BBYAFRICKA Says What We're All Thinking

The artist who holds many titles of poet, rapper, mother, and model, holds just as many personas. As we are well acquainted with "BbyAfricka," the artist unveils that "Big Africka" plays just as much of an important role to her career. "Big Africka" is the Don Dada, the mature older sister, and plays into a hyper-masculine role, one opposing "BbyAfricka." All of this makes for an intricate sound for the eclectic artist.

Read our exclusive interview with the California-based artist below. 

Do you think your outlandish opinions come from your juxtaposing upbringing? You started as a model, which are historically known for not talking — so do you think all of what you have to say was built up from when you weren't as vocal from your modeling career?

Now that you say it like that, it's probably possible, but I mean, I always have things to say. It's just like, that's why music for me is better, that why I started with poetry, just for me as a form of like therapy. That brought it out of me. And then, it came with the music, having more things to say. It helped me get more comfortable speaking my mind.

Your music is dark, but also comical. It's not anything that would ever think sprung from LA because when I think of LA music, I'm thinking of super upbeat music. So where does your tonality and sound come from?

I feel like there's like a bunch of different things in my head, like people in my head. So, I guess it's like the personality that I don't really tell, it just pops out in my music, definitely. I be talking a lot of shit, that's how I got known from Twitter — from just talking shit. I be saying what people be thinking.

Are you purposely comical in your writing, or do you just say what you want to say and it happens to be funny? And have you been like that your whole life?

Well usually like people think I'm funny when I'm being dead serious. It's like not on purpose, but now like as my more recent work, I'm definitely doing it on purpose. But before I don't think it probably was on purpose, and then people were like "oh, that's funny!" You know?

Did you grow up as the black sheep in your family? Who were you in high school?

In high school, I was definitely the different girl. Cause I went to school — I moved around schools a lot. So I went to school in like south-central and I was definitely like a rocker. So I did not fit in going to school around ghetto shit. I was definitely like the rocker around the Mexicans and everything. So the Black girls didn't like me, like the Black guys were cool with me, but the Black girls thought I was weird. I definitely was an outsider, I've always been the different one. Like, "Oh, that's just her."

What music were you listening to growing up? 

I was definitely listening to a lot of like Tyler, the creator in high school. Like I met this girl named Courtney who's like a rocker, and she introduced me to like the Misfits, and The Donnas, SlipKnot, I just listened to alot of different music. I still listen to all that shit, I'm just a rapper now. Because my old music is actually more emo, like my latest project is actually my first rap album. People didn't really know I rapped, like I had maybe 3 or 4 rap songs out. But yeah, people didn't really know that I'm rapping till now. 

And what is it like to be the outcast growing up for liking certain types of music and seeing it blow up now? 

 It's funny because I've definitely had girls from high school that like were looking at me weird, then ended up dressing like me. Definitely interesting. I'm like not mad at it though because ultimately like it helped me too. And I can merge both of those things. 

 And you're not signed. It seems like you are kind of doing it all yourself, so what are the pros and cons of that? 

 It's nice that there's definitely a lot of things that I actually just need to know for when I am signed or when bigger things like that happen. So I'm already gonna know like, 'no you're trying to fuck me over.' So it's definitely good to know things, but it definitely does take a toll on me because I literally have to do everything myself. So especially like, I can't just focus on my art, I have to literally focus on the business side, which is like a headache. So definitely, I don't like that part of it, but also I'm learning. 

So do you think with knowingness, that in the future and once you are fully up at the stage that you want to be at, do you think you're going to be taking other young girl rappers under your wing?

That's a good question. I never really thought about that. Actually. But yeah, I don't see why not. I'm very like a helping person, like a mom-type-of person, also just like motherly and just like nurturing. So I could definitely see that happening.

Okay. So with finding my tone, that was definitely hard that's why wasn't rapping at first. I didn't want to sound like those girls who have those like high little voices. I always did not like that. So I was like, 'Damn, I have lyrics I know I could put into raps songs, but I don't have my sound yet.' So definitely, it was just like practice and I guess I just kinda took it with my regular talking voice, but maybe a little deeper. I just recently started learning how more playful with my tone because a lot of the stuff I was recording were sounding the same to me. So being around both of my homies who did music definitely taught me how to play around with my tones, and rasp, and like-sounding different. And that's how you get more comfortable. And that's when your shit starts sounding better, but you got to be comfortable with it.

