We were lucky to catch up with Tommi Aura recently and have shared our conversation below.

Tommi, appreciate you joining us today. Has your work ever been misunderstood or mischaracterized?

Being androgynous and really open with who I am can come with a lot of responsibility and hate. I feel a responsibility to my fans and community to speak up for us and also hold our values up whenever someone tries to come for us. I also get a lot of hate online and in the world for being who I am. There’s some comfort in knowing I’m not alone, but it doesn’t make it easy. The best thing I’ve learned from being misunderstood and hated is that I’m polarizing. And being polarizing in a world with such an opinion and short attention span is a really good thing. So if you are reading this and get bullied or neglected for who you are, my suggestion is to keep being unapologetically yourself. If people come for you, it means you’re actually doing something right. Maybe we are the queer awakening they needed to see, maybe they eventually learn to be comfy in their own skin by seeing how bravely we live our lives and are who we are. Set the standard and understand that the biggest talent and the most impactful people got to where they were by being themselves.

Tommi, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

My name is Tommi Aura, I’m a singer, song-writer, model and dancer currently based in LA! I create experimental pop music and love to perform. My music is centered around androgyny, mental health, spirituality and making sure when you listen, you’re having a good time! The biggest thing I hope listeners and people who may not know me but are reading this get from my art is, I want my music to feel like a safe space for you. I want it to give you that confidence to be who you want to be. And also, I want you to just enjoy what you’re listening to (obviously). I absolutely love being a creative and telling stories through fashion, visuals, my lyrics and music.

In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?

I think as a society, we are really growing with giving people more credit where credit is due, but I still think we have a long way to go. I also think fashion specifically still has a long way to go with their idea of what the “standard” of beauty is. We need more representation! More queer representation as that’s what I can speak to. I want to see more androgynous humans on covers of magazines (not just myself hehe), in stores and online. Also in my opinion, some of the best music that’s ever been made is from the people in the queer community! It’d good we are evolving, but we still have so much work to do to make these things “normal” in our society.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

The most rewarding thing about being an artist is seeing how my music helps other people be creative and how the music can really impact and change people’s lives. My song “lUcky girl synDrome” has done well online and I absolutely love reading peoples comments and DM’s about how it’s their go-to morning song to start their day or it’s helped them grow in their spiritual journey. Also with my newest single “pray To god”, I got a lot of messages from people about their stories and how they can relate to the song and how it’s helped them put into words what they also went through. It not only helps me grow, learn to be vulnerable and trust myself by putting out messages like these ones, but it also means the world to me to read that it’s helping YOU too.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://tommiaura.wixsite.com/my-site-1
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/omgtommiaura
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/omgtommiaura
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCe4INlfdcEeCVB4JPdt9zFQ
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@tommiaura

Image Credits
First picture shot by Kokie Imasogie Second-Sixth shot by Nick Berardi Last photo by Amy Le All styling/makeup/hair/creative direction by Tommi Aura