TikTok's Favorite Artist, Blu DeTiger, Wants to Make the Bass Cool

On a recent Saturday night at one of New York's most beloved lesbian bars, I found myself talking with a woman in her late 30s who'd just come from what she deemed "her favorite concert" to date. Speaking solely in non-sequiturs and sudden proclamations, she went on and on about the production, the raw talent, and the epic bass riffs. So taken was she that even after we'd run out of things to talk about, I overheard her telling the same story to a fellow barfly. "For someone that young, she was just incredible," I heard the woman repeat. Days later, I spoke to the artist in question and less than two minutes into our conversation, I couldn't resist relaying the story. "Shut up! Wait, that's sick," Blu DeTiger exclaims, before probing for more details. The 26-year-old New York native is particularly curious how—and with whom—her blend of heavy bass and indie pop is resonating. After an acclaimed EP in 2021 and some recent TikTok fame, thanks to her grooving covers, she's comforted when someone who isn't a Gen Z club kid or a TikTok addict says they're a fan. But it's not just 30-something millennials, either. A certain '90s era rapper of early aughts VH1 reality TV fame is also an admirer: Yes, even Flavor Flav has set his comically large clocks by DeTiger's success. "He was like, 'Yo, I'm a fan,'" the singer and bassist told Jezebel of a recent meeting at one of her DJ gigs. "Now we keep in touch over DM." Since April, DeTiger's been touring her new album, All I Want Is Everything, released on March 29. The record is a good addition to the "club hits you can cry to" genre with tracks like "Sad Girl Machine," a diaristic ode to the many what-the-fuck-is-happening moments in one's 20s, and "You Say," an unfortunately relatable lamentation of leading someone you have no real intention of being with on and on. https://www.tiktok.com/@bludetiger/video/7346402659932343598?lang=en So far, the New York show has been DeTiger's favorite, partly because of the crowd's fervor for her deeply felt lyrics and damn cool bass riffs. If the woman I met in the bar that night was any indication, I'm willing to wager everyone else in the audience was equally enamored. "You can just see the reaction in real time when you're actually at the show," DeTiger said, noting that online laudation pales in comparison to that experienced on stage. "Nothing is as the same as in person." DeTiger talked with Jezebel about collaborating with Chappell Roan, calling  Flavor Flav a fan, and making the bass cool. JEZEBEL: First off, why the bass? It's not the glory instrument the way that maybe an electric guitar or the drums are.  BLU DeTIGER: Exactly. That's exactly why we're doing it. I'm trying to make it cool because it's such a dope instrument. People just have to see what it can do. There are so many times that people comment on my TikToks like, "Oh, I didn't even know the bass could make this sound" or whatever, and I think that's pretty slick. I saw my brother playing the drums when he was 10 and I was 7 and naturally, I wanted to play an instrument too. I felt the guitar was too mainstream or that I'd just seen it a lot and I think there was some inkling for me to be a little bit more unique. I wanted to feel different. Your latest record, All I Want Is Everything, sounds like a bit of a retrospective on all these very universal experiences of a 20-something. Tell…