TRACK REVIEW: Bree Runway (ft. Missy Elliott) - ATM

TRACK REVIEW:

Bree Runway (ft. Missy Elliott)

PHOTO CREDIT: Lusha Alic

ATM

9.4/10

The track, ATM, is available from:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8MSrDtm_EPE

The mixtape, 2000AND4EVA, is available via:

https://open.spotify.com/album/4lmOcEBG9fJjc6UeMbttVt?si=d-wBLLMDQQS6fV1MKEG4mw

RELEASE DATE:

6th November, 2020

GENRES:

Hip-Hop/R&B

ORIGIN:

London, U.K.

LABEL:

EMI

TRACKLISTING:

APESHIT

LITTLE NOKIA

ATM (Ft. Missy Elliott)

DAMN DANIEL (ft. Yung Baby Tate)

ROLLS ROYCE

GUCCI (ft. Maliibu Miitch)

4 NICOLE THEA & BABY REIGN

NO SIR (FREESTYLE)

LITTLE NOKIA (ft. Rico Nasty)

__________

HERE is an artist who is definitely…

among the most exciting and explosive that the U.K. has seen for many years! I can’t think of another artists like Bree Runway who has that same air of star quality and panache. There is confidence is everything she does and, with a new mixtape out, it is the perfect time to review her. I will mention 2000AND4EVA at the end but, with ATM out there and showing Bree Runway in full flight, I wanted to highlight the song. It features vocals by Missy Elliott – someone who is a hero to Bree Runway. I am going to discuss Bree Runway before I get to the song and, whilst Missy Elliott does feature in the song, I feel Bree Runway is the main focus. Although she has a few E.P.s out already, I think the mixtape really announces her and shows top the world what she is all about! I want to take a chronological approach to Bree Runway, so I feel it is important to look back at her childhood and the environment she grew up in. As we discovered from a feature in DORK, it that classical portal, MTV, that stirred her imagination:

“In a way, she has. Born in Hackney, Bree grew up glued to the telly, watching music videos on MTV which influenced her own artistry later on (the 'APESHIT' video is so Missy Elliot, it got co-signed by the legend herself). A born performer, she'd put on shows for her family as a kid, organising the whole thing herself.

"My mum used to go to work, and me and my cousin would be left at home, and we would always watch MTV. That inspired me to start hosting mini-concerts to my family members," she says over the phone from London, where she's performing the decidedly less glam task of combing banana from a hair mask out of her hair.

“So I’d organise the line-up, and I would decide which cousin would be singing and which cousin would dance and which cousin would rap, and then I’d tell the adults that we’re gonna come down by eight o’clock, I need everyone’s sat down and then we’d perform for them. Then that carried through to primary school and stuff. I would do performances, and my mum was almost like our own Tina Knowles because she’d make our costumes for us. And she’s still very involved in my costume stuff today”.

I think the – at the time – toughness and danger in Hackney was pivotal when it came to adopting a survival-mode tactic and having tough skin. I think the area is better now but, years ago, there was a reputation that proceeded Hackney. For someone young trying to make their way and experiencing life, maybe Hackney was not the safest and most calming area of London to live in! In an interview with DIY from July, Bree Runway talked about her experiences in the area:

“Born and raised in Hackney, in an area that she refers to as ‘Murder Mile’, Bree is quick to note that, in order to survive in such an area, she needed to harden her skin. “Before I wasn’t strong enough, but as I grew, it was inevitable. [Hackney] has taught me to have a voice and stand by it,” she explains. Though she experienced bullying in her younger life, she credits those moments as shaping her both as a person and as an artist. “I stand for something so much stronger now,” she nods. “You can’t call me crazy for wanting to express myself a certain way”.

One thing that I have not covered up until this point is the inspiration behind the moniker. ‘Bree Runway’ is a very distinct name, and, with no obvious reason, I went on a bit of an exploitation. She conducted a really interesting interview with Equate Magazine and the question came up:

“EQ: How did you come up with the name ‘Bree Runway’ and who is she?

