Who is rapper-singer BIA?
Bianca Landrau, better known by her stage name BIA, is a rapper, singer and songwriter from Medford, Massachusetts. If you were at the 2022 AfroTech Conference then you probably saw her electric performance when she took over the music stage alongside headliners like Zaytoven, Bas, DJ Moma, Mélat and others.
The rising star has been making waves ever since her hit single, “Whole Lotta Money,” was released in 2020. The single garnered a lot of support from other elite artists on social media, like, Lil Nas X, Cardi B and Lizzo. And heavy hitter Nicki Minaj was so impressed with BIA’s fresh lyrics and flow that she told her fans she’d be interested in jumping on the remix. Minaj later took to Instagram Live, to announce her official collab with BIA for a remix of “Whole Lotta Money” in 2021.
But even before her breakout hit, she was killing it in the music game. She started writing music as a teenager and told Oxygen that she “grew up around battle rappers” who helped further her passion for hip-hop. BIA released her first EP, Nice Girls Finish Last: Cuidado, in 2018. And after her features on “Safari” by J Balvin in 2016 and “Best on Earth” by Russ in 2019, BIA started gaining more mainstream success. She released her second EP, For Certain, in 2020, which features her viral single “Whole Lotta Money.”
Learn more about the rising artist with these six facts about BIA:
She Caught the Attention of Pharrell Williams
BIA was first discovered on YouTube by rapper Fam-Lay, who later introduced her to Pharrell Williams. During their first meeting, the Grammy award-winning musician challenged BIA to write a 16-bar verse on the spot.
“He threw a song on and said, ‘Write a 16 [bar verse] to this. If it’s good, I’ll keep you on [the music label] and if it’s bad, I’m gonna take you off.’ That was the first day I met him,” BIA told Oxygen in 2014. “It took me 15, 20 minutes. I went in the studio, recorded it, and came out and it was history.”
That opportunity resulted in her signing to Pharrell’s I Am Other music label, in partnership with RCA Records, in 2014. BIA later left that label to sign with EPIC Records in 2020.
She Got Her Mainstream Start On Reality TV
BIA appeared on the Oxygen reality TV series, Sisterhood of Hip Hop, in 2014 and 2015. The show followed five female rappers chasing their dreams in the male-dominated hip-hop industry. BIA starred in the first two seasons. After appearing on the reality series, BIA said she hoped viewers would see her as “an inspiration to people, especially girls.”
She Was in a Near Fatal Motorcycle Accident
BIA experienced a life-altering motorcycle accident that nearly took her legs in 2013. A drunk driver slammed into her and a group of friends while they were riding motorcycles. BIA told Oxygen that this event lit a fire in her and made her more serious about pursuing a hip-hop career.
“It was like 10, 20 of us on bikes. I was a passenger and a drunk driver just whipped a U-Turn. I fell 20, 30 feet in the air and fell on the floor,” said BIA. “I hit the floor like, ‘Oh my God. Am I alive?’ I looked down and my leg was split open. I didn’t know if I was gonna keep my leg or not. It was bad.”
She Was Endorsed by Rihanna
In 2019, BIA, along with rapper Russ, released a song, “Best On Earth,” that Rihanna referred to as her “new fav song” in a 2019 Instagram post. After the endorsement by the legendary star, the song saw a surge in popularity and inspired a social media trend, #BestOnEarthChallenge.
“That was one of the best days for me of my career,” BIA told HipHopDX in 2020. “Because Rihanna, she is one of my favorite people in the world. And to have a co-sign like that from a peer, it already means a lot.”
“Best On Earth” eventually peaked at number 46 on the Billboard Hot 100, and was certified Platinum by the RIAA.
She Has Worked With Many Heavy Hitters in the Industry
In addition to Russ, Pharrell and Nicki Minaj, BIA has toured and collaborated with several big-name stars. Notably, BIA was featured in Ariana Grande’s Dangerous Woman Tour, in which she performed a song called “Esta Noche,” featuring Ariana, during her opening set for the European leg of the tour. In an interview with Nylon, BIA shared what she learned from touring with Ariana Grande.
“She really showed me that there’s no ceiling,” said BIA. “Whatever you think your career is today, it can be something completely different tomorrow.”
BIA has also collaborated with musicians like Usher., J. Balvin, T.I., Lil Jon, Kali Uchis and Jennifer Hudson. BIA credits her various industry collabs for the evolution of her music and for helping her garner new fanbases.
“…I have so many different fans now, from going on so many tours, etc. I got the pop fans from Ariana Grande and J. Balvin is the Latin fans,” BIA told Nylon. “It made me start to make music in a different way. I stopped thinking about one target audience, and I started to think, let me just make world music. Let me make something for everybody.”
She Wants Her Music to Make Women Feel Powerful
BIA has expressed in interviews that she wants her music to stand for something. And she hopes her music sends a message to women to be “powerful because I didn’t have nobody that really made me feel like that,” she told Nylon. “I represent women with everything that I do. That’s really what it is,” she added. “That energy has to really feed and resonate with other women.”
Her support for women extends to her fellow female artists and to those trying to make it in the industry. She told Wonderland Magazine that she hopes to be a changemaker in the music industry to “combat the competitive culture” that is perpetuated amongst female musicians.
“We’re programmed to bring each other down; everybody thinks there can only be a couple [of] women doing things at a certain time,” BIA said, later sharing that she feels social media is helping to break that programming by connecting women in the industry with one another.
