After facing some copyright issues for posting covers to SoundCloud in high school, Tierra Umi Wilson began to focus on writing and posting original music, even though she first began writing when she was around five years old.
The Seattle-native released her EP, Interlude was released in 2017, which made it onto Spotify’s Fresh Finds Best of 2017 playlist and led to her opening for rapper ODIE in Los Angeles.
In 2018, she released her single, “Remember Me,” her most popular single to date. The video has over 37 million views on YouTube and was rereleased as an acoustic song by UMI in 2021. Between 2019 and 2020, she would release three projects: Balance, Love Language, and the Introspection EP. In 2021, she would release Introspection Reimagined, a new version of the Introspection EP. While the first version was more pop and even hip hop inspired, Introspection Reimagined was more akin to soul, alternative R&B and I would say it even had elements of folk music.
On a trip to Seattle this past year, I listened to the Introspection Reimagined EP a lot and I was confused as to why it resonated with me so much when I had heard it several times before, but learning that UMI was from Seattle made things click a little better. It’s just the perfect soundtrack for walking around the city.
UMI is also a very spiritual person, often mentioning elements of spirituality in her music, incorporating them into her visuals and posting vlog style videos giving tips on topics like depression and manifestation.
In 2022, UMI released her debut album, Forest in the City and went on her first tour and even performed at Coachella in 2023.
She cites Frank Ocean, D’Angelo, Jhene Aiko, Erykah Badu and SZA as musical influences.