BR: The name Bree Runway actually came from a very long Facebook name that I made when I was around 16, it was a naming ceremony that my really cool cousin, Pedro, gave to all the cousins – we were all gathered, it was like a family party and his name was ‘Runway Pedro’ and I used to think he was so cool, he always had the latest fashions and everything like that, and I always thought “I wish I could be him, I really wish I could be him” but that day that he passed the runway name to me I was like “[gasp] I’m keeping it!” so I made a Facebook name and added ‘runway’, ‘Tokyo’ and everything you can think of. So, when it came to choosing an artist name I think I just looked at my Facebook name and thought “I think I will just pick something from this which is personal to me”. Then I cut my name down, my real name down, and used Bree, and picked runway from the name that was passed down to me. And now Bree runway is just this very super confident, super face, unique, one of one, she’s like nobody else, she is very fearless, and she’s just this powerhouse, a really tiny girl who is a powerhouse and is just day by day taking over the world. I feel like she is des- tined for world domination, yeah! That’s Bree Runway!

EQ: What inspired you to start creating music and who is your biggest inspiration?

BR: I’ve always been into music because I come from a very musical background, my dad was a drummer, he used to drum for church and he’s the one that always used to put me on to music. I always used to love how my mum would always dance around to it too, she is also a very creative per- son as well, she used to make her own clothes – she is a DIY queen! She was also always playing new songs – well, old songs, and so through my parents I think is where my love for music came from.

PHOTO CREDIT: Jenn Five

Even driving around to market with my mum always used to listen to Magic radio and I was just so mesmerised by the melodies. I feel like music from the ‘80s and ‘90s, Phil Collins, Whitney Houston – artists like that – inspired me to start creating music because the harmonies were just like “oh my God, this is so beautiful”. So, through that, and then artists like Lady Gaga, Freddie Mercury, David Bowie – seeing their artistry growing up really kicked me up the arse to be like “I want to do something like this. I feel like there’s something unique in me, as there is something unique in them”. I want to bring my piece of art and birth into the world”.

I do love the fact the Bree Runway was introduced to music through her mum, for the most part, and there was a lot of classics hits from the 1980s and 1990s in addition to MTV. It sounds pretty oldskool, which is surprising, as Bree Runway’s music has such a modern sound and is a lot different to the music one hears on stations like Magic. I was interested reading how Freddie Mercury came into her orbit, and I wonder whether Bree Runway projects and absorbs some of Mercury’s prowess and power. One cannot easily definer artists like her, but I was surprised by the musicians and sounds that she draws from. I will discuss Missy Elliott later, but I can just picture Bree Runway discovering all this great music and slowly putting together this sound of her own and dreaming of a career in music. I want to move on and, alongside her inspirations, one must talk about Bree Runway’s own style and approach.

When she spoke with NME, she explained the different sounds she mixed together and why she adopts such a fearless and effecting style of delivery:

“NME: Your music has earned you a cult following online because of its varied and fearless style. How would you describe your sound?

Bree Runway: “It’s genre-bending and genre-fluid. It’s pop, trap, dance, R&B, rock, PC music — hell, it’s even sometimes country music too! Black women in music are always expected to sing R&B or soul: we are always boxed in. I’m always asked if I’m a soul singer and I say, ‘No, actually, I make very in-your-face, destructive pop that is all genres and everything at once.’ I try to study a genre I don’t really listen to on a day-to-day-basis because there is honestly inspiration everywhere: it’s best to go digging in places you don’t normally go.

“Artists from my native Ghana got me into music and genres like High Life, that my dad would play constantly. My dad was a drummer and would always have music on around the house. It was through MTV that I started discovering artists like Lil’ Kim, Britney Spears, Madonna, Missy Elliott, Pharrell, Kelis, The Neptunes: those artists helped me to evolve my sound into what it is today. When these guys performed, they gave a major middle finger to the industry and didn’t give a fuck. They weren’t afraid to get ugly for their art, and that kind of non-conformity drives what I do”.

It is intriguing learning about her Ghanaian heritage and how that mixes with conventional music of the West that she was exposed to young. With some Missy Elliott and Madonna fusing with some of her dad’s influence, it must have been a very vivid and eclectic household in which to live!

PHOTO CREDIT: Qavi Reyez

I want to quickly mention Bree Runway’s visual identity, as I think that is important and naturally partners with the music. Her photos are captivating, as she has this style that is very much her own, and she does explode off of the screen/page. When she was in conversation with PAPER, Bree Runway’s fashion and visual approach was raised:

“This is apparent in Bree's frenetic, yet singular sound, which fuses rapping, singing and a mind-melding array of genre influences, both modern and retro. Visually, Bree incorporates freestyle and pop choreography, turns eye-catching, high-fashion looks and addresses savvy social commentary (i.e. the gender wage gap, racial injustices and self-image). Take a look at recent videos to last year's breakout Be Runway EP tracks "Big Racks" (with Brooke Candy), "2ON" and the Missy Elliott-approved "Apeshit," and quickly find yourself immersed in Bree's colorful world.

