WHO'S THAT? Bbyafricka
Bbyafricka sets the tone with Above Average — a mixtape title that reads like both affirmation and warning. For an artist who treats genre like a possibility, not a limit, it doubles as a personal benchmark and a public claim to space.
On “Just Like Me,” she taps into Myspace-era self-expression, while tracks like “Texaco” slip into sugar-pop, her signature rap cadences turning slick and club-ready. The 24-track Deluxe Edition signals this range — Bbyafricka isn’t only experimenting, she’s world-building. “I don't just want to tackle rapping,” she says. “I want to tackle every genre.”
We sat down a few days after Bbyafricka performed (after Cute Door’s DJ set) at b4’s greatest hits vol. 2 release party in New York to talk about finding the right producers, collaborating with scene icons Brokencyde and experiencing genuine happiness.
The b4 release party was so fun, like a late night family and friends party.
It was so cute. I had to go to another show after that, but I didn’t end up making it because I stayed at b4 too long.
Oh well, you were just having too good of a time.
Yeah, I was going over my set time and everything. [Laughs]
You live in LA, right?
I live in Canoga Park. I love it, it’s cute out there. It’s just far from everything I have to do. My son, I have to drive him to school all the way in Filipinotown, so it’s like a 50-minute drive in the morning and then back. I’m like, My back hurts, I can’t do this no more. It’s like a flight every day. [Laughs] I don’t know how I do it, it’s like I have a superpower.
It is a superpower. Well, I’m a big fan of yours. I think you’re such a star.
That’s so sweet. [Laughs]
I’m curious about Above Average as a name, and where that came from. Is that how you feel about yourself or is it more of a manifestation in the world?
It was both. Because I was like, Damn, okay, I feel like this tape is above average for me — but also, I know if I call it Above Average, that shit has to hit. So I was putting myself out there and I was like, You better do your big one on this one. The pressure’s on. But I just feel like the tape is super different from anything I’ve ever put out, especially as a whole body of work. There’s a little bit of every era of me in there, including a lot of the new, more experimental sounds — literally just me having fun.
There is a really wide range of sounds, which I think is so refreshing — especially because you eat with every one of them. Tell me about that journey. Is it you finding your sound or is it you just wanting to try out everything you love?
When I first started music, I was doing alternative R&B and that was definitely my vibe. But then I felt like I had to feel those emotions and really feel sad to make music like that. I went from that to, Now I’m gonna talk my shit. I’m not sad no more, I’m gonna rap. And then rapping got kind of boring to me. I’ve already impressed myself with the things that I could do with rapping. I just had to meet new producers that made music fun again for me. And so with the tape, I was always like, Damn, I know I have a wide range of ways I can make music. I didn’t know if every song would mix together on the tape, but then I talked with one of my producer friends and he was like, I appreciate an album that just has good songs. So I was like, Okay, I’m not gonna think so hard on this one. I’m just gonna put all the best songs that I did in the last year on it.
That’s how the mixtape plays. Everything is great, so why not just put it all on there? Was there a specific sound you were loving while making these songs where you thought, This is who I am right now?
Yeah, the last ones: “Freaks And Geeks” and “Kryptonite,” which is a little old me mixed with a funky new one. But any of the ones that are electronic. I feel like that’s me stepping into something new and it’s honestly so fun. I don’t have to put all of the fucking effort that I used to put in my rap songs, so it makes me be able to have fun more. Instead of having to think, We need bars, punch lines and metaphors all the time — I can still have that, but just minimal and then have a catchy, fun hook that makes you want to move.
You said before that you felt like you needed to be sad to make music that reflected your R&B sound. Do you feel like there’s been a shift in your life — maybe toward more happiness — that’s influencing this new direction?
I never even thought about it like that, but probably so. I think I’m just in a better place — in a fun, happy place.
I love that.
Thank you, I love that too. [Laughs] Things are clicking.
