As prolific as she is cosmically inclined, the newly enlightened teen dropped three albums and a string of tracks between 2020 and 2021. But none of her previous projects compare to LVL5 P1, released in February this year. The album trims the fat, flipping through Atlanta trap, scuzzy rage rap and gooey R&B like a highlights reel.
Each style represents a different Bk persona, with characters taking turns to steer the creative vision at any given time: “pretty bitch” Tanya comes out on the glacial club cut Back. Rue Santan explodes across the cybernetic stomp of the album’s intro track, Tan. Rula is all about lust and decadence, cataloguing her Rick Owens collection while reminiscing about an old flame on the thrilling Destroy Lonely duet Forever, Pt 2. There’s also Tanjenica, a new, particularly unhinged character we might hear more of on the upcoming LVL5 P2. As Bk puts it, “I don’t know when they’re about to pull up.”
She’s aware of how eccentric this all seems. “I’m gonna be portrayed as crazy, especially because I have more knowledge. People who have another type of knowledge are going to be portrayed as crazy, because they’re not [on the same] level as other people.”
She pauses, then lowers her voice, making me lean in amid the thrum of the restaurant. “If you look around, we’re kind of the only people that are, like, very, very, very expressive. It’s not on purpose. This is just Level 5 shit.”
Bk learned to embrace herself after being hardened by experiences beyond her control. The clearest memory she holds from her Atlanta childhood is of being bullied intensely, “I guess for not being like everyone else,” she says. “I just wasn’t trying to dress like other n****s or talk like other n****s. I got bullied one time for wearing a hoodie and overalls.” (Ironically, she’s now making waves in the fashion world, fronting a Marc Jacobs campaign in June and walking the runway for Nigerian designer Mowalola at London Fashion Week in February.)