Even with the support of a label, who, depending on the artist, might install marketing and creative teams to create an artistic vision from scratch, Bree controls her vision every step of the way. And as a dark-skinned Black woman from London, who has risen above her fair share of systemic bullshit, Bree's calling the shots is non-negotiable”.

Alongside such amazing and individual fashions is her music, which is full of energy and colour. The videos Bree Runway has put out are amazing indeed. In a feature with NYLON from this year, Bree Runway talked a bit more about her dynamic and sound:

“High-octane visuals have since become somewhat of a calling card for the young artist, which she pairs effectively with equally bold music, a sound she once described to NME as “destructive pop that is all genres and everything at once.” While “Gucci” flirts with a steely, club-like anthem, “Apeshit” is full ‘90s hip-hop, complete with flares of electric guitar and thumping percussion; what makes both memorable is Bree's potent delivery: confident and alight with attitude.

“I just feel like you've got to leave the viewer wanting more, and that's what those kinds of videos from the early 2000s made me want,” Bree, aka Brenda Mensah, says over the phone one morning from lockdown in London. “I want them to want more and to watch it again”.

Even though Bree Runway has a few E.P.s credited under her name – including 2015’s RNWY 01 -, Be Runway of last year was really her proper introduction, I think. The fact she has put out a mixtape just after a year from that E.P. shows that she is spilling over with ideas and there is this relentless sense of curiosity and passion that one can hear in her music. I want to mention that Be Runway E.P., as it is a truly striking debut. In an interview with The Line of Best Fit, Bree Runway discussed the influences behind the E.P.:

“From '90s TV shows to Ghanian Highlife, from trap to 70s baroque-pop, from Banksy to bespoke furniture, Runway’s influences are expansive, and it plays in her favour. Tracks like new offering “Damn Daniel” are inventive, playful, genre-defying and unique. Filming the video during lockdown pushed her creative direction full circle, serving herself the twenty-seven page guidebook. Featuring Atlanta’s Yung Baby Tate, the two vocalists take on the characters Keisha and Felicia, dancing through a colour-rush of Fresh Prince inspired, 90s MTV chaos.

On her first EP Be Runway she jumps from confessional catharsis to buoyant hooks in the space of a middle-eight. Runway’s talent lies in her ability to piece together the past in a way that’s personal, refreshing and immediate.

Bullied at school over the colour of her skin, Runway resorted to skin-bleaching creams as a teenager. “There’s so many behind the counter products that change your skin tone, it’s actually crazy,” she explains. “All you have to tell them is, no not that one, the one behind the counter. And they look at you and it’s like, alright. Almost like a drug transaction. You’ve just got to give them the wink and they’ll give it to you”.

One really interesting facet of Be Runway is its cover. On it, we see an image of Bree Runway’s face half painted white, as she smiles. It is a very memorable image and, when she spoke with Equate Magazine, the subject of that cover was explored:

“EQ: Identity plays a big part in your artistry – we’ve seen from your last EP cover. Can you explain that a little to us and why it was important to portray?

BR: That [EP cover] was actually inspired by a lady who inspires me a lot; Grace Jones. Grace Jones did a cover for The Face Magazine, and I wanted to find a way, on my cover, to portray the fact that we live in a generation where everybody doesn’t want to be themselves. They don’t really want to be themselves, and that’s what inspired me to make music, I was specifically getting at how we, in the times we live, as black people, are the blueprint. And although in time we’ve been tortured, we’ve been embarrassed, we’ve been disgraced, we’ve been talked down upon – people don’t want to see us up, but in all that we continue to rise and evolve be- cause it’s what we’re great at doing. I feel as though through all of that the oppressor, whoever this may have been, just wants to be like us because we have everything. We have the rhythm, we have the sound, the style, we even had the resources, the land – everything. So, what’s happening on the cover is a Caucasian person who has used my “BE RUNWAY” spray, which I was selling in the ‘Two On’ music video, and has spread them- selves to be runway, and be me! So, it has two meanings, this is just one of the meanings, where although people want to put us down we actually are the blueprint, and here they are happy as hell to spray the spray to be Bree Runway, a black woman who is jazzy as fuck [laughs]. The other meaning behind the spraying yourself to be Bree Runway is it could be for anyone who presses play is actually using that spray to be Runway because being Run- way represents freedom, and represents a limitless way of thinking, there are no boundaries in my art, and in my lyrics.

