Secure the BaG: Get to know Blimes and Gab, the newest musical duo to feature on HBO’s ‘Insecure’ (Interview)
“Thatâs one thing about Blimes and I: Everything we do is just natural as hell. Nothing is forced. Nothingâs contrived. We donât pay under the table for shit. Everything is just off the strength of us being cool as fuck.”
If ever you needed one sentence to describe the Rap duo of Blimes and Gab (BaG), itâd be this one. On first glance, maybe you wouldnât peg these two women to become the next Rap group to pop. The first time I had heard of them, I was taking a ‘Women In Hip-Hop’ course my junior year of undergradâshoutout Oneka LaBennett!âand I thought one was featuring the other. It wasnât until towards the end of the video that I realized they actually go together; this fashionably dressed hipster White girl with a beanie and cut off wide-leg pants and this Black girl with a cap and Seattle street swag were trading bars as a team, not at each other. And ever since then, Blimes & Gab have steadily risen. Each track they drop showcases the lyrical skill and sheer talent both women possess. Whether theyâre giving listeners a “sixteen” or hitting harmonies, these two are ready to take the rest of 2020 by storm. We spoke about one of their songs being featured in Issa Raeâs fourth season of ‘Insecure’, Twitter beefs, writing their own TV show, and their upcoming album. Get to know Blimes & Gab through an interview with GRUNGECAKE CEO and Editor Richardine Bartee below.
GRUNGECAKE: Your debut album âTalk About Itâ… I had the pleasure of listening to the tracks in advance and to kind of get the vibe of what you guys are going for. I also saw one of my favourite songs, âHot Damnâ, was on there and has like a remix to it. I remember the video release. It was one of my favourite videos that Blimes released, so I was excited to see that on there. So, I just wanted to get the inspiration behind the album and why you guys called it âTalk About Itâ?
Gab: Well, this album is obviously Blimes and Iâs first collaborative project, so it was definitelyâthis whole project and experienceâhas been a learning experience as well as just, you know, honing each othersâ skills, learning about each other. The big takeaway from this album, Iâd say is, I guess, camaraderie? Maybe thatâs not the best word, but like⌠Really itâs just two dope ass people coming together and making dope ass art! Two ladies from two different walks of life. Like, when we first put out âCome Correctâ, the song and the video are dope, but I personally think the reason why it blew up was because of imagery; seeing a Black girl and a White girl rapping together, it just made people talk. So, thatâs why we named it that. We make people talk, whether itâs about how we look or how we rap, people are gonna talk.
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Blimes: Yeah, I agree with Gab. Definitely, the catalyst for the album was âCome Correctâ. Itâs what made people go âI love seeing them together and I want more of it.â And all of the opportunities that weâve seen because of âCome Correctâ have been a direct response to people seeing us together and wanting us to be together. Our agent started booking us together from that. We got a manager from that. The team was built around the two of us working as a unit instead of separately and it was very organic. And, like Gab said, seeing us together made people talk; whether it was about politics, lifestyle choices, whether it was about good weed, comparisons, old heads who were skeptical, but are gonna turn to believers when they hear this album, whether it was people commenting on âwhere female rap is right nowâ; whatever it is, we made people talk. And thatâs what made us make this album, and thatâs what gonna make this album successfulâis that when Gab and I get together because we are Yin and Yang because we are different but able to come together in harmony and make something beautiful with those differences. Itâs gonna make people talk. And we welcome those conversations because theyâre important in pushing any culture forward, but especially this one. This album has got R&B songs, Funk and Soul-inspired songs, youâve got Dance, youâve got old school Hip-Hop shitâso with this album, we were like yâall wanted to talk about something well here, hereâs something to talk about.
GRUNGECAKE: So when you say old heads donât understand it, where does that come from specifically? Because I thought that an older audience, or the people that consider themselves âmature Hip-Hop listenersâ from the Golden Era, I thought that theyâd appreciate you guysâ skill because you guys are actually rapping and thereâs lyricism. Is that not the case?
