There have been few artists to emerge over the last two years that are more polarizing than Bhad Bhabie. The young woman's career blew up pretty much overnight as she became a meme sensation for uttering that famous line on that TV show. Her life since then has been very different. When she realized how much attention she was getting for simply being herself, she decided, "Why not show my skills on the mic?" With just a few singles to her name, Bhabie sold out her Bhanned in the USA Tour. Now that she's officially released her debut mixtape, her career is bound to take a few extra leaps.
As she prepares for her role on Lil Yachty's Disrespect Tour, the young star is in a crucial part of her career. People may be skeptical of her at first but she's confident in her ability to stick around. After all, she's been plagued by cries of her "fifteen minutes" ending for months and she's made it this far.
15 offers a few different perspectives on Bhad Bhabie's life and career. We get to hear about her relationship with her father as she opens up to tell her true story but we also encounter some of her usual stunting. As a teenager, Bhabie has an immense amount of room to grow and she's embraced every part of being a superstar. We spoke with her about her new mixtape and how she got to where she is today. Our interview is below.
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HotNewHipHop: First of all, I want to congratulate you on your debut mixtape.
Bhad Bhabie: Thank you so much.
No worries. I think people are going to be pleasantly surprised by it. At least I was. You just wrapped up the Bhanned in the USA Tour which you sold out without dropping the mixtape. First of all, congratulations on that. Second, I wanted to ask what that experience was like because many people have not gotten to experience a tour like that without dropping a ton of music.
I think it was really just the hype. The shows were really good and we had a lot of fun. Even if there wasn’t a lot of songs, we made it work.
Now, you’re headed on Lil Yachty’s tour. He’s proven to be a mentor of sorts to you. What’s your relationship like?
That’s my big brother.
What are you most excited for on that tour?
I’m so excited to perform the new songs and see how the crowd takes to them. That’s what I want to see. I know there’s a couple of songs in there like "Bout That" will probably go crazy because it’s a hype ass song. You don’t even need to know the words to that song. The same thing with "Affiliated". Me and Asian [Doll] have been performing "Affiliated" for the longest now and no one knows the words but them motherfuckers be getting hype as hell to that shit.
Exactly. Sometimes you don’t even need to know the words. You just go crazy on it. Obviously, the number 15 has a lot of meanings for you. Yes, it's your age but one of the major themes on the intro track also has to do with people saying you’re on your "15 minutes of fame." You’ve been out for a minute though now and I feel like you transitioned to music really well. What’s the main thing that you’re trying to communicate with the project?
For me it’s like, 'I’m putting this here and I’m here to stay.' There’s no way you can kick me out. There’s no button you can press and then Bhad Bhabie disappears. I’m here. Good luck getting me to leave because I’m not.
I feel you on that because a lot of people are really starting to turn around on you. Obviously, you endured a lot of hate in the early days but now I feel like people are starting to cut you some slack. As a teenager, what’s it like facing so much scrutiny?
I mean, if someone doesn’t like me, and then they start to like me after they hear my music then it’s like 'alright cool, whatever.' If someone is just saying they think I’m pretty then it’s like 'okay cool fuck with me' but if it’s like someone that’s like 'Oh her music is alright but I don’t like her,' then it’s like just 'go mind your business, I don’t need you anyway.'
I feel like it must be validation too because a lot of people start off and they’re a little hesitant but then when they hear 15 they’re gonna be like 'oh okay, some of these tracks are really dope.' So I feel like that’s probably a nice feeling for you.
Yeah. I don’t want to say, 'what do you expect' but you have to hear something before you can give it your opinion. You can’t just be like 'oh this trash ass little girl.' You haven’t even heard it yet. You’re like, 'Oh I just go off the way she looks and the way she acts,' like no.
Was music always in the cards for you or did you want to do something else before this?
Well, when I was younger, I always loved music and then when I got famous I was like alright well, I can literally do whatever I want.
You worked with a lot of people on the mixtape. You had Asian Doll, Ty Dolla $ign and all of those people. Was there one feature that you were most excited about amongst all the others?
That’s crazy. People were surprised to see YG on it.
