Philadelphia native Tierra Whack’s newest edition to the world is her album, “World Wide Whack.” Apple Music describes the album: “Over the 15 songs of WORLD WIDE WHACK, the rapper grapples with real life, where echoes of abandonment and instances of suicidal ideation coexist with bursts of cockiness, uncertainty, lust, loneliness. The constant is her voice, thoughtful and brimming with ideas as ever. “BURNING BRAINS” is an expression of depressive thinking filtered through Whack’s imagistic lens: “Soup too hot, ice too cold, grass too green, sky too blue.” And there’s a great deal of whimsy, too, as on “SHOWER SONG,” a space-funk bop on the joys of singing in the bathroom.’’ Today we are going to go track by track as to why this album is beautiful in terms of personability and realness.
The record starts with “MOOD SWING” as Whack raps about some confessions she has as she’s been navigating life, whether that’s always having a guard up, having trust issues or not knowing if friends are for you or not. In the chorus, she raps, “I’ve been trying new things / Mama said she tired of my mood swings.” It’s a great intro and a perfect teaser of what’s to come for the rest of the album in terms of vulnerability.
“MS BEHAVE” sees the rapper show her confidence and how she’s different from the rest. The popular “CHANEL PIT” is next, a fun record that’s all about Whack rapping about what she’s been able to experience with her newfound success. ‘’NUMB’’ has the rapper being candid about the low points in her life as she raps in the chorus, ‘’Final stage of bein’ numb, felt this way since I was young / Tell me what could I have done different, different, different / Yeah, I wish things were different / You created distance, take my pain away,’’ and in her verse, ‘’Anxiety all day, fixated on a heartbreak / Yeah, know I’m blessed, but I’m dеpressed / Can’t sleep though I need rest / Listеn close when I speak less / My wounds are still open / Lost control of my emotions / Devil keep on provokin’ / My joy has been stolen.’’ In her recent interviews and music, the rapper has been open about mental health struggles. It was great how as the album progressed, the deeper we got into what Whack’s been going through.
“BURNING BRAINS” and “ACCESSIBLE” are solid editions of the album and still fit the overall message of the album with some mellow tones. “IMAGINARY FRIENDS” has Whack discussing how loyal and down her partner is to her. But the title of the songs makes you wonder if she’s just delusional. She raps, ‘’Some say he’s not real but I don’t pay them no mind / ‘Cause when I had no friends, he came right on time / Yes, I have a playmate, he doesn’t charge a day rate / He’s never been a day late and he offers to stay late for me.’’
“X” is cool but “MOOVIES” is a standout track to me. The fun, but also relatable song deals with the idea of someone you talk to treating you the right way so you can be in love forever or just simply wanting them to take you to the movies, as she sings, “Mister, can you take me on adventures? / Treat me like your sister / Gotta show mе love, show me respеct / Let’s make memories we’ll never forget / I need love, it ain’t hard as you think / I want the popcorn with the big ol’ drink / I need love, let’s catch the premiere / Tickets on sale and there’s love in the air, yeah.”
“DIFFICULT” is another one of my favorites, as Whack goes deeper into how she feels emotionally and the impact it’s had on her reality. “SHOWER SONG” is pretty self-explanatory; it’s a cute, fun shower song. “INVITATION” and “SNAKE EYES” have Tierra boasting about her being different from the rest and how she earned all that she has. The last song on the album, “27 CLUB” is really a highlight. Genius describes the song as “… an allegory towards the term that has captivated the public’s imagination, referring to the phenomenon of several renowned musicians and artists tragically passing away at the age of 27, with many of the victims of this elusive ‘club’ taking their own lives. In this, Tierra Whack addresses the theme of suicide and depression, linking back to the idea of the ‘27 club,’ speaking about taking her own life to an individual, showing to them what it’s like to miss someone.”
Overall, this is a well-thought-out and great project. I’ve been familiar with Tierra Whack’s name for awhile now and only dug into her music not too long ago when I discovered her trilogy EP’s “Rap?” “Pop?” and “R&B?” So it was nice to hear about a full-length project from her. It’s definitely worth listening to and hearing her truth.
Some fun facts about Tierra are that she and Lil Uzi, another Philly native, went to the same school together and were introduced by Uzi’s older brother. Whack also really embraces coming from Philly, saying in an interview with Nedeska on Apple Music, ‘’People don’t like to come to Philly; that’s why I’m staying here too, because I want people, if you love me that much, to come to my city, yeah, come see me. Why do I have to fly to LA all right? So we trip yeah, or New York, and I just want my city to be the city too, like the top 10 or New York and I just want my city to be the city too like top 10 top five.’’
Isaiah Ireland is a third-year Media and Culture major. II978280@wcupa.edu