Artist of the month: Baby Queen

February Artist of the month by WWSC Music Writer: Georgina Crowther.

Baby Queen encapsulates every song that makes you want to throw your hands in the air and dance around your room like you just do not care!

The South African born singer packed up her bags and flew across the world to London to turn her dreams of becoming a musician true - and it is definitely paying off!

Her bold and honest lyrics combined with a guitar-led indie-pop sound, creates bop after bop that even the cynics will tap their feet to.

Whilst working in Rough Trade East, Baby Queen (aka Bella Latham) set out to evolve her craft. Her debut EP, ‘Medicine’ was released in 2020 receiving critical acclaim and attention from music magazines and critics - receiving four stars from NME.

Her witty and satirical lyrics speak to everyday life's observational details and the honest truth of her own experiences.

Speaking to NME, Baby Queen opened up about her honest lyrics surrounding mental health and her guilt complex for partying:

"The reason I've been so honest about mental health is because, through this period of time, it's been the biggest thing in my life. I haven't had anyone to write about. I went through a massive break-up just before this period of writing this Baby Queen music and I feel like you really, really focus on you when that happens. It's almost like a window breaks and you suddenly see everything that's going on. Honesty is the biggest defining characteristic of what I do." source

The 23-year old singer relays emotions that nearly every person has felt. 'Buzzkill' is centred around not wanting to be at a party, and based on a night out in East London, when Baby Queen started crying - the ultimate 'killjoy'. Despite this, Baby Queen states this as being her favourite track she has written to date.

Drawing upon her own experience of depression and taking anti-depressants, her debut EP brings solidarity and comfort to those going through similar emotions. But her relatability and connection with her fans doesn't stop with her music, the musician's website, nicknamed 'The Baby Kingdom', provides a space for her fans to talk about every topic under the sun.

Baby Queen is so close to her fans; she even writes letters to them:

'these people that I've connected with over the past few months are more similar to me than any of my actual friends that I have in real life.' source

Her latest track, 'Raw Thoughts', released in 2021, perpetuates the raw honesty that Baby Queen lives by. The song is a glittering example of an indie-pop anthem, which has been labelled as Baby Queen's most important song to date. The song is based on her recent breakup:

'I had realized that I could do or be whoever I wanted to be, even though the only thing I wanted was to be loved by them again.' source

Gaining widespread attention from iconic music legends such as Courtney Love, Baby Queen has started her music career by being the voice of the Pandemic Generation. She appeals to people with her raw and open lyrics that perpetuate life's intensities as a young adult.

After signing her record deal over Zoom, 2021 will be a big year for the indie-pop singer and one that you do not want to miss.