I really don’t give a fuck, basically. So, you listening to me – I hope it inspires you to just free yourself, free your mind, and of any status quos, especially as a young black girl. I always told: “you can’t do this, you can’t do that” and we are always put into a box, but I hope I inspire you to carve your own lane and make your own print in the world. You don’t have to copy anyone else and that’s what Bree Runway is about”.

I am going to finish off by exploring the subject of race and how, as a black woman, Bree Runway has experienced life and the music industry. I have a few things to get to before that conclusion, but I wanted to briefly touch on the L.G.B.T.Q.I.A.+ community, as she has had their support since the beginning. When Bree Runway spoke with the Gay Times, she was asked about her connection with her L.G.B.T.Q.I.A.+ fans:

“The gays are going to go crazy, that’s for sure. It felt like there was an immediate connection between you and your LGBTQ+ fans – how early on did you notice their support?

I would say 2017 when I dropped What Do I Tell My Friends? I was like, ‘Oh, y’all love me? I love y’all too.’ Like, literally. I love their support so much because it’s very much like how I support people, in the sense where it’s shame-free. It’s loud. It’s proud. You really do feel it. It’s OTT. It’s everything that I am, you know what I mean? I feel like sometimes people shy away from supporting certain people, that are stars and maybe have the numbers or whatever, because ‘Oh, I don’t want to come across as a beg. I don’t want to come across as a fan.’ But there’s none of that, that pride in that community. It’s just no, ‘We love you, and we’re showing you that we love you.’ I can relate to that kind of love, that kind of celebrating a person because that’s how I am as a person. I’m shame-free. If I fuck with you, yes, I’m gonna show you! I’m gonna support you loudly and proudly. I love that”.

I want to finish this section by talking about Bree Runway’s association with Missy Elliott. From idolising her on MTV and listening to her music as a child to actually working with her, it must have seemed like an impossible dream come true for the London-born artist! Even before the two hooked up on ATM, Missy Elliott delivered a thumbs-up to another track - as we learn from the NME interview:

“One of your heroes growing up, Missy Elliott, gave your latest single ‘APESHIT’ her seal of approval recently. How did it feel seeing her reaction?

“It was mad! I’m so thrilled but I still feel like my body is still in a really intense shock mode after seeing that unfold. It was 3AM and I was literally screaming when I saw that Missy Elliott tweeted about the ‘Apeshit’ video. I obviously couldn’t scream loudly — it was 3AM! — but it was like an internal scream and of course then I started to shake. Missy Elliott!

“When I was growing up, I was glued to MTV watching Missy and here she was, bigging up my new single. She’s also following me on social media now and I still can’t believe it!”

That song clearly had the Hip-Hop queen hooked and, before long, Missy Elliott was recording with Bree Runway on a stunning new track. Returning to that interview with the Gay Times, and Bree Runway revealed how the new collaboration came about:

“Honestly speaking, that shit is the wildest shit ever. It’s even wilder, because I remember when Gucci dropped. The internet was going crazy for it and I was like, ‘Okay, I gotta get off my phone. This is too much. Wow, this is great.’ So I’m about to close my eyes and sleep, and it’s like 12am at this point. I get a call and I’m like, ‘Hmm, it’s my ANR at this time.’ I mean, we talk around the clock anyway, but I was like, ‘What’s happening?’ He was like, ‘You need to wake up right now. Missy’s team reached out and she wants to do a record with you.’ I was like, ‘Pardon?’ He’s like, ‘Yeah.’ I was like, ‘Pardon? What are we gonna send her?’ We sent ATM, and he came back and said, ‘Yeah, she wants to do it.’ I’m like, ‘What?’ It’s wild, because that’s someone that I’ve grown up admiring. That’s someone who has paved the way for an alternative girl like myself, and you want to work with me?”.

ATM is a terrific cut from the mixtape. The introduction finds Bree Runway asking “Do you like money?/A-T-M, A-T-A-T-M/A-T-M, A-T-A-T-M/A-T-M, A-T-A-T-M/Push my button, my button again”, and she delivers the lines in quite a teasing and sensuous way. The flow accelerates as Bree Runway talks about a guy who is only interested in sex, and all the heroine is interested in is a finer style of life; she is quite classy and will not be cheapened by someone so prurient and lacking in respect –“You know what I need and there ain’t nobody finer/Shoes, top, skirt, bling, purse, all designer/Huh, tough bitch but my ass soft/They said I look like a painting by Van Gogh/You know a girl like me cost/Ain’t gotta talk too much, but you know what’s up”. I do love the rather American aspect of an A.T.M., and how Bree Runway has sort of intrigued and hooked this guy, but she is letting him know what the score is! The chorus comes back in – where Bree Runway and Missy Elliott are together -, and then Missy Elliott takes the second verse. Like Bree Runway’s experiences, there is this directness from a guy, but there is this sense of him being a bit too below her station – “Met this dude in Wеst Palm Beach/He was so fine, askеd, could he call me/Yeah, probably if you spend your money/But if you don’t got a job, get the hell up off me”. Money and aspirational desires mix with rawer sexual desires and something more explicit. Missy Elliott is typically assured on the verse, and she explains how Jamaican guys are her type; Missy Elliott pops and grooves on top of a great beat.

