Bhad Bhabie is the 2 Live Crew or Twisted Sister of 2018. The young rapper seems to have brought out the alarmist cultural watchdogs of our age. It may be that she’s female. Or that she’s not old enough to drive. Bhad Bhabie is the stage and internet name of Danielle Bregoli, a 15-year-old social-media star and meme generator. Bregoli came to some people’s attention when she appeared on the Dr. Phil show as a troubled and belligerent teen.
The fact that 15-year-olds curse and do all kinds of other stuff shouldn’t really be a surprise. If Bhad Bhabie’s rapping and social-media persona make you think that civilization is perhaps coming to an end, consider the grown-ups, podcast hosts, legally adult collaborators, and legit old, label execs who turn Bhad Bhabie’s content into cash. (That’s nothing new.) Adding to the formula for the general outrage, Bregoli, who is white, appropriates black culture pretty relentlessly. (Also nothing new.) And her rapping style is often fixated on throwing poison darts at anyone she doesn’t like, which amounts to anyone who doesn’t like her, which translates to a lot of people.
Bregoli just released a new single, “Gucci Flip Flops,” earlier in the spring, a collaboration with the rapper Lil Yachty, which seems to be in part about the question of whether to wear socks or expensive sandals while having sex with someone else’s partner.
Bhad Bhabie will be at Toad’s Place, 300 York St., New Haven, on Saturday, May 12, at 9 p.m. Tickets are $20 and $25. toadsplace.com, 203-624-8623.
