Los Angeles Artist Spotlight: UMI

Young rising LA artist Tierra Umi Wilson, aka UMI is ready to take the soul and R&B world by storm. Originally from Seattle, UMI attended university at University of Southern California for a while before dropping out to focus solely on her music career. She’s since made a name for herself in the lo-fi R&B scene, amassing over 300K followers on Instagram and millions of listeners on Spotify. And while she may not be a hip-hop household name yet, the young artist is clearly already making waves.

UMI started her music career by uploading covers and eventually five singles onto YouTube and Soundcloud before officially arriving on the scene with her debut EP in 2018, Interlude. Shortly after, in another breakout moment, she performed an opening set for rapper ODIE in Los Angeles.

UMI has a keen eye for producing captivating music videos and has 20+ videos on her YouTube channel. Her stunning and most popular single “Remember Me” gained millions of splays on Spotify and over 20K views on her music video. The song is about relationships and break-ups, portraying couples of different sexes and races. On the video, UMI says, “the message in the video, for me, is that no matter who you love or how you love, we all hurt the same in the end.”

Check out the video here:

So far in her career, UMI has released a handful of EPs, so it’s clear that her creative juices are flowing constantly. Her Balance EP was released on May 17, 2019, with opposing songs “Ordinary” and “Down To Earth,” showcasing her ability to write songs to dance to and more emotional, thoughtful songs.

Her most recent EP Introspection was released on June 21, 2020. The EP was accompanied by a 15 minute “film,” depicting the artist having fun at a dance party and dialogues included with her and friends at the party between tracks. The film is also centered around relationships, showing both the ups and downs of being in a commitment. The film is highlighted on her website, which is laid out like a young woman’s diary.

Watch the film for Introspection here:

The young artist also does a great job of reaching her fans, offering live stream concerts and social media stories to bring her closer to her audience. She recently performed a live stream of her 2019 EP Love Language which started with a centering meditation and sound bath. Sharing her self-care practices are another way UMI reaches her crowd and speaks to them on a spiritual and personal level.

Watch the Love Language live stream here:

Ilana Tel-Oren: Senior Editor at mxdwn.com. Ilana is a freelance social media marketer living in Long Beach, CA. She enjoys learning the ins and outs of marketing, and taking on new projects like “Indiecation,” a music blog website she personally created, designed, markets, and writes for. She obtained her BM in Oboe Performance at CSU, Long Beach, and recently received her Master’s Degree in Spiritual Psychology from the University of Santa Monica. In her spare time, Ilana enjoys listening to music and attending live concerts, playing the oboe, and writing for her blog www.theindiecation.com.
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