Blimes: So let me clarify, and thank you for asking for clarity on that because it didnât come off the way I intended. So, the majority of people whoâve been championing us are fans of the old school who love the lyricism, and Iâm really grateful for that. And Iâm especially grateful for the youngâuns who werenât around for that era who are listening and still appreciate it. But what I meant was, the skeptics who believe that nothing good can come of this younger generation of artists. The skeptics who are stuck on âno oneâs doing it like Wu, no oneâs doing it like Lady of Rage, no oneâs doing it like they used to.â I just meant that thereâs kind of an answer (in this album) for everybody, the people who say âthe younger generation isnât doing shit, the younger generation isnât really about it, isnât really lyrical, has no good contentâ. Weâre the answer to that.
Gab: I think that our main fanbase [is] definitely either old heads or lovers of old-school Hip-Hop. But theyâre also still the most, like, apprehensive, especially towards a new artist. And then weâre female (rappers), so I know for a lot of âem, they kinda already have a preconceived notion of what weâre gonna sound like and what weâre gonna talk about. So itâs one of those things where, once they get past their preconceived perceptions, then they fuckinâ love us and theyâre our biggest champions. But it usually takes a little bit of pushing; and thatâs why it helps to have those cosigns like Method Man, Slug, and Bahamadia, and people like that, so that at least they can be like âOh! If they fuck with them, then obviously we should, too.â
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GRUNGECAKE: Okay! I totally understand. Thank you for clearing that up for me, thatâs wonderful. Soâ
Blimes: I appreciate you asking because truly, a lot of folks will think they know what you meant and just go a different direction, so right on!
GRUNGECAKE: Nah, weâre trying to do responsible reporting here.
Blimes: Our whole fanbase was about to be like âWow, really?! Fuck them! Alright, bet! Wait hold up, we been holding you down!â
Gab: We love the old heads! I love old niggas, personally, soâŚ
Everyone laughs.
GRUNGECAKE: So you guys have an awesome video for âFeelin Itâ. People that weâve covered in the past, like the young lady formerly from THEESatisfaction, and a few other Seattle artists — I saw some of them were in there. Was their placement intentional? How did that come about? What was the creative concept behind the video? How difficult was it to pull off?
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Gab: This video was shot by Andrew Imanaka, who did the âCome Correctâ video and heâs been shooting videos for me for years. Heâs a fellow Seattleite. It was kind of a no-brainer for him to shoot it. He understands our aesthetic and what weâre looking for. As far as getting people for the video, I just wanted to get everybody there â and you know, obviously there were plenty of people that couldnât make it, or whatever the case was â but for the most part, I think we got a great group of folks that represent Seattle and the culture. So you seen Cat in there. You also seen Antoine Vincent, whoâs been my producer since the beginning. Heâs like my right-hand man. You also see Jarv Dee. And it was like a party vibe, so as you can see in the video, itâs a party but it actually was hella lit. Like, niggas was in there drinking and smoking. We were cracking up, music was playing and stuff, so it was all very natural and organic the way it all came about.
Blimes: Well, she covered that one! Haha!
GRUNGECAKE: And so that song, itâs going to be featured on ‘Insecure’?
Gab sings: Thatâs the plaaannn!
Blimes: Gabby, and our management would tell you, when it comes to sync, nothing is final until the episode airs. So, Iâm sure by the time this interview comes out, weâll know⌠But as of right now, all systems are a go for this to air in the new season!
GRUNGECAKE: Okay good! Weâll put those positive vibes out there and hopefully, that happens like it should!
Blimes: Iâve been such a fan of this show since its inception as a short-form web series on YouTube, ‘The Awkward Black Girlâ. Me and my roommate, Darby, who is also a Black woman filmmaker, weâd watch it obsessively and I could relate, cause she was rapping in her head all the time, and thatâs how I would go through life, you know?! It was such a refreshing piece of content, to see like how real she was; and itâs a lot like this new wave of Hip-Hop, where people are being honest about their insecurities, like when Kendrick (Lamar) blew up and he was just so honest, and it was really, really new for mainstream music. And I felt that way about ‘Awkward Black Girl’, and to see it upstream and become ‘Insecure’ for HBO, Iâve been so thrilled for Issa and the whole teamâand to have one of our songs featured on it? Itâs the biggest deal for me. Itâs probably one of the most important achievements of ours, in terms of what it means to me.
GRUNGECAKE: Beautifully said! I canât wait to watch the episode. And then in the same vein, you guys have a TV show coming! Talk to me about that. How did that come to be? Is it based on the relationship that you two have? What are some things you can share about the show?
