Taken from the Autumn 21 issue. Order your copy now!

Prissy mothers will hate it. Overbearing dads will probably get their ties in a twist. But Canadian-born rapper, Tommy Genesis, should be every young woman’s ultimate female icon. Between elegantly jarring beats and an unapologetic visual presence, Genesis’ powerfully disruptive artistry promises self-love, sexual liberation, and endless empowerment. Her lyrics, a sensual melange of sparkling metaphors are as pragmatic as they are provocative. Her aura, a sharp tangle of self-assurance and unexpected shyness is the antithetical elixir that proves you don’t have to make sense, to be proud of who you are. It’s what makes Genesis – and her music – so undeniably appealing.

This chaotic recipe is finessed on her new album, goldilocks x – Genesis’ triumphant return to music since her self-titled debut album dropped in 2018. But the star hasn’t exactly been taking it easy since her first release. The self-described fetish rapper has toured with Dua Lipa, repeatedly collaborated with Charli XCX – namely on unwavering alt-pop hit 100 Bad– and created an album that sonically reflects who she is as a person. Now, she’s ready to step back into her own, x-rated spotlight.
Sitting down with singer-songwriter and beloved friend, Deb Never, Genesis talks pre-album nerves, taking the right risks, and why it feels like she’s been born again.

TG: Hi Deb!
DN: Tommy! I don’t think we’ve had a serious conversation like this before.

TG: Wait did you write down questions in your notepad? With hearts around my name?!
DN: I’ve actually been waiting so long to ask you these questions [laughs]. When you released “peppermint” there’s a lyric in the track that says, ‘I’m the bitch that’s born again.’ With your new music, do you feel like Tommy is being reborn?

TG: Yeah, I do. I feel like I was dormant for two years – even though I had features come out randomly – I wasn’t able to put out music for a minute. There’s this line in [my latest single] “a woman is a god” that [talks about] feeling like your moment’s passed, but then you have to remind yourself that at the end of the day, you’re literally just making art and music not because you’re trying to ‘have’ a moment, but because that’s what you fucking do, you know? Even if there was one person in the audience I would still be making music and art. If there were a million, I would still be making music and art. So why would I let any of that make me feel like I can’t come back again? I also said “born again” because my name is Genesis and I always like to play with the meaning of it.
DN: Sick. Oh, I didn’t even think about that!

TG: Wow you’re such a good interviewer!
DN: [Laughs] Am I? I’ve only asked one question! Are you feeling nervous about this new album release? What are your first three feelings?

TG: Nervous, excited, and then nervous again. I love my album, I listen to it on repeat at night when I fall asleep. But when I release something I’ve made into the world I feel so fucking vulnerable. Music is like, ‘Here’s something that’s every bit a part of me, do you like it?’ I’m completely vulnerable. My walls are down. It’s a crazy feeling. I love my album so much, you know this, I make you listen to it all the time! So, nervous-excited.
DN: I’m butchering this saying but it’s along the lines of, ‘Nerves are just your body preparing you for something good that’s about to happen, it may be good or bad but most of the time it’s good.’

TG: That’s true, it’s instinct almost. It’s like, we were in the wild once, my body already knows some- thing’s coming.
DN: I feel you. It’s so annoying to me when you’re releasing something and someone is just like, ‘Don’t be nervous, it’s good!’ I’m like, ‘Your whole insides are showing, how could you not be!’

TG: Yeah everyone can see everything, and they’re just like, ‘Don’t worry! Enjoy today!’
DN: Yeah, like how are you not supposed to panic?!

TG: The day I released “a woman is a god” I just posted everything and then I took a long nap. I was like, ‘I’m going to bed.’
DN: The stress sleep. Okay, so with the vulnerability surrounding releasing new music, do you think that comes with how honest, raw, and to the point your lyrics are? Which is great, in my opinion.

TG: I don’t feel like it’s the lyrics, it’s more just the entire action of putting something new into the world. I’ve always loved my music, I’ve been like, ‘Oh yeah, this song’s fire!’ But I feel like this project means a lot more to me. I’m clicking with it so much, that it’s almost like, you start to think about what happens if no one else feels the same way? And you’re just on an island loving yourself [laughs], loving your art. It’s almost like when you put yourself out there, and you’re like, ‘Hey I’m Tommy!’ But no one responds. You know?

