“Cash Me Outside” girl, and thoughts on the music industry
Cash me outside, how bow dah?
Heard this phrase before? No? Then you’re probably not a teenager or media person living in America. Because if you were, then you’d most likely have seen this stuff all over your news feeds everywhere.
(Image credits: GIPHY)
Recently I’ve been seeing my Facebook and Twitter feeds blow up with outrage especially from my friends and fellow musicians in the US about how Danielle Bregoli, aka “Cash Me Outside” Girl, aka Bhad Bhabie which is now her stage name, managed to sign a multi-million dollar deal with Atlantic Records.
If you need a primer:
– Danielle Bregoli appears on a Dr Phil show (reality show in the US) where she’s basically a wild, unmanageable 13-year-old who’s rude to her mom, steals cars, and gets into loads of trouble
– On this show she talks in a weird accent that she claims she picked up “from the streets”. She also coins the catchphrase, “Cash me outside, how bow dah”
– Celebs (can’t rmb who but I saw this around) start posting this phrase on their Snapchat cos it’s lit af
– Atlantic signs her low key, she releases a meme video (think “Ain’t Nobody Got Time For That” style but cooler cos they made it themselves) and a remix with a black rapper called DAX which is legit fire
– Some other stuff happens musically which you can find on her Youtube channel. Also she starts rubbing elbows with celebs and stuff in Beverly Hills. And roasting people on Musical.ly, and making random videos. Basically becoming a Youtuber
– She releases her first single “These Heaux” which is a rap diss track, taking the piss out of Kylie Jenner and such and such
– People start to find out about her getting signed even though she wasn’t a musician / singer / rapper to begin with and also she has the persona of a bratty teenager. Everyone starts to lose their minds
Hay there, Kylie lookalike. (Image credits: Truervine)
So… what?
Actually I guess nobody in this part of the world is really going to care about all this stuff happening in the US because it’s not really affecting our lives at all. Buuuuuuut, I find all these events pretty fascinating from the perspective of someone who’s trying to make it as an artist.
I have to say that for the unsigned, DIY musician out there (like me lol) who’s really upset over all this, Ari Herstand the amazing musician / journalist / lighthouse in the darkness wrote a really encouraging post, and indeed, I would encourage you to read the post, and be encouraged by it.
But personally, I’m not really upset about it. I find all of this fascinating, and I think there’s lots to learn from it all. It makes me ask myself questions like, do I want to become a Youtuber and make random videos about random topics, just to create content and be relevant in people’s lives? Is there a way I can create content that I enjoy, and that others would enjoy too, without roasting anybody (cos that’s just not how I roll)? Did Danielle and her mom really conspire to create drama on the Dr Phil show that made the girl famous? Do American teenagers all know at 13 how to style their hair, wear makeup and put on mega long nails that render your fingers unable to function properly?
Is this how people do life as American teenagers? (Image credits: GIPHY)
Stuff I’m going through now
Lately I’ve been trying something new in music, which I’ll talk more about next time. But these experiences have opened my eyes to the local music economy. I can see for myself how musicians struggle to maintain a decent income on a month to month basis, and how uncertain the job market is for musicians. It’s funny because I’ve never actually depended on music to survive (and, funnily enough, I still don’t – like many musicians, I’m doing quite a bit of other work that pays the bills). But I’ve been compelled to try and get more work in music, not because it’s lucrative, but because I very much want to be doing more work in music – yes, even if it doesn’t pay well.
To be honest, I don’t even know if “Cash Me Outside” Girl is earning money from all the work she’s doing. But I gotta say, she is doing a lot of work. And I’m sure that hard work is going to pay off, especially since she’s already pretty well known. So kudos to her!
And me, regardless of what I’m seeing now, I’m definitely going to keep going. Who knows, I might be able to make a difference in some way or other. I hope so. It’s only just beginning!