How are you finding the people that you work with, in terms of producers?
I started working with Oscar Scheller and Jack Laboz from my girlfriend, because they had a session. Kim [Hu] knew Jack already, so then she set up a session with me and Jack. It was honestly the most amazing song that I have ever thought I could make. They’re both so talented and they’re genuinely fun people. Their energy is amazing. Other producers I work with, they’re cool, but they have something different in them. They just genuinely love what they do, and they love to create and work with you. When it’s so easy and effortless, it clicks. Something aligns.
And they both worked on Above Average?
Oscar did “Kryptonite.” The track I did with Jack is not on there because that one’s actually too good. I was like, We have to save something for after this. It’s so good, it’s coming soon. It’s called “Ringtone.” Then this other guy, Paul Maxwell, who’s also on the tape, is another example of someone who made music fun. He did “Pop A Bitch” and “Bby’s Workout Plan.”
That’s what the girl’s what: Bby’s workout plan. [Laughs]
Exactly.
When you’re in the studio with producers, are you creating everything from scratch together, or do you gravitate toward certain beats and build from there? Walk me through that process.
With Paul, sometimes he’ll just show me a beat. Now that we’ve worked together, he knows a certain vibe for me. With Oscar, he actually did have a lot of beats already pulled and just had a feeling. I love how they were all experimental and different, because people usually only want to put me on a LA beat and I really hate that. I’m over that, you know? And Jack, he makes the beats on the spot, and then we just go with different sounds and see the vibe. I’m inputting little elements, like, Let’s make this sound, and it just comes together.
What do you find yourself loving to talk about the most, in terms of lyrics?
Sometimes I’ll try to not look at my phone or my notes or anything, and just go based on what I’m feeling at that moment. Once I hear a melody and the beat, I’ll just go from there. Sometimes I’ll have random bars come to me at random times, like when I’m trying to go to sleep and I’ll be like, Let me get my phone. And I’ll be like, Let me look in here and see what I have. And it’ll make sense with a beat I’ve never heard before. I don’t know, it always aligns for me.
Is there a specific bar on Above Average that you’re proud of? Where you’re like, That’s fucking genius.
Maybe the one in “Kryptonite. But it’s not even like, I was just so genius. It was just like, Oh, this is like a good bar. But maybe a song on there is “Freaks And Geeks.” I was like, Damn, I can see this being really huge. It’s an empowerment song about me feeling beautiful with my skin and my scars. It just came out so happy and cute. So just that song, period.
I’m obsessed with “Texaco.”
That one’s really good, too.
It really hits — the perfect mix of you with a more clubby sound.
People like “Texaco.” Oscar did that one. It has a nostalgic sound to it. That first little sample sounds like you’re in an old western town. It just scratches that itch for me.
Speaking of nostalgia, Brokencyde is so iconic on the “Just Like Me Remix.”
Let’s talk about it. I couldn’t believe that in 2026, this is my life and I got them on the song. I used to listen to them as a little kid in high school and I would have never thought this would happen. I met them at a show and I was like, Oh my God, I love you guys. We just chopped it up, and they were super cool and nice. I was like, We should do some music. They were on tour at the moment, so they were like, Yeah, when we get back. I sent them two songs: “High AF” and the remix I made with Ayesha [Erotica]. And they were like, We love this. I was like, No, stop, we made it, we made it. This is everything. [Laughs]
They’re OG.
They sent the song back after they got back from tour and I was just like, No notes. Let’s load it up, perfect. The screamo? Little me is crying right now.
Did you ever see them live when you were younger?
I wish, I wasn’t that blessed.
I saw them play at this now-closed venue in Minneapolis called Triple Rock Social Club. I loved that song “Freaxxx.”
I love that song. I always love a good screamo, I wish I could scream. I tried to learn how to pig squeal, but I don’t have the voice for that. I have a very soft, girly voice. Maybe I should get a vocal coach, I just feel like my voice can’t do that. But we’re not gonna doubt the queen. [Laughs]
Exactly, Above Average.
