By Dylan Deprey
Babiedoll brings a new perspective to Milwaukee’s music scene. (Photo courtesy Babiedoll)
Milwaukee’s got plenty of rappers, and anybody on the come up trying to make a splash in the scene has taken their shot on local videographer RayShotIt’s “414 Flow” video series.
Whether it’s hustler, drill, melodic or even comedic rap, artists spit their best bars over a floating microphone, and are scored by two very distinctive options in the comments—flame emoji or poop emoji?
When the teenage, female rapper, Babiedoll graced the mic, flame emojis covered the comment section. Her confidence on camera, R&B flavored flow and meaningful lyrics stood out amongst artists that were far older than her.
Hearing the local teen’s perspective on life, love and state of the city was refreshing and reminiscent of local twin auto crooners MT, early on in their career. As a young female in Milwaukee, Babiedoll said it was her job to bring the youth’s perspective to music.
“I like making music people can relate to, especially as a teenager because sometimes it’s hard to connect with what adults are saying in their music,” she said. “I want to be the voice for the kids.”
Babiedoll said music was her way of expressing herself. While some rappers opt for punching their lyrics in on the spot, she pre-writes her lyrics as therapy and records later. In her most recent single, “Feelings Aside,” she opens up a page of her diary to discuss fake friends, flakey love interests and other underlying issues in her community.
On other tracks like “Think About,” she dives into topics like losing family members, and attempting to stay sane during the tumultuous times.
“I write when I feel something. When I’m irritated, I write. When I’m sad, or just angry I get to writing and it’s kind of my process,” she said.
After dropping a handful of tracks on YouTube over the past year, Babiedoll said she’s been working hard on her debut album. She wanted her eclectic personality to be sprinkled across the entire project.
“I’m just doing my thing, and trying to be different—I don’t want any one song to sound the same,” she said.
Though she’s got a couple songs left to work on her debut album, she has been getting support from fans online and out in the community.
“When random people come up, it does get a little weird because I’m so used to staying in my own lane, they’re like ‘You have a video online, right?’ A lot of them are younger, in lower grades showing love and asking for more music,” she said.
Along with her debut album, fans can watch out for a new visual for her track “GO AWAY” featuring CMG Ricky.
With a solid set of singles and a growing fan base, Babiedoll said she’s ready to show Milwaukee, and the world the hard work and dedication she’s been putting in.
“I’m just super excited, and I can’t wait for everybody to hear what I’ve got in store,” she said.