At first glance, the title of this post might be somewhat confusing. Why? Well, millions know about the music of singer/songwriter Bebe Rexha. Of those millions of music fans, many know about her ongoing online fight with those speak disparagingly about her body. However, the fight itself might not make a person a champion for others. In this case it might. Bebe Rexha is not the only champion against body shaming, but she proves to be a good champ. Perhaps like most artists, a good examination of her background might shed light on how she became a good champion for the individuality of others.
Bleta “Bebe” Rexha was born on August 30, 1989, in Brooklyn, New York, to ethnic Albanian parents. Her father, Flamur Rexha, is an Albanian born in Debar when it was part of Yugoslavia. He immigrated to the US at the age of 21, and her mother, Bukurije Rexha, was born in the US to an Albanian family with roots in Gostivar (which, like Debar, is now part of North Macedonia). In the Albanian language, bletĂ« means “bee”; and she explained “My parents are Albanian, and people started calling me ‘Bebe’ for short.” She and her family moved to nearby Staten Island when she was six.
Upon learning about Bebe Rexha’s background, I wanted to find out more about the life of her parents, and what life might have been like for young Bebe growing up with Albanian parents. Rexha’s father made his move to the US as tensions began to rise right before the Yugoslav Wars. The Yugoslav Wars were a series of separate but related ethnic conflicts, wars of independence and insurgencies fought in the former Yugoslavia from 1991 to 2001, which led to the breakup of the Yugoslav state.
For those of you reading this post who may not remember, or if before your birth, the time period was marked with great violence. Often described as Europe’s deadliest conflicts since World War II, the wars were marked by many war crimes, including genocide, crimes against humanity and rape. The Bosnian genocide was the first European crime to be formally judged as genocidal in character since World War II, and many key individual participants were subsequently charged with war crimes. This is what Bebe Rexha’s father left behind. Her maternal grandparents also escaped great unrest.
The values instilled upon young Bebe by her parents were perhaps different from parents of a different background. Coming from a place where war and genocide were a part of everyday life, things like self-awareness would be very significant.
Bebe Rexha’s path toward music was somewhat like my own. Rexha played trumpet and taught herself to play guitar and piano. The combination of instruments might sound unusual, but when you possibly want to write songs, it’s perfect. Rexha attended Tottenville High School on Staten Island, where she took part in a variety of musicals. She also joined the choir, while still in high school. After joining the choir, she discovered that her voice was a coloratura soprano. She found that she was a very talented young songwriter. Rexha submitted a song to be performed at the National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences’ annual “Grammy Day” event. Rexha earned the “Best Teen Songwriter” award, beating around 700 other entrants. The foundation was laid for what would become a good career in music.
Every artist needs that initial break to get started, and Rexha received that break in Fall Out Boy’s bassist Pete Wentz. While working at a studio in New York, she met Wentz and later became a member and a lead vocalist of Wentz’s new experimental project of a band, called Black Cards. The band played a variety of live shows and released several singles and remixes. However, in January 2012, Wentz announced that Rexha had left the band to pursue other endeavors. Bebe Rexha was awarded the Able Olman Scholarship for her contributions as a songwriter later that year.
That time with the Black Cards helped her establish a good sense of performance before moving on to bigger endeavors. Once building on that confidence to work in front of an audience, it also helped to build her own sense of individuality and self-awareness. That needed knowledge on self to become a successful performer. However, her industry contact also needed to be established.
In 2013, Rexha signed with Warner Bros. Records as a solo artist. Rexha had begun writing several songs, including Selena Gomez’s “Like a Champion” and Nikki Williams’s “Glowing”. Her most prominent songwriting effort of 2013 was Eminem’s and Rihanna’s “The Monster”, which was released as the fourth single from Eminem’s album The Marshall Mathers LP 2. The song went on to top the charts for the US Billboard Hot 100 and the US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and won a Grammy Award for Best Rap/Sung Performance at the 57th Annual Grammy Awards ceremony. That same year, Rexha also wrote and was featured on Cash Cash’s single “Take Me Home”.
After a hot start as a songwriter, Bebe Rexha was well-established and ready to take the next step in her musical career. On March 21, 2014, Rexha released her debut single, “I Can’t Stop Drinking About You”. The song peaked at number 22 on the US Top Heatseekers chart. In November 2014, she was featured on rapper Pitbull’s song “This Is Not a Drill”. In December 2014, Rexha released two more singles, “I’m Gonna Show You Crazy” and “Gone”. On May 12, 2015, she released her debut EP, I Don’t Wanna Grow Up, through Warner Bros. Records. She also co-wrote and was featured on David Guetta’s single “Hey Mama”, alongside Nicki Minaj and Afrojack. The song peaked at number eight on the Billboard Hot 100 and received 1.1 million downloads as of June 2015.
I really like the career path of Bebe Rexha. It reads like a “how to” book of gaining access to the music industry. Of course, it helped greatly that she exhibited talent as a songwriter early, but she delivered on that promise and kept working. She continued to work with various artists across genre lines. This is common today, but it really helps an artist to build a fan base and reputation in the music community. Her work, and her debut studio album Expectations led to a nomination for Best New Artist at the 61st Annual Grammy Awards. She lost to fellow star Dua Lipa.
Bebe Rexha has not slowed a bit. In fact, earlier this year she was brought in to coach contestants on the television show The Voice. She really is the perfect coach for the artist of today. Today, close to her thirtieth birthday, Bebe Rexha can tell a new artist what it takes to thrive in the music industry. She speaks with great credibility.
Rexha utilizes her new platform as international music superstar to speak on behalf of others. She is a vocal supporter of the LGBTQ+ community. Earlier this year, Rexha revealed she is bipolar on Twitter in a personal note to her fans.
Yes, Bebe Rexha is talented, famous and has made a lot of money. However, she is a very good champion for those out their who are less than perfect. That should be all of us, but of course there are many who express hate for others with hurtful words. Rexha has experienced such hatred. She has previously spoken out about body positivity, and the singer fired back at trolls calling her âtubbyâ and criticized her weight under the comments section of a photo she had posted to Instagram. âTo all the people tweeting mean things to me about my weight you just want a response and you will not get it,â the 29-year-old tweeted in response to the trolling. âUnless you are completely perfect you have no f***** right to talk about anybody elseâs body. The hate you breed that stems from Insecurity donât look pretty on you.â
Others, like Demi Lovato, who has also been targeted by body shaming speak of Rexha as an inspiration. We need more artists like Bebe Rexha to speak out against online hatred.
As for the young star, Rexha will be paying us a visit in South Florida early August 2019. She comes as a headliner for The Jonas Brothers’ Happiness Begins Tour. More new music is on the way soon and I’m sure fans will be thrilled. It will be interesting to watch her fan base and artistry grow together.