FEATURE: Spotlight: BIA — Music Musings & Such

FEATURE:

Spotlight

BIA

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I have recently watched…

the BBC’s First Ladies of Hip-Hop. Celebrating and highlighting the women who helped define and push Hip-Hop forward, these are icons who had to fight to heard and seen as equals. U.S. rapper Eve has selected her five Hip-Hop queens who changed the genre. I think the modern crop – including Little Simz and Mega Thee Stallion – show that the future of Hip-Hop is female. When you think about the wealth of female MCs and rappers, it is clear that they are leading the way. Even though the Massachusetts rapper BIA has been on the scene a little time now, she is someone may not be known to all. Perhaps a new name to those in the U.K. Her new E.P., REALLY HER, was released back in July. It is a supremely confident and compelling work from a huge voice in Hip-Hop. With elements of Trap added to the mix, there are few as commanding as BIA. I am going to finish off by sourcing a review for Really Her. There are a couple of interesting interviews I came across tied to the E.P. release. Before I get there, AllMusic provide some biography of a sensational voice in Hip-Hop:

“Multi-platinum hitmaker BIA's tough, confident flows meet with detailed production, resulting in sinister trap bangers with the occasional R&B hook. After getting started as an independent artist, she signed on with Epic in early 2020, issuing her EP For Certain and bringing in Nicki Minaj for a remix of one of its tracks, "Whole Lotta Money." After the song cracked the upper reaches of the Billboard chart, BIA expanded For Certain into an album-length deluxe version in 2021, and from there she continued releasing new music in the form of collaborations with J. Cole and Snakehips or singles of her own. Really Her, her first proper album, arrived in 2023.

BIA was born in 1991 in Medford, Massachusetts, and spent time early in life as a part of Boston's independent rap scene. She eventually began working on her solo music and relocated first to Miami and then to Los Angeles. In 2016, she added vocals to the J Balvin single "Safari" and opened select dates in support of Ariana Grande, all while releasing new singles of her own. The EP Nice Girls Finish Last: Cuidado surfaced in 2018 and included some of her previously released singles as well as new tracks featuring guest spots from Kodak Black and Kali Uchis.

PHOTO CREDIT: Alex Harper for Wonderland Magazine

In 2020, now signed to Epic, BIA released a few tracks that had a slightly harder edge, "Free BIA (First Day Out)" and the lurching, hypnotic "Cover Girl." Both songs were later featured on her second EP, For Certain, issued in December of that year. A video for the EP's "Whole Lotta Money" was released the next April, and following the song's viral success, a remix with Nicki Minaj appeared in July, reaching the Top 20 of the Billboard Hot 100. The track earned her a nomination for Best Breakthrough Song at the 2021 MTV VMAs. In addition, BIA's reworked version of her track "Skate" was featured in the 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs tune-in promotions.

In 2022, BIA teamed with rapper J. Cole for the single "London," which peaked at number 62 on the Billboard charts. That year, she also appeared on tracks with Tommy Genesis, Snakehips, and a remix of Minaj's number one hit "Super Freaky Girl" that also featured Katie Got Bandz, Akbar V, and others. In March 2023, BIA issued the solo single "Sixteen." "I'm That Bitch," a collaboration with Timbaland, soon followed, and the song arrived on the full-length Really Her, which also featured Juicy J and Swizz Beatz. An expanded International Deluxe edition included several more guests such as Fivio Foreign, Giggs, Pa Salieu, and Luciano”.

I will come to that review soon. There are some great interviews with BIA. Some cool video interviews too. Go check them out if her music sounds like it is your thing. Maybe it will be longer before there is transatlantic success and recognition - though she does have a footing and fanbase here. I was intrigued by an interview from NOTION from a few months or so back. Learning a little more the super-talented Bianca Miquela Landrau:

“What’s been your greatest blessing in the past two years?

To travel the world with my friends doing what I love.

What about your biggest lesson?

Staying grateful and having no expectations.

How would you say you’ve evolved musically since then with this new project?

I think I’ve evolved everywhere from bars to beat selections. I approach all my art from an authentic place. I want all my music to be timeless.

What was inspiring you lyrically writing ‘REALLY HER’?

My life and traveling.

You’ve said before that you want people to feel empowered – “like THAT girl or THAT boy” – is that the intention behind this new music?

Absolutely! I think that’s pretty much my theme whenever I’m in the booth.

Where do you envision people listening to the music, and how do you want it to make them feel?

Anywhere, everywhere, outside. I want them to feel motivated, empowered, beautiful and ready to get some money.

Do you have a track on the project that’s most meaningful to you, or that you’re most proud of?

I love them all, but “Four Seasons” has a special place in my heart.

