Photos / Michael Donovan
Styling / Shaina Feldman
Hair + Makeup Nicole Sanchez
Photo Assistants / Crew Trew Mullen + Trystan Rowlan
Story / Angie Piccirillo
A few years ago, Danielle Bregoli would never have imagined she would be a gold-selling popular rapper in 2019, let alone a hip hop sensation with sold out shows and fan adoration on a global scale. “I never would have seen myself where I am, had u asked me 2 years ago,” she says. To some, Bhad Bhabie has yet to prove herself as a global talent; but one thing is true: after listening to her lyrics and hearing her story — she’s the ultimate “came from nothing” tale.
Under the name Bhad Bhabie, Danielle released her debut mixtape just this year, 15. Her striking and seemingly confrontational personality briskly crosses over into her passion for rap music on this mixtape. “I just wanted to prove I really knew what I was doing, so I went in there, did my thing, and voila, there it is,” she says. “I named it 15, because I’m obviously 15-years-old; There are 15 tracks on my project. All of these motherfuckers will tell me, ‘Oh, you only have 15 minutes of fame’ — It’s been a long ass 15 minutes.”
In fact, 15(Intro), the first track on the album, has Bhad Bhabie explaining further the ideas behind what “15” means to her: “Old friends doing 15 to life, I changed my situation with some pristine advice,” and in the chorus: “15, 15, rose up from the depths, now I live a dream — 15, 15, making history, this shit something they never seen.” You’ll also hear her on the CharliXCX collab, “Playboy Style,” asking “where the fuck was you when all I had to eat was dollar meals?” reminding us all, that she really did turn things around.
While others might be quick to judge, just a few weeks ago, she was added to “Time Magazine Lists the 25 Most Influential Teens of 2018” — likely another accolade Danielle didn’t see coming. Though some continue to think she’s a “novelty” act — skeptical if this soon-to-be sixteen year old can hold her own as an artist; just catch one of her live shows and you’ll see she’s more talented than one might think. With catchy songs like “Gucci Flip Flops” and “Hi Bich,” it seems the public has grossly underestimated what she’s capable of musically. The confidence she exudes on the stage with her all-female performance crew, demands nothing but your stark attention. My guess is you’ll be leaving the show singing “Hi Bich, hi bich, hi bich, hi bich….” even if you didn’t know the song before.
T-shirt, La Maison de Fashion Collection. Belt, Ashton Michael
Even still, you wanna hear the story of how a so-called meme-star made it from TV to the top of the charts? Let Danielle tell you herself in her own words in “Bhad Bhabie Story (Outro)” on the album where she raps for nearly seven minutes, covering everything from selling pills, family turmoil, fake friends, the pitfalls of fame, to first discovering she had 500K followers on Instagram, all the way to moving to LA to record her first single; she urges “Take a second and listen before you give your dumbass opinion.” Maybe (hopefully) once listeners take this track in, it’ll be the last time we have to hear about the infamous catchphrase she doesn’t even remember saying…
Included on this debut mixtape are two of Bhad Bhabie’s biggest hits to date: “Gucci Flip Flops Ft. Lil Yachty” and “Hi Bich,” boasting well over 76 Million spins and 48 Million spins, respectively (and growing as I write this). Even though others are shell-shocked at her numbers, Danielle insists, “I don’t be paying too much attention to my numbers, I’m more focused on creating music.”
Throughout the album, one thing remains true, she’s never afraid to say it like it is. 15 has perhaps one of the most important elements a rap album could have: honesty. Listen to any of the songs on 15 and you’ll see first hand, Danielle took what could be seen as having been dealt a negative hand and turned the music world on its’ side. With other memorable tracks like “Geek’d” and “These Heaux,” even those who have no appreciation of rap music will find themselves wanting to know the lyrics. Danielle’s favorite track is the call-to-arms anthem, “Yung and Bhad,” in which the chorus chants “All my bitches young and bad,” and ends with the reminder from the bhad one herself: “I’m at the top, I don’t plan on fallin’.”
Though the year 2018 may have also had some tough moments for Danielle — who was rumored to be good friends with late rap sensation, XXXTencion — 2018 has been a year full of highs as well. Danielle says she heard Snoop Dogg had been playing “Gucci Flip Flops” at some parties he was throwing — and he ended up doing a version of the song with Plies. “I love Snoop. He a legend and I love that he mentioned X in his verse,” she says. For other future collabs, Danielle says she would love to work with Juice WRLD or Post Malone, she adds, “shit, I’d even do some crazy acoustic rap shit with James Blunt or John Mayer.”
Using “Bhad” as part of her name seems to be a nod to how some people may see her in the public, without knowing much about her: “[It] stands for “been hated and doubted”… she says. However, if the public wants to continue to doubt this teen — they’ve yet to see what she can do in 2019: with more tour dates planned, and even a new show on Snapchat, — in which Danielle says we will see “literally everything,” it seems Bhad Bhabie is just getting started building her empire… maybe then, she’ll no longer have to include in her lyrics: “I’m Bhad Bhabie, Bich. Who’s you?”
Bra, Cantiq. Top, Ashton Michael.
bodysuit, La Maison de Fashion Collection. Bra, Cantiq . Belt, (worn as neckpiece) Ashton Michael.
