Her song "Unemployed" is even in the video game FIFA 20.

Tierra Whack helped write and was featured on Melanie Martinez's song "Copy Cat," released in February 2020. This was their first time working together. In May 2020, Tierra appeared with Lil Yachty on the song "T.D," which also featured ASAP Rocky and Tyler, the Creator. This song reached number 84 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, which was Tierra Whack's first time on that chart! She was also featured on the song "Me x 7" by Alicia Keys in September 2020.

In October 2020, Tierra released her first solo song of the year, "Dora." In November 2020, she was in an Apple holiday commercial. This commercial featured her new songs, "Peppers and Onions" and "feel good." In April 2021, she released "Link." The music video for "Link" was made with the LEGO Group. In the video, Tierra sat with schoolchildren and used their ideas to create the video as part of Lego's "Rebuild the World" campaign. In December 2021, she released three short albums (EPs) called Rap?, Pop?, and R&B?.

On March 15, 2024, Tierra Whack released her second studio album, "World Wide Whack." It received a good review from the Pitchfork website. In June 2024, she performed a Tiny Desk Concert. She sang songs from her new album and some older favorites. The mascot Phillie Phanatic even showed up to support her!

Artistic Style and Influences

Tierra Whack started her rap journey with battle rapping. She looks back on it fondly. While it gave her a strong base for her music, she wanted to do more than just battle rap. Artists like Lauryn Hill, Andre 3000, and Eminem inspired her to become a true artist. She wanted to be seen as a serious musician, not just a battle rapper.

Tierra Whack says that Outkast, Erykah Badu, Busta Rhymes, and Kelis are some of her musical inspirations. She says many different things inspire her. She wants to show these inspirations to her fans through her music. She also credits Sesame Street and the children's book No! David as influences. You can clearly see this in the visuals from her album's music videos. Her inspirations come from everything, from her relationships with people to everyday objects. For example, her song "Only Child" was created after she dated someone whose behavior reminded her of an only child.

Tierra Whack often says her mother is one of her biggest inspirations. She remembers her mom playing rap music during car rides. For her song "Unemployed," her mother even helped her create the main musical part.

Personal Life

Tierra Whack has written poetry since she was a child. Writing helped her deal with being shy and feeling unsure of herself. She is also a talented spoken word performer.

She lives in Philadelphia with her mother and two siblings. She says Philadelphia is her home and where she feels grounded. She has a cat named Starkey, after a brand of sparkling water. She is very allergic to insects. She even makes fun of this allergy in the music video for her 2018 song, "Bugs Life."

Discography

Studio Albums

Mixtapes

Extended Plays

Singles

As Lead Artist

As Featured Artist

Guest Appearances

See also

In Spanish: Tierra Whack para niños