Baby Osama Wants You To Get Weird
“I have my own vision. I don’t like when people tell me what to do.”
Photography by Emil Danelian
Upon Baby Osama’s initial encounter is a young Bronx artist with a nostalgic fashion sense of a ‘90s skater and simultaneously ahead of our time in avant-garde shoes and accessories. Beyond that is an interdisciplinary artist who may refer to herself as a chameleon who does anything but blend in. Baby Osama goes beyond that of just a musician — she’s forging a new music dynamic for the next generation of alt kids. After releasing her recent EP, SEXC SUMMER, and performing for her biggest crowd yet at the Young World Festival, Baby Osama has proved she’s more than a sexy drill artist. She marries the iconic New York City genre with her unbeknownst love for R&B, soul, and alternative sounds.
The nine-song EP has turned a once-experimental Baby Osama into a genre-defying, niche-centered musician. Think of the female version of Cash Cobain or Vontee the Singer, except she doesn’t prefer to stay in the confines of one signature sound. As her music evolves, Baby Osama knows she can adapt, and listeners will be able to distinguish her voice, whether she’s over a drill, punk, rap, or a sultry and romantic R&B beat like SEXC SUMMER.
Baby Osama has her family to thank for her early sentiments to music. Her father, grandfather, and cousin Amanda all consume music differently: for coping, leisure, and work. Whether it’s David Ruffin, Jimi Hendrix, or Jim Jones, being close to three different generations has helped shape how she makes music today.
Photography by Emil Danelian
“I usually go on YouTube for beats and will just sing over them,” Baby Osama says. “They’re lyrics that actually occurred in my life. I’ll find a word to rhyme with what I last said and go from there. I usually freestyle or write something down that I’m going through and turn it into a rap. It goes from poetry to a song.”
To understand Baby Osama’s innovative style, one must know that her love of fashion was discovered before her love of music. She’s always considered herself a designer, and recently, she’s delved into her own creations. While they’re not yet released, Baby Osama would describe her designs as reminiscent of time traveling to the past and future. Her old soul, combined with her youthful vigor, makes room for timeless artistry.
SEXC SUMMER includes her hit track “I DON’T MEAN IT,” where she merges her trailblazing fashion sense with her music. “You got no bitches, got no hoes. Got no motion, got no clothes (I feel bad for that nigga, I feel bad). Give me back all my drip. Give me back all my clothes.” On a more romantic note, “Did Me Wrong” persistently questions why someone emotionally hurt them. “Why you gotta switch on me, baby? Did me fucking wrong.”
“I want to make everybody in the hood look weird,” she says. “People always have something to say about how I dress, but they fuck with it. In a perfect world, I want to see everybody dressed like me. They want to like it but don’t know how to at first.”
In high school, Baby Osama says being the class clown helped her protect herself from vulnerability. Often, that also translated into her eccentric style. To avoid blending in with the crowd, she refused to wear the same popular brands that her peers wore, so she took matters into her own hands and made her own clothes. Her aunt also makes clothes and helps Baby Osama sew and fit clothes. From there, she took over and began to draw on her clothes and cut and sew them herself.
Photography by Emil Danelian
“I really want to thank God for putting me in New York to grow up because there’s mad inspiration here,” she says. “You have to have tough skin. Everything you go through makes you stronger. You feel me?”
Baby Osama knows music is a common denominator that saves people’s lives and brings them together—which is why she believes she is more known for her music than her fashion. Despite this, she wants people to refer to her as a designer before a musician. In fact, if she had never begun making music, Baby Osama says she would have spent her time prioritizing fashion to save up for land and a farm and experience youthful activities she didn’t get to do in her childhood.
“When I first started, I didn’t know how to use a sewing machine,” she says. “Thanks to my family, my little brother put me into a program called So Harlem. From there, I met Mr. Henry, my sewing professor. We grew up in a place where people take that stuff for granted. We were the only young people in the program. This keeps me going. He (Mr. Henry) taught me how to make pattern pieces that could be worn at the Met Gala. He’s my guru and was dead-ass a big part of my journey.”
Whether it’s music or fashion, Baby Osama wants the masses to know that although she’s young, she is not a TikTok star. She is timeless and here to stay. She hopes to carry out unique collaborations in both fashion and music that help her express who she entirely is and those alike.
“I have my own vision,” she says. “I don’t like when people tell me what to do.”
