Tiara has been singing since she was a child and it seems like she can't imagine her life any other way. She grew up in Pittsburgh, PA singing in a choir and on her own until her senior year of high school, but her career really took of when she moved to Washington D.C. to attend Howard University. She started meeting like-minded people who loved music as much as she did, giving her the confidence to work even harder towards her dream. Not much later Tiara met her current manager, Mic Sean, at one of D.C. music venues and everything started falling into its right place.
"This is Tiara" is Tiara's first release and a joint project between Soul Rebel NY & Flawless Hustle. It's a culmination of more than a year and a half worth of writing and recording and result of many, many one-day round trips between NYC and DC.
Before the release of her debut mixtape, Tiara sat down with Flawless Hustle to talk about her life, music and dreams for the future. Here are some excerpts:
FH: (...) How would you describe your writing process?
TW: Well I keep a note book with me at all times because I’ll just come up with the most random stuff at the most random times. Usually I’ll just sit down with different beats, and whatever I’m feeling and vibing to, I’ll start writing to. There isn’t really a set formula that I use, but I definitely write about things I’m going through or stuff people around me are going through. I just feel that more. I feel you should write from experience.FH: How do your immediate world and the world outside effect you differently?
TW: Well Howard is my life. It is definitely a major part of who I am. Everything affects me - the culture, the people, going to school. I’m so over that right now (laughs). So that helps me with giving me things to write about.
And what’s going in the world inspires me too. I recently recorded a song talking about all the bullshit that’s been going on here in the United States. And a little bit of what’s going on overseas. I have people who I am close to that are very affected by the stuff that’s going on - the recession, Iraq and all that stuff. And Barack winning is definitely another motivation for me to write and too keep doing this. (...)
FH: What are your feelings about the music industry in general in 2009?
TW: (...) As far as the artists and music that’s out, I like where it’s going. I just read an interview with Colin Munroe and he was saying that music is becoming genre free. People have a little bit of everything in their play list and iTunes. You don’t have to worry so much about what genre your make music for. Sometimes I struggled with that. Like “Am I pop, am I rhythm and blues?” But I don’t really like to put a label on anything that I do. It’s just some good music. I just want people to like it.
And the people I’ve been learning about that are fresh and new in the industry I feel are on that same tip - open to try new things and experiment.FH: You said you listen to a lot of different types of music. What do you listen too?
TW: I really like new jack swing and 80’s and early 90’s R&B. I really like everything (laughs). I’ve been listening to Colin Munroe’s mixtape faithfully for the past few weeks.
FH: Whose mixtape were you referring to?
TW: Colin Munroe. I think he’s signed to universal. He’s this white guy from Toronto and he collaborates with a lot of hip-hop artists. He sings and sounds like he should have been in the beetles. He sounds like he’s British but he’s not. He’s crazy dope. So you should check him out.
FH: Is he someone you’d like to work with?TW: I would love to work with him. I think that would be crazy insane. I’ve also been listening to Chester French. I’ve been getting into them a little bit.
FH: Who would you like to collaborate with dead or alive?
TW: Well I definitely want to work with Pharrell (Williams). I just found out that Stevie Wonder plays the drums and thought it would be crazy to have him drum on one of my songs. Honestly, there are a lot of people.FH: I see you’re leaning towards being a well-rounded artist rather than only being a singer. How do you see yourself expanding and growing as an artist?
TW: Right now I can’t say what I may try in the future. I may try something tomorrow that I didn’t even know I was going to try and do. I definitely see myself trying other things and working with other elements or working with artists who make music in a totally different genre than I am in. I think that’s one of the fortunate things about music. I feel everyone should have the freedom to try different things and expand themselves. (...)
FH: Have you set any goals? If so, which is the most important for you to accomplish?
TW: This is what I want to do, so an obvious goal is to make it. Being a recording artist, making music, and sustain a life by doing just this is a huge goal for me. I just want to get my music out there. (...) I just want people to hear my music and for it to bring people together. I feel my music is universal and a lot of people will like it.
Make sure to let us and Tiara know what you think about her music by leaving a comment below. If you like what you hear, be on the lookout for Tiara's upcoming project Phinding Pharrell coming soon!
Related Links:
Tiara on MySpace
Tiara's Website
Tiara on YouTube
Tiara on Twitter
Flawless Hustle interview with Tiara Wiles
Flawless Hustle Blog
Soul Rebel NYC
Posted on March 26, 2009 at 4:40 PM
