Storming the stage wearing denim and a smile, rapper Tierra Whack immediately matched the energy of her DJ and the already excited crowd. A Philly native, Whack dominated her weekend two ACL set with her infectious personality and unique flow.
Story by Rhylee Lionberger
Photos courtesy of ACL
To begin, the rapper got the crowd engaged with her single released earlier this year, “Only Child.” Once hands were swaying and screams were echoed, Whack picked up the pace with “Clones;” a song showcasing her originality and influence through her lyrics, saying “everybody talkin’ like me now.” When things settled down in between songs, she pulled out chips from her outfit and launched them into the crowd to reference her XXL Freshman pitch where she ate a bag of chips the entire time. Hands went wild trying to grab the chips, and even more so when she decided to hurl her iconic merch into the crowd.
Eager fans pushed closer and closer to the barricade as Whack jumped down from the main stage to be even more interactive with the crowd; a pleasant surprise for her rising stature. As Whack hopped up on the barricade, hands began to reach out from all different angles. Soon after, Whack’s “Wasteland” beat dropped, exciting the crowd even more. Mid-verse, Whack stopped rapping to request the crowd to “sing this shit,” which they faithfully did.
The rest of Whack’s setlist was jam-packed with her short classics off her acclaimed album, Whack World. Though released in 2018, this portion of the set had people screaming the lyrics from the back of the crowd. Whack’s “Flea Market” sounded reflective yet confident with the lyric “yeah I’ll be your girl if you ask me nice.” To wrap up the show, Whack brought a fan on stage to rap with her to a classic, “Pet Cemetery”, and another to dance to “Unemployed.”
Her humbleness and participation with the crowd reinforced my opinion of this being the best set of ACL. It was interesting to witness Whack translate her shorter songs with cute beats and outlandish bars into an inviting one hour performance. Everything she did on stage matched her musical persona and seemed authentic and original. She accomplished uniting a diverse crowd and filled the entire set with cheerfulness. A quick-witted rapper and unique style, Tierra Whack presented one of the best sets this past weekend.