Gab: So, we had a show sometime last year, and our manager at the time invited Nelson George to come to the show. He (Nelson George) is an amazing screenwriter, author, and Hip-Hop culture historian. Like, heâs one of those people. You donât know him, but you know him at the same time. Like, if you see his name, youâll be like âOh, I see this nigga in everything!â Heâs one of those people. But anyway, he came to the show and I rememberâIâm laughing because I be thinking âDamn, thatâs crazy! That really was him!ââthe venue, GoldâDiggers. Itâs like a small, intimate venue. And I remember, I was performing and thereâs some old guy sitting there just having the time of his life, and I remember thinking âDamn, this nigga close as fuck!â And then, come to find out, that was Nelson laughs. So we end up having a meeting with him shortly after the show, and weâre choppinâ it up and thatâs where he told us who he was and how he used to write with Chris Rock and everything. And Iâm such a comedy movie buff, so we immediately clicked, and Iâm just like asking him questions and heâs disclosing all the shit. So, halfway through the meeting, heâs like âYour music? Tight. Itâs cool and everything, but your personalities? I like your personalities. Yâall charismatic as fuck. We should think about a show.â And that was crazy for me. In this industry, you donât really hear that. Somebody being like âYeah, the music is aight, but I like yâall for yâallâ, like, what?! Iâve never heard that before. So, that kind of started everything and we ended up linking with some folks over at, where was it again, Blimes?
Blimes: Itâs a very interconnected team. Itâs Focused Noise, Adler Music Group, and Foundation Media. Itâs a music booking agency, a film production company, and a couple other avenues, but they all work closely together.
Gab: Yes! So, we ended up linking with them, and theyâre the ones helping us write the show. Itâs just been so crazy how it all came together like that. When I moved to LA to do music, itâs not like I never thought that something else would happen, or that Iâd never dabble in other areas, but just the way it came about and how weâre really in the process. Like, itâs not âIâm thinking about writing a showâ. No, niggas are really writing a show to be produced. Itâs just crazy! Like, I have friends who want to pursue this. They went to school for that and moved to other countries to study or moved to LA to do film and show-writing and TV, and then thereâs me. âHey guys, Iâm writing a show!â Thatâs just hella fucking crazy to me. But itâs really dope. Like, I said, thatâs one thing about Blimes and I: everything we do is just natural as hell. Nothing is forced. Nothingâs contrived. We donât pay under the table for shit. Everything is just off the strength of us being cool as fuck! And being good at what we do, and having good personalities. Talent is really just half the battle.
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GRUNGECAKE: Thatâs what I wanted to say when you mentioned having friends whoâve travelled and relocated, and studied things like this, but they always say itâs all about the opportunity and when it presents itself. Like, he (Nelson) didnât know whether you went to school for it or not. He just knew you guys had something.
Gab: Right, and we really couldâve just brushed it off and been like âThatâs tight, but weâre focusing on the music.â But itâs like, what?! To have someone like Nelson George believe in us and actually want to work, and then, actually keep his word and everything? I canât think of a better way for this to have panned out.
Blimes: And just to touch on a little bit of the content, itâs funny that Gab mentions her friends who went to school for it. Theyâre probably like âOh okay, I see you, out here just writing a showâ; like, itâs kind of like when you start dating somebody and theyâre like âI could be a rapperâ and they just start rapping off the cuff. Like, they get comfortable and youâre like âNo, no, you donât know what Iâve done or what Iâve gone through to be hereâ, right?! So, I tread lightly with my friends who have studied this and who are very passionate about this, just because I know that it has come out of nowhere for us and it really is about right time, right place. As well as charisma and networking and all that. So, what weâre writing about? Itâs who we are: this unlikely best friend duo, and in a bigger picture, itâs about what we go through as individuals and as a Rap group in the music game. On the more micro scale, itâs about everyday shit that everybody deals with. Relationships, money, housing, the gay thing, the not gay thing, online dating, how to be genuine in this day and age with social media. Itâs gonna be a lot like a ‘Broad Cityâ meets ‘Atlantaâ. Itâs scripted comedy based on actual events in our life.
GRUNGECAKE: I like that! And thatâs going to do really well cause itâs current, itâs right now. Thatâs perfect!
Blimes: Thank you! I canât wait for folks like you to see it. Especially folks who have been following for so long, who are gonna know some of these stories as theyâve happened on the Internet.