No, actually now I freestyle everything. I recently learned how to freestyle. Like, I freestyled before, but I was always saying just the dumbest shit. And I was like 'I cannot do this. You say dumb shit, no.' Like I won't say any names, but, you know those rappers who just say dumb shit and you're like 'Bro, how is this nigga rich?' So I definitely started writing everything at first, whether it was to the beat and then writing everything, or just like writing first and then later on hearing the beat and saying 'oh, this kinda goes together.' And then changing the words to make it go together, but now everything is like freestyle. I haven't wrote in a while, or like I'll hear, the melody of the beat and I'll write something, like a bar. Then the rest would be like a freestyle, just so I know where I'm going with it.

They just don't like it when a female does it. I'm confused as to why in a way women have to work like 10 times as harder than men if they're talking about the same thing. Yeah. I've definitely learned that. If I'm going to be talking about sex, I got to throw some good punches in there. So it's like, 'Okay, I'm saying this but I'm also saying some real shit too.' Like some shit where people will hear it and they'll laugh, but they get that reference.

And talking about BigAfricka versus BbyAfricka, can you say three words describing each persona?

BbyAfricka is learning, growing... I don't know about the third one! BigAfricka Is more like grown, like found herself, and puts her foot down.

I feel like listening to the different personas feels like hyper feminization for BbyAfricka and hyper-masculinity for BigAfricka. Is that something that you feel like you embody within yourself?

Yeah, on accident though. Definitely. Like, I mean, cause when people see me, they see me probably and see BbyAfricka, like a softer version than me. But then, when I open my mouth, then you know... Especially like shit that comes from my rap album, a lot of that is from my head, so It's going to be wild. So yeah, definitely.

Yeah. I definitely understand that. Especially coming from someone who's queer themself, it's kind of refreshing to hear you be unapologetically gay as hell in your music.

It's definitely been like a thing since literal childhood. But, it's just like me now being more open, not even like currently now "identifying" but just like it is what it is.

What was your gay awakening? I'll tell you mine.

When I was a kid I had a friend. I don't know, I guess everyone was gay because I had like my girlfriends. Even like high school, like holding hands with my homegirl, I didn't even think anything of it. It's always been a thing. And just like as getting older, I never felt like I had to hide anything. I'm just getting more comfortable with it.

My gay awakening was Grand Theft Auto.

Okay, wait, mine was IMVU. Totally like MySpace days. Yeah. It was definitely like catfishing random scene guys.

What is your favorite song to perform?

That's a good question because I'm just starting to perform. I'm recently performing my rap shit now because of covid and everything. But probably like "Iam2" but I haven't even performed that. So I don't really like perform sad shit. I feel that when I'm singing, I have to be sitting down and just be boring.

what do you think is your most slept-on song?

"Death Date" automatically. That, and a singing one called "confused." The one, "confused" I literally recorded on my iPad. So I understand that it's not the best quality, but that's what makes it the best. I fuck with the more raw shit. But, "Death Date" for sure is literally my best quality of work.

And what do you think those qualities of that project had that this one doesn't?

"Death Date" was when I just actually learned like my sound. So that's why it's definitely, to me, like one of my best works. Just like lyrically and just like the confidence in it, because that's when I really found how I want to sound.

How did you find your confidence? Not only in music, but just like within yourself.

I mean, I've kind of always had it. I'm thinking when I was like maybe in the middle school I probably wasn't my most confident. So just like that [being darkskin], and I always had a problem with like boys, like growing up I was always getting into it with boys. But definitely, just boys being weird saw me and would say shit just cause I'm dark skin. Like I'm really hairy. So shit like that. But that's kind of probably made me really tough and be like more confident. But yeah, high school, I know I was definitely different, but I definitely thought I was that bitch. I realized really early that people definitely be projecting and you know, just because I'm different, it never made me feel like I was like less than just because they felt like that.

A lot of people aren't themselves. And, I know that I'm being myself. And, studying psychology! But, you have to know yourself. In high school and college, I definitely had to dig deep into myself. So I've always been like very self-aware and I always wanted to know why I am the way, why everyone is the way that they are, so that's definitely helped me.

This is BbyAfricka's world, What does it look like? What are the rules? Who's there? Who's not there?

Can it be BigAfricka's world?

Okay!

Definitely very rich, very successful, very, smart, follows all her intuition. Doesn't second guess it at all. I'm definitely ready for whatever obstacles and definitely handled them differently than BbyAfricka would. Very standing her ground, very strong opinionated.

But what does this world look like?

This sky is definitely reddish-orange. And I'm definitely living somewhere crazy tropical. I might have a treehouse in my backyard. Very wholesome. Very wholesome in my performance life, bring my baby along. I definitely want to be wholesome, but I want to have a double life.