BbyMutha is the architect of her own success
“I’ve been busy on Twitter arguing with people because everybody knows that’s what I do. I go out for people disrespecting me,” Brittnee Moore tells me over the phone.
It’s late afternoon in Chattanooga, Tennessee, where the rapper, better known as BbyMutha, has just woken up with a story to tell.
Specifically, the story of how she parted ways with her soon-to-be former manager. After finding out that she was being shopped to record labels, BbyMutha put her foot down and fired her. It’s a decision backed by her history. BbyMutha has been the architect of her own success since her Glow Kit EP went viral in 2017. An independent artist from the get-go, she caught the attention of SZA, Kehlani and fans around the world with her effortless flow, unapologetically sexual bars and laying down of the law.
Scrapping the old material recorded with her manager, BbyMutha bounced back with her signature nonchalant delivery and the self- possession that made her track Rules a global smash. Her songs are written by and for herself – any secondary validation is just the icing on the cake. “I work because I want to express myself, not because I think, ‘I’m going to drop this album today and I’m going to get rich’, because I know for a fact that’s not how shit works.”
The attention follows her naturally, though. 2018’s Dancing on the Dick video casts BbyMutha in haunting tones of red and green light as she playfully spars with a lover, swinging crystals and summoning a fire before dragging his corpse into her arms on the bathroom floor. The video woozes in and out of lo-fi footage like it’s been recorded with a turn-of-the-century handheld camcorder. It’s an intoxicating blend; dizzying and atmospheric as layered recordings of people talking bleed onto the track, mimicking the feeling of being buzzed at a party, listening to muffled chat in the room next door. “The older we get, the more sober we get, and that’s why we try so hard to get shitfaced as adults. We miss being kids,” BbyMutha tells me.
“Working on this album has been the most difficult thing,” she admits to me as we wrap up. It’s not hard to imagine why. As her own PR, her own writer and now her own manager, she’s got a full schedule. She’s also a single mother to two sets of twins, all bubbling with personality and charisma. (They provide the cooing vocals that lead in and out of her tracks.) Today, however, her kids are next door at her dad’s place as it’s a US holiday. BbyMutha is enjoying some time to herself before work shifts into gear for the year. Something says that her 2019 won’t be this quiet.
Sounds like: In-your-face hip-hop
Soundtrack for: Effortlessly stunting on your enemies
File next to: Junglepussy / Dai Burger
Our favourite track: Heaven’s Little Bastard
Where to find her: @bbymutha
The Bastard Tape, Vol. 1 is out now via 825402 Records DK
ADVERTISEMENTS