Bebe Rexha was born in Brooklyn and raised on Staten Island by Albanian parents. She took part in musical theater as a teenager and won a Grammy award. New York City prepared her for a career in music through its diversity of cultures and opportunities. Living in New York inspires her creativity, and when visiting she enjoys relaxing at favorite restaurants, shopping in Soho, and taking walks with headphones in Central Park. Her song "Hey Mama" featuring David Guetta, Afrojack, and Nicki Minaj was a worldwide summer hit. She is now performing live and people are surprised by her rock-influenced stage presence, which differs from her pop music.

1. 30 NYCMONTHLY
You were born in Brooklyn and raised on
Staten Island by Albanian parents where
you took part in a lot of musical theater and
also won an award as a teenager from the
Grammys. How does a place like New York
City prepare you for a career in the music and
entertainment industry?
I think #1, New York City is the world's biggest
melting pot. My best friend is Italian and I'm
Albanian and all my friends at school were Puerto
Rican and black and everyone came to school
listening to what they love. Everyone's culture—it's
just urban life; I just listened to so many different
styles because of that. The thing I love about
New York City is there are so many opportunities
everywhere you go. In California you have to drive
everywhere, but you can walk everywhere in NYC
and meet someone every second. It's an amazing
place for music and a lot of up-and-coming artists.
It's the grind, the influences, and a small area with
all these people—you look at LA and New York,
you don't see many people walking in LA.
What about living in New York inspires your
creativity? I'd imagine you spend a lot of time
in LA now, but how do you like to indulge
when you come back to New York for a visit?
Kind of all my life—for relaxation, I just love food.
I have go-to spots when it rains, I love going to
a certain Vietnamese restaurant and there are
certain places that just relax me, very mom-and-
pop. Obviously Central Park, shopping, and eating.
There's a place called Saigon Shack, it has the best
pho. Every time it rains in NYC I call my friends—
it's incredible, it's cash-only and they serve you the
best pho in the world. Also shopping in Soho with
an amazing cup of coffee walking up and down
Soho or Canal Street. Walking on the city streets,
cup of coffee in my hand, going into my favorite
shops and bargaining on Canal Street. That's why
I love Staten Island, it's super chill and you can
have a backyard and barbecue; my family will grow
tomatoes and peppers and onions. New York is a
place where I throw on a pair of headphones when
it's not crazy-packed on the subway and take the
train and get off with my headphones on, it's so
relaxing and inspiring. Living in New York I used
to walk so much with my headphones on, from
57th street to South Ferry.
"Hey Mama" is a worldwide smash, and even
though this is also a David Guetta, Afrojack,
and Nicki Minaj song, I think you 100% are
the focal point of the track. It's one of the
strongest hooks from the entire summer.
What's it like to be included among such a
massive roster of talent?
Somebody from a radio station hit me up and texted
me while I was doing promo. I sat down with Sean
Douglas, we wrote the hook in like ten minutes;
we were joking around about it, it was super
quick. I just wanted to write something fun. We
would sit there with our pens and paper banging
our heads on the desk. David Guetta played us a
beat that had writing on it from Ester Dean, but
there was no pre-chorus and he wanted us to write
to the beat. We knew the BPM, but me and Sean
decided to go to the piano and take a chance. We
like writing with a guitar or piano, but we got the
vibe of the song and wrote something and changed
the chords up a bit. Honestly, I knew that I was
going to be on his album [Guetta's "Listen"] but
that record in particular, I thought they were going
to replace my vocal with someone else.
You're playing Terminal 5 with Nick Jonas.
You are not just a songwriter and singer but
also a performer who knows how to work a
stage and make a reveal. What can people
expect who know your music but maybe have
never seen you perform live?
A lot of people will know of my music and I will
always perform originals "Monster" and "Hey
Mama" and all the songs off my EP ["I Don't Wanna
Grow Up.] When you watch the show it's going to
have a lot more of a rock side, a live guitar and bass
player and drummer. We really go hard, it feels like
a rock show. It's really cool. People watching me
live say "whoa, we weren't expecting that." There's
nothing like live music. I think when people watch
me and they don't know who I am, they become
fans because I really express myself on the stage.
A rock-ified pop performance. I just feel like, I'm
on Warped Tour right now, we're coming to play
Jones Beach so I think doing this tour especially
prepared me for when I come to Terminal 5. You're
just so ready. I did about 43 shows in 50 days on
Warped. I'm just excited to be in my hometown.
Some artists just have a natural ability—that
indescribable star quality that transforms the
world around you into something else. For many
reasons, Bebe Rexha is the anti-popstar, someone who
could easily have had a go at the music business solely
as a songwriter (she wrote Eminem and Rihanna's #1
single "The Monster" among other hits). Rexha also
writes and sings about personal demons, struggles,
being "crazy" and not fitting the mold of what a
culture wants you to be. But Bebe is also glamorous,
a total bombshell with charisma to boot, and a true
stage presence that cannot be fully interpreted unless
seen live in all of her stunning madness, often in a
leather jacket, hair thrashing, and eyes fixated deep
into the darkness of the crowd. Bebe Rexha had one
of the most infectious songs of the summer, singing
the hook on "Hey Mama," an electro-house track
by David Guetta, Nicki Minaj, and Afrojack, which
reached the Top 10 on the Hot 100 and also #1 on the
Billboard Hot Dance chart. Rexha recently wrapped
the Vans Warped Tour and this fall she opens for Nick
Jonas around North America, including his Terminal
5 date on September 9. NYC Monthly was honored to
speak with her recently…
BEBE
REXHAHIT-MAKER TO SHOWSTOPPER
Written by Michael Menachem
Bebe Rexha
Photo Credit Major Caldwell
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