PrettiBoiRoq and transgender rapper Chanel Jole are celebrating Transgender Visibility Day with release of their new single and music video, “Bad Bitch Alert”. The song is a hip hop anthem of self-love and encourages listeners to live life unapologetically and without reserve.
“For the longest time, I was uncomfortable living in my skin,” PrettiBoiRoq admits. The glam rapper grew up in a tiny town in North Carolina called Pamlico County. After his mother succumbed to addiction, his parents divorced and he was raised by a religious dad and step mother.
He recalls being picked on for the clothes that he wore and for being gay. “I moved out of the house as soon as I turned 18 because I was desperate to leave my hometown behind.”
PrettiBoiRoq moved to Los Angeles where he started working in films but quickly discovered that his LA dreams were not on modeling or acting, but on music. “I got hooked on hip hop; the lyricism and the lifestyle from 2Pac and Dr. Dre’s ‘California Love.’"
"I think hip hop resonates with people who face adversity and with everything I had struggled through with my mom and weight and living in poverty, the aggressive nature of the music allows me to express myself,” PrettiBoiRoq continues.
His first EP, PrettiBoiRoq, released in June 2016, was a pop-hop record, a hybrid of Top 40 popular music with hip hop. It included his first single, “PrettiBoi Anthym” and his most successful single to date, “You Don’t Own Me.” The "You Don't Own Me" music video has close to $70,000 views on Youtube.
In his second album, Haus of Ken, PrettiBoiRoq honed in more on his hip hop roots. The single “‘Wanna Be Me,’ had a slightly darker, Trap sound to it along with a traditional hip hop beat.
He says he aims to be more introspective in his upcoming works. “I think the queer community needs songs with substance that represent all facets of our stories. I’ve been writing about issues in my personal life, including how I’ve overcome past relationships and the struggles I dealt with growing up," he explains.
PrettiBoiRoq wrote "Bad Bitch Alert" with his friend, transgender rapper Chanel Jole. The two had been trying to work together for some time. “We went through hundreds of beats trying to find the right sound for our track," he reflects. "When I came out with the beat that would become ‘Bad Bitch Alert’, I knew right away ‘this is it’! I sent a demo to Chanel and she began writing the lyrics right away.” They wrote the third verse together in the studio.
They also unite for the music video, an empowering visual produced, filmed and edited by Nicholas Eastman. It stars the duo in a cotton candy coated Barbie and Ken playhouse, wearing provocative clothing. “I have learned to love my body and I am not afraid to show it off, ” PrettiBoiRoq says. “My style and fashion choices are riskier and risqué-er than ever before and pink has become my trademark color. Every Ken doll needs a little pink.”
His hope is for the song to be blasting from speakers while people are in the car on their way to work or in the bathroom getting ready for a night out at the club. "I hope it instantly boosts their egos and reminds them that they got this. Whatever obstacles block their way, they will overcome.”
“I guess I really want to inspire someone the way so many artists have inspired me," he sums up. "And that the song serves as a reminder to all that they don’t have to live by gender standards. Gender doesn’t matter. Nor does race or sexuality. Love yourself for the bad bitch that you are.”
PrettiBoiRoq’s “Bad Bitch Alert (featuring Chanel Jole)” is available for streaming on all digital platforms including iTunes and Spotify. Visit his website.
Follow PrettiBoiRoq on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter @ prettiboiroq
Comments / 3