Bonnaroo 2022 Artist Spotlight: Tierra Whack

Like we’ve been doing for many years now, we’re making it our mission to help you get acquainted with many of our favorite acts from Bonnaroo‘s 2022 lineup. And, for the first time in three years, we finally feel confident that there definitely will be a Bonnaroo this year, after a postponement then cancelation in 2020 due to Covid, and an unfortunate rainout of last year’s would-be September event. Returned to its traditional timeframe of June 16-19, this marks Bonnaroo’s 21st summer and 19th installment, and features a largely new lineup for the festival’s much-anticipated return!

As we dig through the entire schedule, we’ll highlight a spread of performers spanning across genres and stages, big and small, new and old, to bring you some of the most interesting, lesser-known, and most highly-recommended among this year’s crop of artists. And as our time at ‘Roo approaches, we’ll also be bringing you some special features and full list-style daily lineup guides, to help you plan your weekend ahead of the fest. While these previews won’t span every artist, and might omit some more obvious must-see acts, we hope they’ll serve as a way to help you navigate Bonnaroo’s gargantuan lineup, and to make the most of your busy weekend on the farm!

Grab your tickets right here if you haven’t already, and read on for our Bonnaroo Artist Spotlight!

LEARN

Drawn to writing poetry and rhymes from a young age, Philadelphia hip hop and r&b multimedia artist Tierra Whack cut her teeth in music as a teen battle rapper under the moniker Dizzle Dizz, before relocating to Atlanta during high school, then returning to Philly with more honed and refined musical ambitions using her own name. Early single “Mumbo Jumbo” helped the young artist break out to a wider audience, and nabbed her a Grammy nomination for its clever accompanying video. Video would continue to be an important format for Whack, whose critically-acclaimed debut album, 2018’s Whack World, is as much a video project as it is a musical one, made up of 15 minute-long tracks which were each accompanied by a short film, directed by Thibaut Duverneix and Mathieu Léger and released to Instagram and streaming services. Celebrated as one of the best records of 2018, Tierra’s clever and imaginative lyricism, experimental and modern take on hip hop and r&b, and fantastically-curated visual aesthetic made her an instant star, leading to collaborations with the likes of Alicia Keys, Lil Yachty, Melaine Martinez, Flying Lotus, and even an appearance with Beyoncé on her Lion King inspired The Gift (notably, Whack also hit the studio with Childish Gambino and Meek Mill, but that project has yet to see the light of day). Rather than immediately churn out a follow-up, the now 26-year-old has spent the last few years pursuing a multitude of creative opportunities afforded by her album’s success, touring and performing at fests, and occasionally gracing us with new material like a series of singles in 2019 she dubbed “Whack History Month.” Back in December though, we finally got a proper follow-up to Whack World, in the form of three EPs of three songs of genre exploration each, called Rap?, Pop?, and R&B? One of the most creative, multifaceted, and interesting hip hop artists of recent memory, sometimes referred to as this generation’s Missy Elliott, on a Bonnaroo bill that feels a bit lacking in the hop hop department this year, Tierra Whack is a hidden gem.

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