Tara Lord: Toronto’s rising rap star
Tara Lord resides in Toronto and has been making music since the age of 12 years old. She is no stranger to the music industry having performed at rolling loud in Toronto. She is now setting her sights on creating a fanbase outside of her home in Toronto.
She authentically delivers her music with a passion that spreads positivity. Her latest single “My whole life” is a testament to her growing authentically as an artist into the mainstream space.
Outside of music, Tara collaborated with DJ Shannyn Hill and together they have launched the music festival called “Sol Flower fest”. Fan favourites include “Livin it up”, “Praying” and “Dash”.
Toronto will always be home for Tara Lord, but she has admitted that she sees her future outside of the city where she grew up in. Ideally to somewhere much warmer as she is someone that doesn’t enjoy the cold weather that the city of Toronto is famous for.
Toronto has been blessed with so many talented artists in recent years that Tara Lord has made it her personal mission to continue the cities great track record of producing talent that go on to take over the global market of music.
The following interview has been lightly edited for the purpose of clarity and context
Daniel Young: Have you made your best song yet?
Tara Lord: I don’t think that I have made my best song yet. Every passing week I feel like I made my best song so that’s how I know that I didn’t make my best song yet. I haven’t reached my full potential yet so I know that once I grow and experience more things my music will grow.
What are one of the factors that drives you to make music? And essentially to get up in the morning and continue making music?
The fact that I know that music is what I’m supposed to be doing. It has always been a passion of mine since I was a little girl. My love of music is what keeps me going when things get rough. Another thing that drives me is wanting to do what I enjoy for the rest of my life and the only way to get there is to keep going.
Do you have any musical inspirations? Anyone that you look up to?
I have so many musical inspirations. As a kid I loved Beyonce, and I would say that Nicki Minaj is also a big inspiration of mine. She is actually the main reason why I rap now, At first, I wanted to be a singer but once I heard her I knew that I wanted to rap as well. My dad is actually an “OG” in Hiphop so I was raised up around a lot of old school classics especially rap music.
In terms of you wanting to become a singer, was it Beyonce who inspired that?
It was before that. When I was two years old and I didn’t know anything I remember that I would always be singing and humming melodies. I always had it in me even as a little kid I wanted to create sound.
Was making the transition from singing to rapping difficult?
It wasn’t difficult. It came to me naturally; I remember my dad would always be listening to rap music and that’s how I just fell in love with rap.
Writing… Was it difficult once you first started?
It was difficult. I avoided writing at the very beginning. I stopped writing when I was eight or nines years old. I dropped an album when I was 12 but my dad helped me write the album and I got use to him writing for me, However when I was 14 I started writing on my own again and it was difficult like started anything new is. And once I got into the flow of things it became easier to me.
When things were difficult how did you manage to get through it? Especially struggling to write.
As a writer, before I would try and contain myself but now, I understand that I should be more transparent and write my exact emotions down that I am feeling. Once I became more vulnerable the words started to flow more and my music became better in general
How would you describe yourself as a person?
As a person, I would say that I am out going kind and funny. I like to stand out and express myself. I might even say loud but in a good way.
If there is any advice that you would give your younger self?
I would tell myself to keep going and not put too much unrealistic expectation on myself too early in life. I should always remain positive and not focus too much on the outside noise.
Where do you see yourself in the next two to five years?
I see myself not living in Toronto anymore but hopefully somewhere warmer as I don’t like the cold. Also, I see music being my full-time job. In terms of music creation, I want to have at least two albums done. And there must be a lot of growth. I want growth in my fanbase and growing as a person.
How do you describe the current state of the Toronto music scene now?
I feel for the most part that Toronto has been doing well. There was a time when Canadian artists were not taken seriously for a while. But now since we have had so much success from artists such as Justin Bieber, Drake and the Weeknd there is spotlight on Toronto and the artists here are starting to shine. The music the city is making is only going to get bigger and better. I do think that we could do better in creating safe spaces for artists to grow and be a part of.
How is the representation of woman in Toronto now?
I feel that as a woman in any country, the music industry is a difficult field to navigate. The music industry is so male dominated and being a black woman in any industry is tough. We are starting to get the respect that we deserve but at the same time there is still so much work to do. As a female rapper you always must prove yourself to your male counterparts because you automatically get judged because you are a woman. I feel that woman get judge more harshly.
Where do you see yourself in the Toronto music scene?
There is a lot of politics and games. People who are tied in those types of games. I like to surround myself with people who are just focused on the music and positivity. I see myself growing in Toronto and I think that I have the potentially to be an international artist. As much as I love the city, I do see myself branching out like I said before.
