Tiara Thomas made a name for herself in the music industry after writing and performing on Wale’s “Bad.” Thomas eventually signed with Rico Love and Interscope and is set to release her first project, The Bad Influence.
Rolling out recently caught up with Love and Thomas at her listening brunch in Atlanta.
What can we expect from your new project The Bad Influence?
Tiara Thomas:
I’m super excited because I spent a lot of time on this album; almost eight months to a year just experiencing different stuff and writing about it and figuring out who I am as an artist. I’m really excited for everyone to be able to hear what I’ve been working on. I’ve been working hard. The album is called Bad Influence.
What is the significance behind the title, The Bad Influence?
Thomas:
There are a couple different meanings behind that. The more obvious reason would be the song I did with Wale called, “Bad.” Also, a lot of the stuff I was writing about in my music came from experiences in my life and people’s lives that are close to me. I may have been a bad influence on someone or something or they may have been a bad influence on me. That’s the mood I was in for this album so that’s what I decided to name it. I have a track on the album called “Bad Influence” and it’s pretty tight.
Rico, why did you decide to work with Tiara Thomas?
Rico Love:
I feel like Tiara is just unapologetic. The way she approaches music is really unique and fly. When I first met her, she played the guitar, sang a song and spit a rhyme and it bugged me out. I always saw her beyond the guitar and that’s important. That’s why I am glad about this project. People know her as the girl with the guitar to the point that she would do shows and they would be like, where’s the guitar. I just feel like she is way more than that. She’s one of those artists that are just complete. The fact that she can play the piano, play the guitar and play the drums is dope. That’s the greatest attribute of her, she has no limits. That’s what I look for in anyone I want to work with or partner up with. To be able to find someone who is so much like me as an artist is great. We had so many things in common on how we create, how we write. I feel like that’s the thing that’s going to stand out most about her and separate her from everyone else. It’s not the drive, it’s true honesty and saying the things people are afraid to say.
Tiara, what have you learned most from working with Rico?
Thomas:
He is just a great mentor simply because he is really talented and really creative and he respects me and the music I create. He will let me vibe out myself. It’s like I can vibe out by myself, but when I get to the studio with Rico, we always make something dope every single time. He is super creative and has great ideas and has helped me a lot with that and the album. With the songs I did by myself, I had him go through and did listening sessions with my team and a small group of people. Rico gave me a lot of input on how to make those songs bigger and better songs. I definitely learned a lot from him by working with him in the studio.
