Album Review: TiaCorine’s “I Can’t Wait”

Andrea Moor

Music Journalist

In all honesty, North Carolina rapper TiaCorine has yet to receive their flowers. Despite having nearly a quarter of a million monthly Spotify listeners and being most known for their 2018 TikTok sensation track “Lotto”, the pick-up of their career has yet to be in full effect. Dubbing themselves an “anime trap” rapper, the 29-year-old’s flow is like no other. “FreakyT” effortlessly oozes androgyny from hitting falsettos and switching to rap monologues.

Released on September 9th and featuring 15 tracks, I Can’t Wait is one of those albums that has no skips whatsoever. In fact, I listened to it a number of times after the initial listen–Tia covers so much ground with this compilation. This project is definitely one of my favorites of 2022.

Mostly entailing melodic rap, pop trap, and alternative R&B, I rate the tracks from most favorite to least favorite as followed:

• Paris Hilton
• Chaka Khan (feat. Kenny Beats)
• FreakyT
• Find Yours
• Birds
• Rockstar
• Dipset
• Rocket
• Boogie (feat. Tony Shhnow)
• Beamie (feat. UnoTheActivist)
• Kite
• Pink
• You Matter
• You’re Fired
• Gas Station

Despite how I ranked them above, I rearranged this list several times. It’s hard to place an absolute favorite with this sonically ambitious project.

“Paris Hilton” is certainly one of the best tracks on this project. From the instances of whisper rap to Tia’s flow switching up, it’s an addictive listen. Combined with the used samples echoing throughout and a saxophone playing in the distance, Producer Dylvinci brought this track to life.

From the depictive lyrics featured in “Chaka Khan”, establishing Tia’s character and sexuality, it’s made clear that anyone should know and pay their respects to the creative. With Rap Producer Legend Kenny Beats’s collaboration and Tia’s imaginative references, the song has secured the rapper’s latest wave of attention.

“FreakyT” is distinct due to the enunciation of Tia’s verses. Countering the dream-like chorus, Tia applauds their unbothered self and their capabilities of being everyone’s envy whilst delivering the bars with established finesse.   

“Birds” has an airy atmosphere, partly due to its nearly sickeningly sweet chorus. It leaves me feeling like I’m a girly pop artist trapped in a music video as a result of Producer 0txoa playing up Tia’s vocals.

Showcasing a handful of features, TiaCorine stands solely on the merits of their abilities. Proving themselves to be a multi-faceted creative, it’s an especially impressive feat with this being their 3rd album. From their use of anime and video-game inspired visuals, clever lyricism, and low-key persona, Tia is an artist making their mark. With a recent boom of interest in their work, it’s only a matter of time for their claws to be completely sunk into several more waves of appraisal. There is no one like TiaCorine!