Bhad Bhabie

Bhad Bhabie, born Danielle Bregoli on 26 March 2003, is an American rapper and internet personality [2]. Many people first knew her from a 2016 television clip [3]. Her recording career is a separate story, with a deal at Atlantic Records, a run of singles and a mixtape, several business ventures, and a split from the label in 2021 [11][4].

From a talk-show clip to a record deal

She appeared on Dr. Phil's show in 2016, and a moment from the episode spread widely online [3]. The press called her the “Cash Me Outside Girl,” after her catchphrase [3][16].

She signed with Atlantic Records in the summer of 2017 [4]. XXL reported a multi-million-dollar deal covering several albums, and said her reps confirmed Mike Caren, then a Warner Music Group creative officer, had a role in the signing [11]. An A.V. Club report dated 16 September 2017 gave her age as 14 [3]. It quoted a Warner Music Group vice president who called her “a real star with undeniable talent,” and it described her as the youngest female rapper to have a song on the Billboard Hot 100 [3].

Her first singles

Her debut single, “These Heaux,” moved into the Billboard Hot 100 [11]. Her second, “Hi Bich,” had 85 million YouTube views by March 2018, and Tubefilter reported that it had sold 500,000 copies in the United States, which it described as gold status [12]. Before her mixtape came out, she also released “Trust Me,” with Ty Dolla $ign, and “Gucci Flip Flops,” with Lil Yachty [7].

Complex reported on “Bestie,” a new song with Kodak Black that was available on Spotify, Apple Music and SoundCloud, in January 2019 [13]. Rolling Stone covered two summer singles, “Lotta Dem,” which it called a classic dance track, and “Spaz,” a diss track with the rising Alabama rapper YBN Nahmir [14].

Her debut mixtape, 15

Her debut mixtape, 15, was released on Tuesday, 18 September 2018, and has 15 tracks [7]. Its guests include Lil Baby, City Girls, YG and Asian Doll [7].

A Billboard Music Awards nomination

She was nominated for the Billboard Music Awards in the Top Rap Female Artist category, alongside Cardi B and Nicki Minaj, in April 2018 [15]. TMZ reported that she saw the nomination as a win in itself, and conceded that Cardi B would likely take the trophy [15]. Billboard's interview with her noted that this was her first Billboard Music Award nomination [8]. She said she was asleep when she learned of it, and that her manager called to tell her [8].

Live shows

She played her first Los Angeles show at The Roxy on the Sunset Strip in 2018, a venue with a capacity of 500 that sold out [16]. The show was part of her Bhanned in the USA tour [16]. Variety noted that the crowd included people from the music industry, among them a Warner Music Group executive [16].

Business ventures

Complex, citing TMZ, reported in 2019 that Bhad Bhabie had signed a worldwide publishing deal with Pulse Music Group worth $1 million [17]. Billboard, as quoted by Complex, said the deal covered all past and future songs [17].

The same year, BBTV Interactive released Ride or Die!, a mobile game in which players control her as she steals cars and evades police [18]. It is available on Apple's App Store and Google Play [18].

Bhad Bhabie and Lil Yachty invested $1 million in Lox Club in 2021, a membership-based dating app for Jewish people, working through the agent Adam Kluger's firm, Scoop Investments [19]. That year she also launched BHAD Music, her own label [20]. In a Variety interview she said that owning her masters was a relief, and that labels “keep like 80% of all the money that comes in” [20].

Leaving Atlantic

Complex reported in August 2021 that she had split from Atlantic Records, and that she revealed the split in an interview with Variety [4]. A rep for Atlantic confirmed that the two sides had split [4]. Complex noted that the split came nearly four years after she signed [4]. The article gives no reason for the split [4]. The article reported that she felt her career could have been bigger if Atlantic had promoted her properly, and that label sources disagreed, saying her streaming numbers suggested otherwise [4].