UMI

aep5499

THE EMERGING PRINCESS OF R&B

Tierra Wilson, better known by her middle name UMI, that translates to ‘ocean’ in Japanese, is a 19 year-old LA-based musical artist. Having grown up listening to R&B, soul, gospel and Japanese pop/rock, UMI’s alternative R&B style is the souI soundtrack to those carefree summers.

Umi grew up in a very musical household: her mom was a pianist, her dad played the drums, her aunt is a Blues singer and everyone else sings. She started writing music at a young age so once she discovered YouTube beats, UMI started writing to tracks that she liked from the internet. She started out by recording songs she wrote with a little USB mic and uploaded them to SoundCloud and YouTube. In fact, her song “Friendzone” is an internet beat recorded on a USB mic. 

While she’s only just entered adulthood, her approach to songwriting as seen in her singles and EP Interlude proves the opposite. Her voice is young, appropriately matching her age, but, it juxtaposes the mature and bittersweet context of her songs. My personal favorites include “Butterfly”, “River” and “Remember Me”. UMI’s “Remember Me” reflects on a past relationship and coming to terms of its ending. It’s quick to assume that a 19-year-old singing about heartbreak is cheesy, while the song is simple in terms of lyrics and minimal in production, UMI repeating the three words “will you remember” is powerful as they say more than written where you feel UMI’s genuine heartache. With a new album out, Balance, UMI is sure to take the world by storm.

POEM OF THE WEEK

Mixing it up with some rhyme schemes and varying themes

Caged Bird

A free bird leaps
on the back of the wind
and floats downstream
till the current ends
and dips his wing
in the orange sun rays
and dares to claim the sky.
But a bird that stalks
down his narrow cage
can seldom see through
his bars of rage
his wings are clipped and
his feet are tied
so he opens his throat to sing.
The caged bird sings
with a fearful trill
of things unknown
but longed for still
and his tune is heard
on the distant hill
for the caged bird
sings of freedom.
The free bird thinks of another breeze
and the trade winds soft through the sighing trees
and the fat worms waiting on a dawn bright lawn
and he names the sky his own
But a caged bird stands on the grave of dreams
his shadow shouts on a nightmare scream
his wings are clipped and his feet are tied
so he opens his throat to sing.
The caged bird sings
with a fearful trill
of things unknown
but longed for still
and his tune is heard
on the distant hill
for the caged bird
sings of freedom.
Categories: GEMS OF SPOTIFY

2 thoughts on “UMI”

  1. Umi’s life seems pretty interesting, especially growing up having listening to all those different genres of music. It’s also interesting to see how she takes all those genres of music and combines it into one sound. I think that I will definitely have to give her music a listen. I also love the poem by Maya Angelou, it’s one of my favorites.

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *