Tiara Thomas has been crafting great meaningful music throughout her career, going back to 2013. She has garnered both, an Academy Award and a Grammy. And, she’s nowhere close to stopping now.
You have released several projects starting with Dear Sallie Mae in 2013, how has your approach to music evolved over the years?
I definitely think that I am a lot more hands-on with my music and a lot more experimental. I don’t feel pressured to make a particular kind of song. I just make music based on whatever I am feeling. I think that I have been a lot more comfortable doing that in recent years. I have been really excited about the new stuff I am working on. I am excited for everyone to hear.
Let’s talk about your latest single “Don’t Talk Back.” It’s a vibe. Tell us about the inspiration.
I made this song with my friends, Ron Gilmore and Sam Ashworth. Ron is an amazing producer… I didn’t have anything particular in mind that I wanted to work on. Ron started playing this bass loop that you hear in the beginning of the song. I was like, “That’s fire!” I suggested that he try to do something with the kick drum that was kind of like a dance song. He’s this super soulful artist who doesn’t make that kind of music at all. Neither do I… It just became like this vibe… It made me feel sassy and expensive. I went into the booth and started doing a whole lot of melodies and Sam and I started writing out the lyrics… I just felt groovy in the studio. I started saying that this is Porsche music. It’s the kind of music that makes you want to drive a Porsche down a windy road. It’s a sexy, fun, and sassy song. I wanted to return to the world with “Don’t Talk Back” because it’s something different that I don’t think people would expect from me. I think people would expect a moody R&B song, but I wanted to show people what I have been working on.
Going through several of your earlier bodies of work, one might say a lot of the recent R&B singers have been greatly influenced by your sound. How does that make you feel?
I think it’s great. I have personally had different singers say that they have been inspired by my sound. That’s just the way it works when you’re an artist and you’re making a contribution to music. I think we do it to inspire people. I have been inspired by various artists throughout the years. It makes me feel good because ultimately that’s what I want to do. I want to just be a contributor to music. To me, it’s one of the most beautiful things in the world. I always think it’s cool when other people are inspired by my work as I have been inspired by other artists, too.
More than just a singer and songwriter, you are also a musician. In what ways does that help when crafting songs?
It definitely helped when I first started getting serious about music. I remember when I used to post YouTube videos in the stairwell of my dorm in college. I used to get noise complaints because I would be in there for hours. I used to write songs while playing my guitar. I think that’s helpful for an artist starting out who can sing but does not necessarily know producers. It was very helpful for me, to be able to supply my own music. It came from doing covers of other people’s songs. It definitely helps with the creative process in knowing what you want to do when making a song. Sometimes artists don’t know what they want to do. They don’t know what they want to talk about. They don’t know how they want the track to sound. I think I’m very hands-on. A lot of artists who are musicians are very hands-on in the production and songwriting process.
All of your projects have a great flow from start to finish. How do you choose which songs make the final cut for a release?
I am like a vibe person. It’s about how a song’s vibe makes me feel and how the songs flow together. I will listen to several songs together. I will listen to different songs of mine back-to-back and compare them with another song. For example, “Don’t Talk Back” flows into another song of mine, “Talk Back,” which is not out yet. I just like for it to be an experience versus sounding like a bunch of songs. My projects are sometimes dinged a little bit like my Up In Smoke EP. I am talking about smoking weed throughout the project and it has a 90s feel. I did an acoustic EP where it was all slow. An artist that has good consistent-sounding albums is Kanye West. His albums are experiences. I like when I listen to the works of other artists, and they put me into a vibe. I enjoy creating projects that do that, too.
Share with us your favorite songs from your discography.
I did a song when I was signed to Rico Love… It’s called “Tell Me Something.” That was cool. I really liked that song. I also really like “Bad” that I did with Wale because Rihanna ended up singing it. That was pretty cool. Obviously, there’s a song called “We Made It” that I wrote with H.E.R. which is on her last album. It is one of my favorite songs by H.E.R., period. It’s just an amazing song.
You showcase a consistent ability to put out great music without relying on features, despite having access to many of the music game’s biggest names. Do you prefer to have your music stand on its own accord?
I don’t like forced features. I do have some features. I do have songs with H.E.R. and Tone Stith, but those were very organic. When I’m making a song, I don’t necessarily think “Oh I’ve got to put somebody on this!” I don’t really be checking for the features like that (laughing). However, I do think it would be a dream to do a song with Drake. Drake is fire so… I haven’t had the chance to listen to his new project with 21 Savage all the way through yet.
You showcase a consistent ability to put out great music without relying on features, despite having access to many of the music game’s biggest names. Do you prefer to have your music stand on its own accord?
I don’t like forced features. I do have some features. I do have songs with H.E.R. and Tone Stith respectively, but those were very organic. When I’m making a song, I don’t necessarily think “Oh I’ve got to put somebody on this!” I don’t really be checking for the features like that (laughing). However, I do think it would be a dream to do a song with Drake. Drake is fire so… I haven’t had the chance to listen to his new project with 21 Savage all the way through yet.
One of the things that is often stated about you is that it is very important to you to make the music you want to create. In this industry where so many people tend to chase trends, why is it so essential to you to make sure your art is truly representing your creativity?
I feel like you have to create music you love, or you will be disappointed. Especially, in a climate, like you said, where everyone is trying to keep up with the latest trends. You never know, tomorrow it can be a completely different trend. Ultimately, I think you have to be happy with what you’re doing. I feel that is important to stay true to themselves and focus on what they are doing. I will admit that it can be hard out here. You have to do so much now as an artist. You have to be on TikTok. You have to be on Instagram. You have to be on YouTube. Twitter has reels now and so does YouTube. They all have reels. You have to post on all these things. You have to constantly be engaged. Sometimes I feel that it has become more about that stuff than the actual music. I know that a lot of artists can relate to that… You definitely have to keep up out here. At the end of the day, it is still about the music.
Be’n Original
