When I first started thinking about music videos to share, I hadn’t discovered Bibi yet. Which is a shame, because her music is honestly life changing.
And I do not take those words that lightly.
A friend showed me Bibi’s “KAZINO” about a month after my dad died. It prompted me to listen to her music more, and I discovered her song “Life’s a Bi…” Something about the song felt cathartic, but what struck me was the video. In the video for “Life’s a Bi…”, I was startled by the music cutting out and Bibi on her knees weeping in front of an altar, upon which sat…herself. From a fan’s translation, what Bibi is screaming at the godlike version of herself is “I hate this! I don’t want to do this anymore! I won’t do this anymore!” Her voice was so desperate it was cracking. And then, the godlike version of herself quietly says, “That’s life.” The music slowly crept back in with English lyrics: “I’ve been six feet under, but I’ve been nine feet upward.”
Needless to say, I cried a lot that night.
Bibi is a generation defining performer, in every respect. Her voice has incredible range, only surpassed by the depth of her lyrics. Her acting performances are incredible and inspiring. Bibi’s excellence has already been noticed by the likes of Coachella, where she performed last year; she has even been cast in a noir film alongside one of the most noteworthy Korean actors, Song Joong Ki.
Bibi’s music is unique because she puts names to feelings we didn’t realize we had. What I mean by that is that when you listen to her music, you feel such a specific mix of emotions that they can only be adequately described by her music. When I listen to “Birthday Cake”, I feel a very painful form of validation that brings me to a tearful catharsis, one that can only be articulated as “Birthday Cake”. When I listen to “BIBI Vengeance”, I feel enraged and empowered in a way that can only be articulated as the song’s Korean title “나쁜년” (which means “Bad B—”.) When I listen to “Animal Farm”, it conjures feelings of elegance, joy, and anguish. Every song of hers captures something new, something wholly special.
BIBI gives you the ability to feel more than you ever realized you could.
And that’s beautiful.