BIA Talks ‘BIANCA’ Debut Album, Cardi B & Unreleased Ariana Grande Collaborations: ‘I’m Now Representing Something Bigger’

BIA had plentifulness of chances to merchandise a debut medium successful the past.

Many artists would dive headfirst into the accidental to parlay momentum from a Nicki Minaj co-sign — which came connected the Billboard Hot 100 top 20 deed “Whole Lotta Money” remix — oregon erstwhile she went toe-to-toe with J. Cole on “London” 2 years aboriginal successful 2023. But the Massachusetts-bred rapper knew the timing wasn’t right.

A testament to creator development, pursuing a brace of EPs successful the 2020s, BIA continued to refine her rap repertoire — and astir a decennary aft signing to Pharrell’s I Am Other label, BIA’s BIANCA debut medium arrived via Epic Records past Friday (Oct. 10).

The versatile task finds BIA tapping into her Latin roots erstwhile connecting with Becky G to conquer a illustration of Shakira’s classical “Hips Don’t Lie” for the party-starting “Hard Way.” She tries retired The Notorious B.I.G.’s “Warning” travel connected “Trifling” and shows disconnected her vocal scope portion singing connected tracks similar “October,” arsenic she transforms into R&BIA.

BIANCA, BIA’s ineligible archetypal name, serves arsenic a juxtaposition for BIA joining the worlds of her rap moniker and her truest self.

“They’re benignant of figuring retired however we tin enactment unneurotic and beryllium our truest, astir authentic self,” she tells Billboard. “Sometimes our flaws, oregon sometimes similar things that are astir guardant astir us, oregon the astir susceptible things — those are each the things I enactment into a blender with this album, and I wanted to consciousness ace authentic and relatable.”

Many expected BIA to usage BIANCA to respond to Cardi B’s disses connected AM I THE DRAMA?‘s “Pretty & Petty,” but she didn’t privation to lend antagonistic vigor to muddy her debut portion addressing Cardi.

“If I was to ever code it again, I would ne'er connect it to my album, due to the fact that this is simply a beauteous assemblage of enactment that I judge in,” she states. “I wouldn’t privation to disservice this and overshadow it with sound oregon negativity.”

Find the remainder of our interrogation with BIA arsenic she speaks connected her well-rounded debut, the origins of her feud with Cardi B and unreleased collaborations with Ariana Grande.

When momentum picked up with “Whole Lotta Money” oregon “London,” was the statement trying to person you marque an album?

No, I wouldn’t accidental that. They ever gave maine the originative power to enactment retired what I felt similar was my vibe astatine that time. When I enactment retired For Certain, I was precise definite astir that project, and erstwhile I enactment out Really Her, it was benignant of much of an planetary vibe, but inactive an EP. And past with this, it was like, I had songs that I had recorded adjacent up until three, 4 years ago, that I wanted to find a location for them, but they weren’t connected those projects. So I was like, “Okay, this I cognize is peculiar to me.” Like “October” was truthful peculiar to me, but it didn’t acceptable connected [those projects]. I hadn’t been acceptable to instrumentality my artistry determination vocally. 

What would you see occurrence for BIANCA?

For me, I’m ever much of an vigor person...