GRUNGECAKE: Word. Yâall tweets are wild!
Gab laughs: You know, I just be thinkinâ shit!
Blimes laughs: I think itâs pretty PG. Gabbyâs the one that covers the wild end of the spectrum and Iâm proud of her for it.
Gab: And thatâs still very much tame. Like, in this climate I canât even really get it off how I get it off, but I say what I can.
GRUNGECAKE: I think there were some tweets about how people hold microphones⌠It was hysterical.
Gab: Iâm just very much an observational motherfucker. Itâs all I do, whether itâs in my lyrics or my comedy or the shit I like. Itâs very much all observational. So usually, if I say some wild shit, itâs probably some shit that other people are thinking, but donât wanna say. Like, weâre all seeing it, but whoâs gonna talk about it?!
Blimes: I want to hear this story. I mustâve missed this Twitter showdown.
Gab: Well the meat of it is very much just the mismanaging or mishandling of the microphone. Like how some people just completely cup the microphone? Itâs just a whole thing, from it just looking wild â like the main dispute from the people in the comments was that âwell it looks coolâ and Iâm like well it doesnât look as cool as you think it does because itâs wrong â to them just fucking up a very basic thing. Howâs somebody gonâ hear you and you cupping the mic? Itâs just science man. The sound cannot project if youâre covering the part that is designed for it to project your voice, like câmon. Like I get it, maybe the way I say some shit comes off harsh or very matter-of-factly, but I get it like they all just watched rappers and people in TV do it but that doesnât necessarily make it right!
One day Iâd like to understand the logic/ intent behind this….
Yâall ainât ready for that conversation though lol 🤔 pic.twitter.com/eVNUPok3tx
â AUNTIE G (@Gifted_Gab) February 12, 2020
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Didnât even know these existed but here yâall go… training wheels for your mic. Iâm not even mad at this if it helps someone. https://t.co/vb7looRYG7
â AUNTIE G (@Gifted_Gab) February 13, 2020
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Blimes: Wait, so there were really people arguing âbut it looks goodâ?
Gab: Yeah, the main arguments were that it looks cool or that theyâve been doing it their whole life and nobody said anything. And itâs like, again, that donât make it right! And that donât mean shit because you probably just been around motherfuckers who donât know, just like you, your whole life, so how they gonâ tell you? I donât know why people try to play the game of wits with me.
Blimes laughs: Gabby can get interaction out of any conversation. She just knows how to ignite the people. And that is something that I have looked up to since we met and became a group.
Gab: Thank you for spinning that into a positive light, Blimes!
Blimes: Itâs a gift, man. Blimes sings: Da da da da-da-da-da-da.
GRUNGECAKE: Can you guys just talk a little about the Shelly’s video? It’s my favourite.
Gab: “Shellyâs” is what we like to call our secret weapon. Itâs very much different from everything that youâve heard from us. At the same time, though, for the people that know Blimes and myselfâs catalogue, I think itâll be something thatâs not necessarily expected, but still like an âI knew yâall could pull something like this off.â Iâd compare it to almost like a roller rink type of anthem, get you up and dancing. The kids is gonâ love it, and your grandmaâs gonâ love it. Itâs one of those “for everybody” songs. Iâm not doing any rapping. Iâm singing the whole time, and Blimes is rapping as well as doing vocals. Iâm very excited about this. Itâs my favorite one to perform. And for the video, we used green screen. Iâve never used green screen before, so I was very excited about that. Itâs dope. Itâs a throwback 80s type video and itâs got like the old Kid Pix-type graphics.
GRUNGECAKE: I love Kid Pix, man! Laughs
Gab: You remember Kid Pix?! What a throwback! But yeah, itâs hella reminiscent. Kind of hard to explain it without just playing the song, but itâs very much a throwback feel but still for the modern-day.
Blimes: I never expected that weâd have to hone our pantomiming skills, but itâs definitely something we had to do throughout this process of creating this video and⌠Itâs gonna hit them over the head. Itâs different from anything youâve seen from us, different from anything youâve heard from us, and Gab nailed it when she said this oneâs for everybody. You canât really show âCome Correctâ to your grandma, although I did â she didnât quite understand it very much â but you could definitely show, depending on your grandma, the video for ‘Shellyâs’. Some grandmas are with the shits, and I respect them for that. The average grandma will slide into the 2-step for ‘Shellyâs’ real quick. And Iâm excited for that.
