September 11, 2021 |
Three years after her self-titled sophomore album catapulted her into public consciousness, Canadian rapper Tommy Genesis is back to bare all, giving the boot to worthless boys and celebrating all things divinely feminine.
You might know her as the brash lyric spitter from slutty club bangers like “100 Bad” and “Rainbow”, but on her new album Goldilocks x, Genesis is keen to kick the experimental into overdrive, wearing nothing but her flame-kissed New Rock platforms as she tramples rock, grunge, trap, fetish-rap and house into her own genre-spanning world of self-discovery.
“Goldilocks is that feeling when things feel ‘just right’. Like you’re entering a space that makes sense, you just can’t put your finger on why but it just does,” the star says of the project’s folkloric title. “You don’t know why you like it but you do.” The ‘x’ is the unknown factor, the experimental element, the punk, across which Genesis’ trap-laden melodies are fused with screams, ad-libs and moans.
She’s not alone in this world, either. Genesis invites friends and collaborators alike into the fold, treating us to a sexy Russian-rap bop by way of “Kamikaze”, a devastating and disjointed sad-boy anthem in “Fuck u u know u can’t make me cry” and even a sweat-dripping swashbuckler in “Wet”, produced by Madonna and Kanye West collaborator Charlie Heat.
If we had to sum up the whole project in a few words, they’d be glorious, expansive and blissfully destructive. Here Genesis kills the classic rap format, splicing it into something that gives no f*** and answers no questions – well, except the 10 we’ve asked below.
1. In a sentence, who is Tommy Genesis?
“I’m the bitch that’s born again, and again, and again, and again.”
2. What’s the three key ingredients to a Tommy Genesis track?
“My feelings, My mind and my mood.”
3. Why was “Peppermint” the perfect song to be your first single in two years?
“Because it’s a mood, I love the way it hits. It was one of the first songs from the album that made me think, oh I got something here.”
4. “Peppermint” is club-ready bop. Have you been out on the dancefloor much since the clubs opened back up again?
“Not at all, but Tour is coming so I’m dance-ready.”
5. If your new album came with a scent, what would it smell like?
“Love this question, right after it just rains and you’re standing outside in the forest – that.”
6. You describe yourself as a fetish rapper – what are the credentials to become one?
“Feel yourself feeling yourself and then write it down somewhere.”
7. What song from the new record are you most excited to play live when you hit the road?
“Manifesto !”
8. If you could only keep one item from your wardrobe, which would it be?
“My combat boots I’ve had for years because I’m sentimentally attached to them.”
9. How will you be celebrating when the world finally hears the album?
“I’m going to have to sit down for a minute and just breathe.”
10. What does the rest of 2021 have in store for Tommy Genesis?
“Touring, Shows, Photoshoots, everything in between and cuddling my puppy.”
Photography by Elena De Santiago. Stream ‘Goldilocks x’ on all major platforms now. See Tommy Genesis on tour here.
