There is a certain amount of luck that comes with a hit song that is hard to quantify unless you are bbno$, of course. The Canadian-born rapper has made going viral something of a matter of fact compared to a hope. His unique flows, willingness to explore new sounds, and one-of-a-kind personality allow for a draw that most couldn’t compare to. Not to mention his ability to make anyone of any ilk feel comfortable at his shows or in his community. Proving just how intertwined an internet persona and real life can become if working is all that you do. The question is not how authentic he is compared to the persona but how both are iterations of the same authenticity. He sat down with us right before his Bonnaroo show to discuss that as well as his scholarly ambitions post-music career.
Hit Parader: How is your year going so far?
bbno$: The year is going pretty well. I just got back on antidepressants four days ago. So I’m about to become a machine here very shortly.
HP: As long as the side effects don’t get too crazy.
bbno$: Only side effect is you don’t really get hard or horny. But hey, man, when you live in a capitalistic society, it helps.
HP: When talking about your process for making music, you mention that you use analytics to think about what to experiment with for the next project. Whether it’s a certain bass or bpm. From the last project, were there any analytics that you noticed that you’re going to use for the next song or album?
bbno$: Not really. I made this song called “it boy” in early 2024 and put it out in May. The house rap music wasn’t really popular as it is now in North America, specifically. I was very inspired by European Gabber and Jump style and stuff like that. I was like, “Okay, how do I have my own little taste of it?” “How do I show North America?” I just really doubled down on the house rap staff, and it really elevated my career. So, as far as what I have coming next, it’s probably a little bit more developed in that world. We are listening to a ton of funk this morning, and I was like, “Damn, I got to make a funk album.” I think that would be really, really fun. No one is really making proper funk these days in the semi-mainstream. I think it would be really interesting if I did my own little taste of it. Not disco or house, but pure funk. It would be really sick.
HP: Your internet personality is very entwined with who you are as a person. As your career has progressed, have you found that balance of that intertwining? Do you try to separate it at all or just kind of leave it as is?
bbno$: I don’t really work on anything other than work. So, it’s hard to differentiate between Alex and bbno$. What I was wearing prior to this (currently wearing a full suit made of snakeskin) was Lululemon Shorts and a white tank top because that’s what is comfortable to me. But I want to be extravagant, all over the place, and energetic. A showman, so I’ve always used my platform to be me times ten. So, do I blur the lines between them? Yeah, a little bit, but at the same time, I stand on the right side of history. My ethics and morals are on the correct side. I’m just advocating for people who may feel displaced and stuff like that. I have such a big following and platform now that I have to spread love and positivity. That’s what I originally wanted to do when I was growing up. I wanted to be a doctor and help people. I feel like I’ve helped more people than I ever could have.
HP: You’ve mentioned before how you make things as extravagant as possible, and that has opened up other people to feel more comfortable in the audience.
bbno$: Yeah, I think that just comes across via the authenticity that I show via just being myself. If it offers them a safe place to smile and have a good time, Fuck yeah! Not enough people, specifically in this day and age, are spreading the love and positivity. There’s so much hatred out there right now, and I don’t want any part of that.
HP: In the Daniel Wall interview, I saw you talking about how there’s no research for what a hit song does to an artist. As someone who’s probably experienced that a couple of times. In your anecdotal experience, what would you think the results of that would be?
bbno$: Interestingly enough, I’ve been talking about this for a while. I just realized that this is something I want to do after I’m finished with music. I want to spend money on a research study because the sample size is so small with people who have hits. People who do social media at the grandiose level. Why would you study that? It just seems like a waste of money for a school, right? So I want to fund a study and write a thesis on the emotions and the tumultuality that I have historically dealt with because of what I do. I don’t know when I’ll be able to do that because I’m doing this. It’s an unspoken pressure that no one really knows how to articulate. I was talking to a friend of mine who’s a twitch streamer, and I was like, “For all I know, you could be a psych ward patient; we could be psych ward patients.” With the scope and the level of the public eye that has been drawn historically. Let’s say the Beatles, it was just television or newspapers. People were not always in your everyday life. So I don’t necessarily know; I wish I had the answer, but I’m genuinely very interested in studying something like that. Releasing a study because there’s no research at all.
HP: The idea on a much more micro scale than what you experience is what someone experiences if their whole high school likes their photo on IG. When they are used to 40 likes. That jump from “Low” attention to the feeling of all of these eyes on you. That feeling weighs on people. The research would do a lot of different things that we may experience, but don’t think to connect.
bbno$: I think the variable would be at a large, mid, and low scale; it would be insane. I actually think I will probably do a big study on that.
HP: Any last message to fans, readers, or viewers?
bbno$: Don’t be a dickhead; spread love and positivity.