Gab: And the name of this song actually has a whole other story to it; the name âShellyâsâ came from an actual experience Blimes and I had in the studio.
GRUNGECAKE: And what was that?
Gab: So, weâre literally recording one day, and the studio we record at is directly next door to a club. So, we go outside to have a smoke break and weâre just chillin’ and talkin’. Itâs Blimes, myself and our producer Lou. And weâre smokin’ and choppin’ it up and Lou tells us about how this club gets wild on the weekend. Itâs all these âShellies and shitâ be around. And weâre like âWhat are Shellies?â And heâs like, âYou know, like, drunk bitches! You know the bitches that always be yelling. I can hear them from the studio and theyâre always just fuckinâ screaminâ, just drunk White girls.â
Blimes: Yes, itâs typically of the fair-skinned variety.
Gab: Right, like just hella jalopy. So basically to test his theory, I yell out âAyo Shelly!â Like, I just call out Shelly because heâs like âI guarantee thereâs a bitch here named Shelly, and thatâs who Iâm talking about.â So Iâm like, âYo, Shelly!â and no bullshit, literally right after I yell that, this car thatâs driving by, this girlâs like hanging out the window and she goes, âIâm Shelly and itâs my birthday!â And weâre like, âYo, what the fuck?!â We laughed at that shit for so long. I donât even know if we finished recording that night.
Blimes: You canât make this shit up. Couldnât have spotted a better Shelly.
Gab: We even throw that kind of skit into the video to give some context to the name of the song. But that shit happened, like 1000% happened the way we said it did.
GRUNGECAKE: Iâm excited to see that. I canât wait! And so you ladies are friends with Chika right?
Gab: Oh yeah! I mean we havenât met in real life or anything, just kind of an Internet relationship but yeah, thatâs the homie!
Blimes: Yeah, weâre Internet cheerleaders of each othersâ success.
GRUNGECAKE: Yes! I like her album a lot, sheâs really cool. Iâm looking at a list of other female artists that you guys are friends with, and just kind of like looking at their names like Awkwafina, Kehlani, Qveen Herby. I feel like all of you have something outside of music that you also do. Even Chika, she seems more politically-driven and active in being an activist. So Iâm really excited, as a fellow woman, to see other women out here. Because itâs been a trying two decades â
Gab: I was gonna say, what a trying life?!
GRUNGECAKE laughs:Â Weâve come a long way since Kid Pix! Itâs beautiful. So, I just wanted to congratulate you guys on just existing and doing whatâs normal and organic for you. You guys arenât amongst the women who have to compromise or belittle themselves or get naked â if they donât want to â and so I think itâs beautiful, a beautiful space to be in and to be able to support.
Gab: Thank you. Thank you. We appreciate that. Itâs definitely time for the men to like, you know, kinda relax. Weâve seen what yâall have done with it thus far, and I think yâall can just⌠Not, no more. Letâs try something different.
Blimes: Can I double down on that? Because yes.
Blimes and Gab have a contagious energy. The laughs and jokes were plentiful the whole interview. One of the most apparent things about them though is that these two are not messing around, and they didnât team up just for fun. Theyâre not oblivious to what peopleâs initial perceptions of them may be, but they know they have the chops to destroy any appearance-based negativity. Theyâve done their homework and can rap their asses off, constantly paying homage to the pioneers that paved the way while acknowledging that, as ânew-schoolâ artists, theyâve got something to say tooâand itâs heat. Blimes and Gab havenât missed since âCome Correctâ blew up in 2018. Later that year they dropped again, this time with the single âNastyâ. Gab opened the song with a skillful flip of the Ma$e classic âFeel So Goodâ. In 2019, they showcased their versatility with âUn Deux Troisâ and âFeelin Itâ, proving that they can give the old heads something to ride to with their top down and then turn around and give the kids a party anthem. The two also have a knack for making great music videos in an era where the art of the music video is a bit lost on artists, especially newer ones. Thereâs a reason why Blimes and Gab are in those credits we all look forward to as an ‘Insecure’ episode finishes; you know, where they show the artist and song name because Issa knows us viewers want the info on whatever song was playing when she and Molly were driving down Hollywood Blvd. Issa sees the vision. You should too. B.a.G knows what theyâre doing, and theyâre doing it well.