DN: It’s scary, taking that risk and being your truest self, but then being your truest self is like, ‘Will that be received well?’ That’s the most honest you could get and there’s no smoke and mirrors at that point.
TG: Yeah, but at the same time I love taking risks. In my life, the most fun I’ve ever had is when I’ve jumped and taken that risk. I feel like [the album] represents parts of me that, maybe, I only just talk about in interviews. Now, there are also songs that represent who I am as an artist.

DN: That’s interesting you say that, one thing I notice about this album is I could tell you’re bearing your soul. There are straight-up bops in there that are fire but then I love that there are contrasts of vulnerability, which I don’t hear as much from you.
TG: No, for sure.

DN: I mean this album – I’m realising it now – represents so much of you. It’s like female empowerment, but vulnerability at the same time. It’s honest. It’s also shocking in a way where you just say shit that’s on your mind. It’s refreshing. There’s power, confidence, and sexuality. It’s sick, there’s a lot in there that is inspiring.
TG: Wow, thank you, I love you!

DN: I’m serious, it is! I’m so proud of you with this album. You’ve seen it when you played it to me, every song I was like, ‘Damn, you did it! You did it! You outdid yourself.’
TG: I did it! ‘Cause I feel like with my last album, the first half, ‘I did it’ but I didn’t kill the second half. But with this album, I can’t wait to get to the second half of the album!

DN: Yeah that’s fucking sick. What was the inspiration behind the album’s name, goldilocks x?
TG: Last time, I couldn’t think of a name, and I just ended up self-titling it. This time the project needed a name and its own personality. I wanted it to feel like an era in one of my Tommy Genesis cycles where people are like, “Oh she was on her storytime, dark fantasy, weirdo goldilocks shit.” Also, I really liked the [concept of the] ‘Goldilocks Effect’ which is whenever something is just right. To me, this album is just right. It’s not too hot, it’s not too cold, it’s just right. The ‘x’ is partly because if I just called it ‘goldilocks’ I’d get so many storytime [connotations] to children’s books. So I put the ‘x’ there because it’s almost like saying, ‘goldilocks but not PG.’

DN: Rated ‘x’.
TG: Yeah rated ‘x’! The title ‘goldilocks x’ made it exist in a Tommy Genesis world.

DN: So digging into more of who you are and your past…could you ever have imagined that you’d be here today? Or did you make music back then so every- thing you do now makes sense?
TG: That’s such a good question. When I was younger, I never understood the structure of society, I would always get lost in-between it. You know, like when you’re a kid and the way you are just doesn’t really fit? Even when I was older, and I was a teenager and able to have thoughts about my identity, I just knew that the thoughts I was thinking weren’t normal to where I was. Everyone was always so stressed about what they were going to be when they were older and I never even cared, I was just always making shit. Looking back on it, I didn’t see this coming but now that I’m here it makes complete fucking sense. Who I am, it just fits so easily into the [music] world.

DN: Yeah!
TG: Yeah but I was always the weird one out, like always. That’s one thing I think people don’t get. It’s like when I’m modelling and my sexuality is very…I like to do role play with being submissive and being dominant, and being aggressive, and being vulnerable. I love to play in that area, and I think people think I’m just this really sexual, aggressive person, but if you meet me in person I’m so chill. You would never guess that I turn it on like that.

DN: You never would! You’re so sweet and chill.
TG: A lot of people will be so shocked if they meet me without knowing my music, but at the same time, if I didn’t have my music, all that energy would just bleed into my actual life – and it does – but I’ve found music has been such a good way for me to channel a lot of my emotions and feelings so that I can make sense of them too. Songs are just you feeling so much it becomes something real, and it’s not like an object, but it is because it’s something that someone else can hear. I don’t know it’s crazy.

DN: Music is one of those things where you put all your energy into it – if you’re feeling sad, if you’re feeling hyped, feeling angry, you put that into music. So I feel you. I think it is important to stay true to yourself ‘cause being able to have a voice and express yourself in that way is so important. You think about even when you were a kid, and you listen to songs and they help you through so much…
TG: Yeah!

DN: And you wanna be that person for somebody. For someone too scared or shy to even express themselves, you wanna be able to be there, in their ears, and be like, ‘Yo I’m there, right there with you.’
TG: ‘I’ve felt this way too.’