TikTok as a platform has proven itself to be quite a hitmaker in the music scene. With the advent of social media technology like it, people can post their original songs and hope that it gets big enough on the platform for them to find stable ground in the industry.
Alexander Gumuchian, better known by his stage name bbno$ (pronounced as “baby no money”), is one of the lucky few who found success on the platform.
bbno$ has become a case study in how to succeed as an independent artist. The sheer success accumulated by the young artist is evidenced by the fact that bbno$’s tracks have now been streamed more than 2 billion times. He has amassed more than 600,000 TikTok followers, and over one million Instagram followers, and his tracks have been used in over 10 million TikTok videos which have been watched a total of 2 billion+ times. He has since sold-out headline tours in North America, China, and Europe.
After his song “lalala” hit it big on the platform, he returns to the music scene with his latest song ”edamame” from his upcoming album EAT YA VEGGIES.
As a child, Alex admitted that he was “never good at reading notes” despite being enrolled in piano classes by his mother.
“My mom kind of forced me to play piano,” he recalled, “but I learned to play an African drum pretty well, so I wouldn’t say I learned music formally. I was never good at reading notes, I don’t even know what keys are,so I am a bad musician by textbook,”
Despite this, Alex does possess an innate understanding of music, which he believes stemmed from just being around music all his life. He cites listening to Tupac and drill and trap music a lot when he was fourteen and a lot of dubstep as a major influence.
“I think maybe the early introduction to music in its entirety kind of helped me have an ear for music,” he explained.
After a back injury that prevented him from becoming a professional swimmer, Alex started experimenting with music on the GarageBand software, releasing his first songs onto SoundCloud. He quickly garnered attention for his “easily digestible” and fun style, particularly in China when a member of popular boy group TFBoys danced to his song ‘Yoyo Tokyo.’ As such, he is often considered as a case study on how independent artists can succeed on their own.
However, it is not only good song writing that bbno$ owes his success to. For him, his work is “ironic,” almost like a parody of the flex culture prevalent in hip-hop. He has described his music as “oxymoronic rap”, given his heavy emphasis on delivering lyrics in the most sarcastic way he could.
“My whole brand is irony,” he says, “I make music for people to have fun, and if people don’t like it or think I’m being serious, then c’est la vie”
Continuing on with his brand of irony, “edamame” uses the typical “flexing” tone and lyrics of hip hop but delivered in a joking, almost mocking tone. Along with fellow artist and collaborator Rich Brian, they create a lively atmosphere that is almost designed to put anyone in a good mood.
“Edamame” is currently available on all major streaming platforms. bbno$ has also recently announced the EAT YA VEGGIES! tour, which will see him perform across the US and Canada throughout October and November this year, as well as a subsequent rescheduled UK and
European tour, in February and March 2022. Full tour dates and tickets can be found here: https://bbnomula.com/tour/.
Watch the official music video for “edamame” here: