This Will Only Heal a Lot: The Way of WILLIE

The music industry is sustained by dreams and dreamers. There’s no clear cut path to success, and rarely will you find two artists who took the same route to their dreams. However, everyone who chooses the life of an artist finds their own version of heartache, struggle, success, and encapsulates that in ways that are both unique and universal. As many love to say, “where there’s a will, there’s a way.” And few encapsulate this in their music as powerfully as WiLLiE.

Studio photography by Juliana Civitate.

From Houston, TX, formerly performing under the name Tia Gold, WiLLiE has electrified stages with soothing vocals, lyricism dripping with emotional intelligence and wit, and a deep understanding of vulnerability in her delivery that transcends genres. These gifts led her to being recognized by Roc Nation, officially signing her on as a songwriter. With credits on projects for Big Sean, Saucy Santana, and securing sync placements on shows like Issa Rae’s iconic series Insecure, her talents have been sought after by industry heavyweights looking to refresh their sound.

In addition to empowering the artists she works with, she shines as a solo artist in her own right. Throughout her acclaimed EP This Will Only Hurt A Little, WiLLiE’s voice and pen sound just as comfortable over synthpop production as they do over country rock instrumentation and R&B ballads. With tasteful curation and intentional collaboration, she explores her own journeys through love and heartbreak via a varied, attention-grabbing sonic landscape that helps to show the full range of her artistry. Standout cuts like “12am” featuring a descriptive verse from frequent collaborator GAL, “greedy boys” defined by a playful flow with rich harmonies, and the finale “only hurt a little” with its emotive progression to the project’s climactic resolution, show an artist who knows herself, and knows how to profoundly show her truth.

As her career continues to blossom, WiLLiE’s career led her to join hip hop phenom Akeem Ali on his country-wide Good-Lookin Tour. Lighting up stages across the nation with her beauty, her sense of humor, and god-given gifts for music, the impact of her artistry only continues to grow. 

NIK VRSI- You’ve put yourself in an incredible position with your art, being able to balance working on major industry projects, while also moving with the nuance of an indie artist? How do you balance these dynamics in making your art?*

WiLLiE- I’ve learned to move with the current of whichever side is pulling me. Like if there’s a season where my schedule is full of studio sessions and pitch conversations then it just takes priority & vice versa- like this year & basically since I dropped my EP ; has been way more artist driven. Like I’ll look up and I’m booked for SXSW, then a tour opportunity then feature request. So its like ok right now I’m gonna focus on WilliE because she’s behind the wheel (no pun intended).

N- Have you found yourself in positions where something you wrote for yourself was something you decided to give to someone else? How do you make those decisions?*

W- There are few times where I feel like I absolutely HAVE to keep a song for myself. So a lot of times regardless of how much I love a song I’ll turn it into publishing as a pitch idea first. Even if I initially wrote it for myself, I consider it an artistic offering. A few years back I wanted to learn and focus on detachment from things and that included creative ideas, money, material things all that. Still a work in progress but the overall goal is to believe and live like these things are never ending because they are…. You can buy new things, you can write more songs.. you can make more money… I hope that makes sense (lol)

N- A beautiful thing about your projects is how the collaboration feels very seamless, like family coming together around your vision. Tell us a little bit about the process of conceptualizing and creating This Will Only Hurt A Little.*

W- I was in *still in* a transitional season and realized I needed an outlet at the same time I realized I hadn’t put out a full body of work since like 2021? So it was time & I wanted to use this as, like a little platter to show people what type of sounds I enjoy  as a listener… I love girly pop, acoustic Americana, blues, eclectic abstract dance vibes like in my song “Stuck”. All DAT, so that’s what I made… a little bit of the things I like. Concept wise like I said I was in a transitional state and the main thing that kept me afloat during these times was reminding myself that all things are temporary, pain, discomfort etc. so the phrase “this will only hurt a little” helped me sum that up. Took the route of discussing romance because that was the most recent chapter that had closed to a point where I could share. The other areas of life were still too touchy to sing about at the time.

Our music column is powered by NEWM, an official sponsor of ARCHIV3.

NEWM is redefining what it means to be an independent artist — with decentralized tools that give you full ownership, creative freedom, and new ways to earn from your music without giving up agency. Join NEWM — the Web3 platform giving power (and profits) back to artists. Discover →

The collaborations were exactly that, family. Chris Rockaway executive produced the project is a producer I’ve worked with for almost 10yrs so he’s been with me as my sound has grown/changed and that’s so important to have someone there that’s like “I know you like this so let’s start here but we’ve done that before so let’s do it a little different” and he’s so talented I can literally be like I wanna make something that sounds like I’m swinging from a fan lmao and he gets it man. He’s special.

Features are something I’m a little more focused on now than I was then. I’m really impatient when it comes to music like I want to finish a song when I want it done and with features that can take a little while so I wasn’t to pressed to have that stress on this project but i absolutely COULD NOT put out a project without a WilliE/GAL collab. GAL and I became friends about 5yrs ago and have bonded in a way that almost feels spiritual, we got really close really fast. It feels like someone I knew since childhood until I remember like “ BITCH I JUST MET U HUH?”  I’m really protective of it because it’s so hard to find deep friendships in such a surface level industry. And surprisingly enough our friendship has begun to like become a part of our individual brands.

It’s also funny because we have soooo much music together but never really put anything out because they are mostly pitch ideas for other artists. So we’ve been like “yea let’s start dropping collabs.” The song I put her on “12am” was one I had for a little while and I just thought having her drop some soft but sassy bars would really tie it together and it did just that.

Tour photography by Latisha Mariee.

N- To start your summer going on tour with one of the most exciting new names in music is a testament to the career you’re building. It seems to mean most that it came from building with friends rather than purely making a business decision. Can you talk a little bit about how being on the Good Lookin’ Tour came to be?*

W-Keem literally FaceTimed the groupchat ( between me, him & GAL) and was like “I need openers for my tour can yall do it?” (lolol) we were like shidddd hell yea! Ironically enough GAL and I had been saying over and over top of the year that we’re gonna tour, didn’t know when or how and then boom here comes Akeem letting the Lord use him. Which is really more of a testament to him because this has been a really good yr for him. There are alot of eyes on him & all of his hard work is really paying off . So for him to want to share his light with friends when he really could’ve picked any other artist with a buzz says a lot. But that’s what he’s about, seeing his people go after what they want and teaching them how to get it.

N- Lastly, what does the remainder of 2025 have for WiLLiE and how can ARCHIV3 best support you and your art?

W- I plan to release new music, maybe not a full project but a couple of singles that I’ve worked on. A couple of features that I’m excited about!

But I mainly want to continue to promote this will only hurt a little. I haven’t really shot a music video for any of my music in the last 4yrs since relocating to LA mainly because the team I was used to working with is based in Texas and idk I hadn’t really built that out here so I’ve relied heavily on organic or comedic visual content to create awareness but now I’m ready to get back telling visual stories. So hopefully a few videos.. I’d love to get into the festival circuit and start doing festival performances so fingers crossed on the business side I also want to focus on building a team of individuals.. managers/ booking agents people that can help push my vision forward.

And you guys are helping by doing just this. A lot of artist need visibility and taking the time to not only listen to the music but fully digest it, WRITE ABOUT IT and share it?! I could tear up at the thought of that kind of support.

WiLLiE’s sensational EP, This Will Only Hurt A Little is currently available on all streaming platforms. As her career’s trajectory has already proven, the sky’s truly the limit for what’s to come.