What’s inspiring the visuals for the project? The videos for “MILLIONS” and “I’M THAT BITCH” went off… What was on your mood boards?

I feel like my visual aesthetic is very much my aesthetic in real life. It’s classy, it’s clean, it’s fashion. Those are all the things I want to give in my visuals. I use my friends in the videos, those are really my homegirls. I am blessed to work with incredible directors that help bring my vision to life. Also we love to pay homage to those who came before us and have opened the doors to allow me to do what I’m doing now.

You give off such positive energy and message – of strength, self-reliance, resilience – what would you like to represent and stand for as an artist with a platform?

That I am a testament of staying true to who you are and doing the work. When you stay true to who you are and put in the work, it pays off. I am really grateful for having this opportunity of making music and building my legacy.

Having dropped the full project now, what are you feeling inspired by looking forwards?

I am feeling really inspired by my fans. I’m excited about going on my first headlining tour, meeting my fans and making music for them.

And looking further into the future, what does success look like to you? What’s the big dream?

I’m living it. It only gets better everyday”.

PHOTO CREDIT: Shaun-Andru

Here is an interview from The Cut. Published next month, it is clear there is a lot of momentum behind BIA. Her music mat be new to some. One spin of REALLY HER and you will be hooked. I do think that it is the women of Rap and Hip-Hop that are taking it to new places:

“Her style — which the Massachusetts-born rapper describes as “edgy, sexy, electric” — has caught the eyes of legends throughout her career. BIA was discovered on YouTube and introduced to Pharrell early in her career, and she landed on Oxygen’s Sisterhood of Hip Hop for two seasons in 2014 and 2015. By 2016, she scored a feature on J Balvin’s “Safari,” which started her rise to Billboard chart placements. In 2018, she released her first EP, Nice Girls Finish Last: Cuidado, and her second EP, For Certain, came at the tail end of 2020. A year later, it was almost impossible to go outside without hearing her hit song “Whole Lotta Money” — especially the remix with Nicki Minaj.

BIA’s no stranger to collaboration with hip-hop legends, either. On her third EP, Really Her, she worked with J. Cole, Timbaland, and Swizz Beatz, and she collaborated with Busta Rhymes for a single called “Beach Ball” this summer. It’s in her DNA to create a legacy with co-signs of major producers and artists, and she is certain that she’s unfuckwitable. “I’m really her,” she repeatedly tells me, speaking in her signature cool-girl flow. “I’m for the girls.”

A few days before her birthday, BIA started to prepare for a long flight to Australia, where she was set to perform for the FIFA Women’s World Cup. She’s never been down under, and she knows the flight is extra long, but she tells me she doesn’t mind because she travels luxuriously. “We only do lay flats, baby,” she says through laughter, referring to the first-class beds on international flights. Could she get any more “It” girl than that?

What is an “It” girl?

An “It” girl to me is just a girl who’s superconfident. She’s authentic, she knows who she is, and she sets the trends. She really sets the bar when it comes to looks and fashion especially. She’s in the know.

Who are some musicians you would classify as an “It” girl? Do they inspire you?

I’ll take it all the way back to Aaliyah and Missy Elliott. I love Rihanna, too. She’s the biggest “It” girl to me. And Nicki sets the trends. Those are my “It” girls; they set it. Even when I think about my style, there is one person I always think of: Aaliyah. She made streetwear and sexy, cool, effortless fashion. She wore baggy stuff but still made it cute and girly. Then there’s Rihanna, who mixes high fashion with streetwear. It’s her own personal style — she wears whatever the fuck she wants. You know that person on TikTok who everybody’s killing for looks right now, the subway fashion? I feel like Rihanna could put on any of those. That’s what we all think we look like when we try to replicate a Rihanna look.

Your confidence already answers this question for me, but do you consider yourself an “It” girl?

Yes, I do. I’m definitely sure of myself. I might not have the most followers, but I have a lot of eyes. Nobody’s the first to do anything, so I feel like we all just take things and reinvent it and figure out how we can amplify it and make it bigger and better than the last time. I pay a lot of love and respect to a lot of the girls that I feel are “It,” too. I show them a lot of love, and they show me a lot of love. Sometimes we’ll be in the DMs, and I’ve had girls tell me, “Oh, girl, I’m going to copy this.” It’s all love. It’s like, “Okay, cool. That’s what we’re here for.” We’re here to push the culture forward and raise the bar.

Where do you shop?

I shop everywhere. Online, at boutiques, outside. Sometimes I’ll get a little vintage piece, I’ll thrift something, but it’s like, I really just love pieces. I love Ottolinger, Andersson Bell, Rick Owens, and Diesel, to name a few brands. I like to find up-and-coming designers, too. Designers that aren’t so mainstream yet, but they have pieces. I’m always searching for key pieces.