Above Average. Anything is possible.
Are you inspired by that era of music?
Especially with this album, I was heavily inspired by that. And Danity Kane, that whole era.
Justice for Danity Kane. What parts of their music are you most interested in?
All their old music, I was listening to that a lot when I was working on the album — the 2000s vibe, in the club and driving on the way to the club, windows down and my head out the window.
Were you an extremely online teenager? Brokencyde was so online.
I was definitely on MySpace, I miss that era. It was so fun, the layouts. That’s when they did the internet right.
The internet was just more creative.
Now everything is a white page, very boring and bland. I hate that. Even the new apartments and shit, everything is bland. We don’t want the modern, it’s depressing. Where is the personality and creativity?
Do you feel like your world is a response to that?
Yeah, I picture my world being colorful, fun, smiles. I’m really trying to not take things personally and just let things be in the air — not letting it control or consume me too much. I’m trying to think less and just live in the moment.
Are you in love?
[Laughs] She’s in love, she’s in love.
That’s amazing.
Thank you.
I know you’ve had quite a journey, especially with your health. Do you think you had to go through those darker moments to get to where you are now?
For sure. I don’t regret anything in my life and how things happened. I don’t feel sad or sorry about it. I’m grateful for everything, even the bad times. Because without those, I wouldn’t be who I am now. I wouldn’t be sitting here with you, I wouldn’t be as happy. Things just wouldn’t be aligned the way they are for me. So I’m okay with that. You have to go through rock bottom to reach your happy place. You don’t just stay at the happy place, you have to find your way there.
Then, once you arrive, it’s real happiness. You’re not just faking it.
Exactly, it’s genuine happiness.
Where do you like to perform most?
I like to perform out here. In LA, the shows are either a hit or a miss. Honestly, when I go anywhere else, it’s always great. LA, I don’t know, they’re just so stuck up. They’ll come out and not move around, not smile and have a stank face. Like, Why are you here hoe? Go to the back or stay home. It’s like they’re mad they’re there. You don’t have to be here. You didn’t have to come and fuck up the vibe.
But you are really good at commanding a crowd and owning the space.
You think so?
I really do.
Good. [Laughs]
You basically turned the b4 release party into your own party when you came in and performed.
We’re definitely partying, we’re having a ki. I want everybody to have a good time. Don’t just watch me. I mean, watch me, of course. [Laughs] But interact. I’m gonna talk to you guys, see how you’re feeling. Because I be hot, I be needing moments to breathe. I feel like they’re here to support me and I have to check on them like they’re like my family, like they’re my cousins.
Have you always had that confidence?
Yeah, I always knew who I was and been secure within me. And even if I wasn’t, I would just fake that shit until I really felt like that. And that shit worked. You just have to fake it, get into yourself, learn yourself. Like, I really learned myself at a young age. I would stare in the mirror and see things I didn’t like, and I just learned to love them and appreciate them. Regardless of what anybody told me, if I was ugly or how I acted was a certain type of way, I just learned me and learned the things I wanted to fix. I really worked on myself.
When you were younger, did you picture yourself being an artist and a performer in this way?
It’s funny, I used to write a lot when I was younger. I always had a journal, I was always writing poems. So if it wasn’t music, I would be some type of writer. I can write how I feel much better than speaking it in words. I feel like I had a communication problem, so writing helped me strengthen that. And now it’s coming through my voice.
When you think about Above Average, what impact do you hope to have?
I want a No. 1 Billboard album — not a song, I want the whole album on there. And I want success in different genres, I want to give range. I don’t just want to tackle rapping, I want to tackle every genre. If anybody can do it, I can. That’s my top goal.
I definitely see you across genres.
Thank you, we’re making our way to the top.
Interview & Photos: Justin Moran
Art Direction & Design: Zach Pacheco