
Bebe Rexha
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About
Bebe Rexha
You can’t put Bebe Rexha in a box. That’s clear from the impressive career she’s had so far, both as a top Singer Songwriter and a Pop Star herself. The Brooklyn-born, Staten Island-raised star was thrust into the spotlight when she co-wrote Grammy-winning single “The Monster” by Eminem and Rihanna. Features on Cash Cash’s “Take Me Home” and G-Eazy’s “Me, Myself & I” put a face and voice to the hitmaker penning some of the biggest dance hits in pop music at the time. Rexha’s career has continued to be varied and acclaimed. From making Top 40 hits with country stars Florida Georgia Line and EDM legend David Guetta, to her most recent studio album, 2023’s Bebe, featuring icons like Dolly Parton and Snoop Dogg. “You can put me in the studio with the hottest rapper today, the hottest country star tomorrow, an old school rock star and make a hit,” she asserts. “I just love music. I’ve studied music.” But after floating around the major label system since she was a teenager, Rexha was ready for a change and a major shake-up in her career. She recently signed to independent label EMPIRE and traveled around Europe, Asia and Australia to make a collection of new songs that represent all facets of her taste. Welcome Dirty Blonde (out this summer), a 13-song project that embraces all aspects of Rexha’s creative world. The project celebrates the independent, unapologetic, raw writer and performer Rexha is, a true creator who just loves music. “The old Bebe is dead,” Rexha firmly states. In the process, she created an album that blends genres, building upon the type of musical diversity she’s showcased throughout her career. After the success of “I’m Good (Blue)” with David Guetta, she originally thought she was going to make a pure dance music album. So in 2023, she set off for London where she began writing and recording new songs with producers like the duo Punctual (Raye, Kylie Minogue). She hopped around Europe from there, partying in Ibiza, Mykonos, Budapest, promoting her track with Guetta while making great dance tracks in the process. “The dance scene is better in Europe,” she says of her on-the-ground research. Over time, Rexha noticed an emotional depth she was seeking in her new songs was not quite as fleshed out as the beats. The project took on a new shape when she was in Tokyo one Halloween. At a club, she found herself making out on the dance floor with a beautiful girl. The story ended up fitting a beat she and Punctual had been cooking up, one that started with a metal topline and transformed into drum & bass. “No one has a playlist with just one sound on it,” she reflects. When Rexha thinks of both her music taste now and the formative sounds that inspired her growing up, it’s a collage of worlds and influences: hip-hop, R&B, freestyle, Albanian music. She’s as inspired by No Doubt as she is Lauryn Hill. While she felt pressure to stick with one genre in the past, Rexha found freedom this time around in exploring all the unique sides of who she is. To add some rhythm to the new tunes, she enlisted Hit-Boy (Beyoncé, Lil Wayne, Travis Scott) and Jean-Baptiste Kouame (Doja Cat, Black Eyed Peas), with Kouame helping complete the project with Rexha in the final stretch. Dirty Blonde feels like both a world tour and a genre kaleidoscope. With “New Religion” she takes us to the club and reimagines the iconic Faithless dance record “Insomnia”. On “Tokyo,” she revels in the memory of a sexy rendezvous in Japan. On “Cike Cike,” she embraces her roots, singing Albanian over a beat produced by old friend DJ Snake. “The second I heard that incredible 808 bassline, it just made me want to dance,” she says of “Cike Cike.” She drew from a phrase she loved from her childhood for the title, which translates to “hey girl, hey girl.” “I knew that I wanted to incorporate something from my culture into the music. I feel like it was the perfect opportunity to mix that in and pay homage to my culture. They’re EDM sounds but with an Albanian lyric in there, which creates an interesting dynamic.” Meanwhile, “Drink and a Little Love” pulls from Rexha’s own history making country music hits — this time with a hint of Jersey bounce. “I wanted to incorporate my success that I had in country music, which I'm so grateful for till this day, with dance music,” she explains. “I worked with all my friends and tried to create this different scenario that I haven't heard before.” Lead single “I Like You Better Than Me” touches the emotional core of Dirty Blonde. The track addresses the types of insecurities and scrutiny she faces as a star and makes it relatable for all women who can be their own biggest critic. “I know I'm not the only person in the world that has compared themselves to others, wanting to be a certain size or wanting to look a certain way. That song is really important to me.” With the music, she wanted to infuse some guitar and mix in her love for pop-rock songs into the final mix. Rexha’s release strategy this year is as unique as the new music. The rollout is first-of-its kind, having launched in early February with a Diplo-created “megamix” of all 13 songs, previewing the new music for her fans. Over the next few months, she’ll roll out 7 singles in total, all of which will be accompanied by a new video creating Rexha’s first visual album. Dirty Blonde will be split up into two shorter projects to drop ahead of the full album’s official release, allowing listeners to really sink their teeth into each song as it drops. The old Bebe may be dead, but the new Bebe is alive, focused and stronger than ever. “I just want to make amazing music,” she says. “And to me that just means making music that I love”