What about going out? Where do you like to go out?

I live in L.A., and my friends and I like to go out to eat. We’re classy girls. I love Catch and LAVO; I could eat at LAVO every day, girl. I love the Ivy, too. They have this lobster ravioli, and it is so good. We do the hookah scene every once in a while or a lounge; we like to just go there and dance.

What was your vision going into your most recent project?

I work on a lot of songs, and I wanted this to be an elevated version of what For Certain felt like. For me, that project was the first time in my life and my career where I really felt super-sure of myself, like a hundred percent about everything. I was like, You know what? I’m stepping into it. I don’t need validation from anyone. This is me. This is what and who I am. So with this project, Really Her, I struggled on finding a name that resonated with me, but I would always randomly say, “I’m really her,” or, “Oh, I woke up her again today. It’s me.” I would always say it and one day it just clicked. I had so many other names, but I felt like this was the next step of For Certain because for certain, I’m really her — now I’m really in it. You can’t take me out.

As for the songs, it’s for the girls. If you know me, I’m really a girl’s girl. People say they’re girl’s girls, but I’m really such a homegirl. I’ve got so many homegirls, and I want them to feel that. I want everybody that is my girl to get money; I want them to put themselves in a position to boss up and to feel good and to look good and to be happy. You need music and motivation to do that. You have to feel powerful and move powerfully”.

I will round it up with a review for REALLY HER. I hope that BIA makes some appearances in the U.K. soon enough. I think she will get some good traction and affection from some of our stations. This is what Respect My Religion noted when they took a trip through REALLY HER. I have heard it a few times now and am always struck and awed. Whilst quite new to my ears, BIA is a pretty big name in the U.S. She is someone who has a glittering future ahead:

“BIA, the 31-year-old Massachusetts rapper, has been making waves in the hip-hop scene since signing to Pharrell Williams’ I Am Other record label back in 2014. With a musical style characterized by swagger and bravado, BIA exudes confidence in every rhyme she spits. After a label change to Sony in 2020, BIA’s single “Whole Lotta Money” with Nicki Minaj went viral on TikTok the following year. With a viral single complete with impressive penmanship, BIA solidified her position as a name to remember in 2020s hip-hop. Now, with her newest album, REALLY HER, BIA emphasizes her standing as a true rapper’s rapper.

Clocking in at just over 20 minutes, REALLY HER is certainly a concise listen. The album’s production is dominated by nocturnal 808 beats, creating a dark and menacing atmosphere. While the soundscape occasionally tiptoes towards being one-dimensional, the album’s short length keeps it from becoming repetitive, ultimately leaving listeners craving more.

One of the strengths of REALLY HER lies in its collaborations. BIA enlists the talents of Juicy J, Swizz Beats, J. Cole, and producer Timbaland, which add some necessary layers to the project. The collaboration with J. Cole on “LONDON” is a standout track, with Cole demonstrating his lyrical prowess and even experimenting with an unexpected British accent. His impressive internal rhyme scheme makes this song instantly playlistable.

BIA’s own verses are marked by honesty and authenticity as she fearlessly delves into her personal perspectives and life experiences. On “FOUR SEASONS,” she addresses her role as a successful woman in hip-hop, confidently rejecting stereotypes and society’s sexual expectations.

One notable aspect of REALLY HER is the brevity of its tracks, with all but one being under three minutes. This reflects an understanding of Gen Z’s short attention span, as BIA keeps things moving constantly to avoid dull moments. While this approach allows for a quick and engaging listen, it also leaves room for growth in lengthier tracks in the future.

The album’s closing track, “I’M THAT BITCH,” featuring the legendary producer Timbaland, is another standout. BIA’s swagger takes center stage on this track, reaffirming the album’s title that she’s “REALLY HER.” However, the real gem here is Timbaland’s masterful production, blending contemporary drill elements with the bounce and playfulness of southern hip-hop from the early 2000s. The result is an irresistibly catchy and vibrant song.

BIA put out a really solid album in REALLY HER. She displays her talent as a rapper while leaving room for experimentation in future music. Her authenticity shines through every track, making it clear that what BIA does well, she does really well. While the album’s production occasionally flirts with bland repetitiveness, the project’s brevity and features keep the listener engaged. With her career still on the rise, REALLY HER cements BIA’s status as a legitimate artist with a beaming future ahead”.

With REALLY HER under her belt, there will be a lot of curious eyes the way of BIA. After signing a record deal with Epic Records in 2020, FOR CERTAIN, her second E.P., arrived in December 2020. I think that REALLY HER is BIA’s best work so far. It is going to be exciting seeing how her future unfolds. For anyone unfamiliar with her music, make sure that you…