Playlist Spotlights, RIP Chynna, & BIA vs. Mulatto On Industry Dynamics
Happy Friday!
Here’s the new playlist this week—it seems the new trend is Corona-Rap…check it out!
Playlist Highlights: Salsa, Nostalgia, & Chill
If you were ever once addicted to Cardi B’s “I Like It” or Rihanna’s “Bitch Better Have My Money”, then consider this track their infectious love child. Negra, the dark skinned goddess and breakout star from Love & Hip Hop Miami, released this latin-infused salsa/hiphop mix last week, where she shows her (bilingual) rapping chops and channels her inner mafiosa. Produced by Grammy-nom Khao, the track has Miami flavor all over it and you’ll be playing it on loop well into the summer.
South London rapper R.A.E. (Rising Above Everything) has major nostalgia for the 90’s and so do I. After all, without a doubt the 90’s were way better than the 00’s, 10’s and now of course the 20’s, too. R.A.E.’s new song “Pretty Bop” is dripping in 90’s sound and inspiration, harkening back to the likes of early “Left Eye” or Will Smith. Paying homage to breakdancing, the song is west coast rap vibes and R.A.E.’s lyrics are both playful and amusing. If listening to the track doesn’t immediately transport you to 1995 then also check out the music video which teems with the bucket hats and fanny packs from the heyday.
For a chiller, smooth R&B sound that’s infused with relaxed hip hop, be sure to check out this live version of BOSCO’s song “Paid In Full”. Its slow pace and BOSCO’s rich and soothing voice will help calm any anxiety these times may be bringing you. The Savannah born/Atlanta based musician’s voice is reminiscent of Brandy and Aaliyah and she certainly has a bright future ahead of her. And bright is key, as the song’s message here is quite pertinent with BOSCO on the infectious hook, rapping that she’s “Praying for brighter days”. Aren’t we all?
New & Rumors: Up & Comer Chynna’s Untimely Passing
News cycles have been teeming with tales of death as of late, recounting the lives being lost to COVID-19. Just yesterday morning, I awoke to the shocking news of the death of rising rapper Chynna, who was only 25 years old. Despite her young age, I feared that she too had fallen victim to the virus, as U.S. reports this week have been declaring mortality rates in the African American community to be extremely high compared to other ethnic groups. I began to comb through the obits that were trickling out only to find them all saying the cause of death was unknown. Then late last night, Chynna’s death was confirmed as an accidental overdose, having nothing to do with Corona at all.
Born and raised in Philly, Chynna, born Chynna Rogers, was a go-getter from the start, unafraid to pursue what she wanted out of life. By age 14, she was signed as a model to the Ford Modeling Agency, but knew she wanted to work in music, and by high school sought out music producer A$AP Yams in hopes that he could help her out. She hung around his studio and became his intern, and while he formed A$AP Mob (A$AP Rocky, A$AP Ferg, etc) took her under his wings. Chynna released her first singles, “Selfie” in 2013, and “Glen Coco” in 2014, which Pitchfork lauded, saying she “offered up her magnetic charisma, unfettered rawness, and natural understanding of form.”
These were followed by a string of newer singles and EPs, many of which now feel like they have ominous signs attached to them. There’s a single called “Iddd” from 2019, which stands for ‘I Don’t Do Drugs’, and her final EP from the end of 2019 was called In Case I Die First. In fact, most of Chynna’s music has dark tinges, perhaps an expression of the demons she was battling. Chynna previously spoke about her struggles with opiate addiction in a 2018 interview, saying: “It got to the point where I had to do something just to be able to get onstage and do my job. I didn’t like that.” She likely struggled with addiction because her upbringing surrounded her with it. Yams died in 2015 of an accidental drug overdose and Chynna’s mother also died of one in 2018. In another interview, Chynna described how music industry pressures played a part in her addiction: 'I felt that I hadn’t gone through enough terrible stuff to deserve to have this as a career. I didn’t feel like I deserved to be making a living off talking about my life yet because I just couldn’t relate to enough people.” While it’s been pushed from the limelight, opiod addiction is still a major epidemic in this country, and though Chynna accomplished a lot in a few years, it’s a shame to lose a promising young talent so early. Let’s honor her legacy through her work below.
Further Reading: BIA Vs. Mulatto: Two Roads Diverged
Almost any aspiring musician dreams about being signed to a major record label, seeing that as the end-all be-all to making it big in the industry. What many young artists don’t know or anticipate is how often that move can also be a career pitfall, where the label bigwigs will often ensnare them in complex, binding legal contracts, and as the arbitrary arbiters of taste, ultimately shelve their projects and careers without good reason. Such has often and especially been the plight of female rappers, who get signed (often as the sole femcee to a label) but then are sidelined indefinitely in order to fund male rappers’ albums instead.
I recommend checking out these two separate interviews with on the rise female rappers who discuss their diverging career paths and business relationships with RCA records over the years. The first is with BIA, who finally exploded onto the music scene in 2019 when she was featured on Russ’ Billboard Hot 100 hit, “Best On Earth”. The second is with rapper Mulatto, whose 2019 track “Bitch From Da Souf” at long last became her first runaway hit.
BIA (who I first discovered on the 2014 show Sisterhood Of Hip Hop) has been hustling for over 6 years, struggling to make it big. She just dropped a single called “FREE BIA (1ST DAY OUT)” that covers her release from label-contract prison. In the interview with HipHopDX, she explains: “So I was in a deal, my last situation for a long time, about maybe four or five years, and I got shelved...When most artists get signed they think, “Okay, I made it. I got signed”...and I thought, “Oh I’m signed now. I made it.” And it was quite the opposite. So going through that experience...grew me into a businesswoman. And that was a song that I recorded when I noticed four years down the line like, “Damn this is what they really do to artists.” While BIA was trapped in a contract from the very start of her career, Mulatto took a different lane when in 2016 she made TV history winning the inaugural season of Lifetime’s The Rap Game. And though she won a contract with So So Def Records, she made headlines turning down the prize, claiming it wasn’t enough money for her and that she’d rather remain an independent artist. She then spent the next five years building up a resume on her own, including her latest 2019 EP that produced the biggest hit of her career, Bitch From Da Souf. Only then, with years of clout to her name, did she pen a deal in 2020 with RCA. With both their recent runaway successes, hopefully these two women will be sidelined no longer and release full studio albums in the next year. Until then, read their full interviews below and give them a listen!
https://hiphopdx.com/news/id.55346/title.russ-best-on-earth-collaborator-bia-discusses-new-epic-records-deal-rihanna-nicki-minaj
https://hiphopdx.com/news/id.55347/title.mulatto-talks-bitch-from-da-soufs-runaway-success-signing-with-rca-records