Bella Blaq is bringing her diverse talent and authenticity to the music world. Inspired by artists like Lauryn Hill and Missy Elliot, Blaq has a unique rapping flow and an eye for creative direction in her music videos. She’s looking to bring her listeners on the journey with her on her upcoming project, Dirt Roads.
Blaq spoke with rolling out about her music career, her biggest inspirations, freestyling, and much more.
When you’re studying different artists, what are you looking for?
When I first started really studying Jay-Z, I studied him as a human, not [in] the typical “Where are you from?” way. I studied how he handled things, how he handled losses, how he handled gains, and how he handled his music and his team. I remember him being in the studio with Timbaland, and it tickled me. One day, it struck me so [clearly]. He reminded me so much of myself; I saw so much of myself in him at the time. He was trying to tell Timbaland this sound that he had, and Timbaland wasn’t quite understanding what he was trying to say. So he started playing with the keys, and Timbaland was like, “You make the beat,” and he wasn’t trying to do that. It’s just different things like that. Like I said, studying these people, seeing how they are with a team, how they build with their teams, and what he’s doing with his music. Does he write? Does he go in and just freestyle? Is he hands-on with his music? What is it that he’s building, and how can I take different parts of that?
What feeling do you get when you first hear a beat?
In my little space, when I first hear the beat, especially when I’m freestyling, I have about five seconds to come up with a plan of how I want these people to feel when I’m saying these things. If you pay attention to my freestyle videos, I’m very intentional with my hand gestures, my eye [gestures], how I move, how I look at the camera, how I hold my head, and all of that stuff goes into it for me. Because in telling a story, I want people to know how I’m feeling, feel what I’m saying. Even if it doesn’t make sense to them, the hand movements and being intimate with the camera will help those people to be able to receive what you’re saying.
