Bibi Bourelly is the singer and songwriter you don’t know you know. At 22 years old, she’s a fresh face in the music industry. Her newest single “Ballin” has over 3 million plays on Spotify and counting. But, she’s also the writer behind Rihanna’s “Bitch Better Have My Money” and Selena Gomez’s “Camouflage.” Learn her face. This artist is on the rise, and her genuine, give-no-shits personality is coming with her to the top. She’s a chameleon to genre, and, according to Bourelly, “music comes the same way ideas come; it randomly happens. It’s almost like a wave of inspiration you have to catch.”
The lyrics of “Ballin” were heavily inspired by Bourelly’s own life. Bourelly, who insists on being genuine in her music, wrote the song as a broke 19-year-old who had just moved to Los Angeles. When it came to producing the music video, Bourelly turned down all of the ideas pitched by her music label. “It took me a lot to say 'fuck you' to the label, and do my own thing,” Bourelly said.
Instead, Bourelly crafted the video to reflect her true self. Bourelly opted for authenticity, featuring her friends instead of actors and a bustling city instead of a studio set-up. “It was literally a cameraman, me and my friends fucking running around New York,” Bourelly said.
This authenticity, after all, is what Bourelly aspires to above all. She wants her music to be genuine, a true reflection of who she is and what she stands for. “I’m here to unify people,” she said, “That’s what I’m here to do. I believe that music is created to unite all people. I think that it’s one of the only forces that can bring 50,000 people from completely different backgrounds into the same room."
Bibi Bourelly on five ways to ball on a budget:
On food
"Definitely [go for] ramen noodles and Takis. Or get Caesar’s $5 pizza. Also, if you go to the fucking dollar store, you can ball out. Everything is literally a dollar. You can go HAM."
On fashion
"Just go to the thrift store and get hella oversized, cool t-shirts and cut them. As long as you have scissors and a thrift store, you’re going to figure it out. But, I hate those thrift stores that call themselves thrift stores, but then [they] sell their things for normal people price."
On beauty
"I’m a black girl, so beauty on a budget doesn’t really work. When my hair was fucked up, I used to just wear a bandana. Go get a bandana."
On dating
"Go to 7-11, get Slim-Jims (literally my life), get a forty or some THOT juice, and go to a parking lot. Listen to some cute music, and light a candle."
On treating yourself
"If I want to treat myself, I go to the Goodwill. Goodwill is the answer to everything."
On food
"Definitely [go for] ramen noodles and Takis. Or get Caesar’s $5 pizza. Also, if you go to the fucking dollar store, you can ball out. Everything is literally a dollar. You can go HAM."
On fashion
"Just go to the thrift store and get hella oversized, cool t-shirts and cut them. As long as you have scissors and a thrift store, you’re going to figure it out. But, I hate those thrift stores that call themselves thrift stores, but then [they] sell their things for normal people price."
On beauty
"I’m a black girl, so beauty on a budget doesn’t really work. When my hair was fucked up, I used to just wear a bandana. Go get a bandana."
On dating
"Go to 7-11, get Slim-Jims (literally my life), get a forty or some THOT juice, and go to a parking lot. Listen to some cute music, and light a candle."
On treating yourself
"If I want to treat myself, I go to the Goodwill. Goodwill is the answer to everything."