Yeah. I don’t know why.
How did you guys get to connecting?
One of the people I work with, Brittany [B.], she introduced us. I had the song already made and I was like, 'you want to get on this?' He was like 'yeah I fuck with it.'
What was it like working with City Girls on "Yung And Bhad," especially given JT’s current situation?
JT recorded it right before she went to jail. Like right, right before. And I remember I was in the car with Yachty and he just started playing "Yung & Bhad" and I was like how did you get this? And then City Girls' part came on and I’m like when did this even happen? I was like who gave you this? How come I don’t have it?
The process of working on your mixtape, has that gotten you excited for working on an eventual album?
Yeah. I’m about to start working on my album for real.
When do you think that’s going to come out?
Well, my mixtape was supposed to come out on my birthday [March 26] so I don’t know. It could be years from now knowing how weird shit be going.
How often are you in the studio these days? Is it a daily thing for you now?
How it goes is like, either I'll be in the studio for a week straight, 2 weeks straight or I’ll be doing some photoshoot shit and then I’ll go to the studio like 2 times a week. It’s always different. I’m either there like 2 times a week or I’m there all week.
And at the end of the day, you’re still working toward your career goals so it all makes sense.
Exactly. It’s all work-related. I barely get days off. Actually, when I got back from London, there was some time off and then I got right back into it.
That’s the way it is. That’s your life now. You’re a superstar, Bhad Bhabie.
It is what it is. I’m here. I’m still here.
On the outro of 15, you got really personal talking about your dad and everything. The line about the tattoos, that really connected with me. How important was it for you to tell the people the true story of Bhad Bhabie?
Well, to me it was kind of like, I don’t ever feel like I need to explain myself to anyone but I was like you know what? Whatever. Might as well make a song and explain it. If I’m going to be a celebrity, people need to understand or else they’re never going to. So might as well explain it. I went in there and did that. And you said it was the tattoo thing. I literally told myself after that, I was like, we’re just putting anything on our bodies now and if my dad can’t be a figure in my life, any guy who’s been a male figure or a father figure to me, I’m going to get a tattoo for them and I got all three of the people who I consider my brothers. I have all their initials.
Is that all on your arm?
Well, one of them is on my finger and then the other one is my brother’s last name. They're the Bell twins so there’s a bellflower and it comes with two petals on it so I got an I and an E and I got the bellflower in between it. That’s the one on my wrist. That one hurt the fucking worst.
On God, wrist tattoos hurt a lot. I feel you.
I got the whole bottom half of my arm done, and it just started to get annoying but that wrist part, fuck that.
On the project, you obviously spoke about your relationship with your dad. I wanted to ask about your relationship with your mom too. How’s that going?
My mom is just there. She’s cool. She's a parent or whatever. She likes to be involved a lot. She be getting too nosey and a little confused and then we have to sit down and explain stuff to her and then she gets even more confused. So it’s like if you just stand back and relax, everything will be okay.
The other day you were chilling with Trippie Redd. We all know the issues you two have had. I wanted to ask what your relationship with him is now because you guys seem to be on good terms.
Here’s how I take it. I know for a fact that [XXXTentacion] wouldn’t want me to sit here and hate him. He wouldn’t want me to feel some type of way about him because of the way that Jah was. He was all about positivity. Even if someone fucks you over, you can still find a way to forgive them. Even though I really wanted to hold this grudge over Trippie for acting kind of two-faced, I was like honestly, what would Jah do in this situation and Trippie reached out to me. He was like, 'I’m sorry.' He reached out to me. So I’m like 'alright we can patch it up.'
There was that whole thing with Quavo being included on the "Ghostbusters" track, so I understand your frustration with that as a fan of Jah. You collaborated with a lot of people on 15. In the future, who do you plan on working with?
I really want to work with Juice WRLD. I fuck with Juice WRLD heavy.
What’s next for you now, in terms of your future?
I’m about to get on this tour. After that, I don’t know.
Well, thank you for taking the time, Bhad Bhabie. It was awesome speaking with you. Congratulations on the mixtape. That’s big.
Thank you so much.