The idea of these guys who are hitting on Missy Elliott and Bree Runway being a bit cheap is highlighted; both give them a piece of their mind, and Missy Elliott is definitely not going to settle. “Misdemeanor all in the bag, that’s Birkin/Showtime, open up the curtain/I’m a classy chick, y’all birds still chirping/Ooh, ooh, y’all birds still chirping/I got so much drip, you could see me surfing”. I get a real vibe of the 1990s and the classic Hip-Hop from that time and, whilst it is clear that Missy Elliott songs like Work It are a frame of reference on ATM, Bree Runway makes the song her own and combines superbly. The flow and rhythm has a lot in common with Missy Elliott’s work, but the vocal sound and the incredible delivery is very much the work of Bree Runway! Both artists have a different approach and vocal sound, and it is wonderful hearing them trade verses. It is a shame that a video cannot be made that would really bring the words to life – one that is quite steamy and racy; perhaps Bree Runway and Missy Elliott in the U.S. and putting the world to rights! After Missy Elliott has delivered her verse, Bree Runway takes the reigns of the song once more. In the bridge, Bree Runway declares: “Whine your body now/Make him spend some more/Ain’t nothing personal (Unh)”. The bridge has a nice echoing sound, and it slows the pace down somewhat before the chorus races back in. On the longest song from 2000AND4EVA (at just over three minutes) Bree Runway (and Missy Elliott) pack so much in. As I said, it is a pity that a video might not be possible; at least not one that is as ambitious and physical as perhaps Bree Runway had envisaged, ATM is one of the definite highlights from a fantastic mixtape! It is a terrific track where Bree Runway gets to pair with a musical inspiration of hers – and she manages to match Missy Elliott in terms of confidence, commitment and skill!

IN THIS PHOTO: Missy Elliott/PHOTO CREDIT: Cindy Ord/BET/Getty Images

There are a couple of things that I want to explore before finishing up. One subject that I wanted to explore is how Bree Runway experiences music and feels being a black woman in the industry. From the Equate Magazine interview, that aspect did come up:

“EQ: As a young black female in the industry do you feel like you’ve faced any challenges making your way to the top? Do you ever feel need to compromise?

BR: In life, in general I feel like at some points I have had to compromise. Maybe when I first started I felt like, or at some point in my career, as I was crossing over to the sound that I have now I did feel like for me to actually chart, and fully make it as a pop star – because I’ve always wanted to be a pop star but my sound started of very urban at first – I felt like I needed to almost whitewash my music in order for me to make it and that’s really not the case – the key was and is to just be myself really. I did feel like that though at some point because I looked at the charts and I saw the kind of pop music that was charting and I thought “damn, I don’t sit in the same house as these sounds, this is not really me”. The key is that as a young black female in the industry, you just have to just stay true to what’s on your heart sound wise and it’s going to resonate with everyone. Also, it goes back to the ‘Big Racks’ cover – what I was trying to capture is that being a black female, there are a lot of challenges we face and comprises we have to make which aren’t necessarily true to our authentic selves. It boils down to having to speak in a certain way in workspaces – you’re thinking “is my name too African to get this job”, and doors can be closed to us just because of this. We always have to find a mask to put on to not offend or be “too black”, so yes, I did reach that place musically, and I’ve been there too in the normal working world, but I really did question whether I’d have to dilute my sound in order to make it, but I realised that’s not and should never be the case”.

Bree Runway is an inspiring artist for so many people out there, no less Black girls who watch her videos. The confidence Bree Runway shows and the messages she sends out are definitely making an impression on a lot of people. In the interview with DORK, Bree Runway talked about what she wanted to achieve regarding her time in music:

“But learning to love herself was crucial to who she is as an artist today. Click on any of her music videos or check the replies to her tweets and you'll find many young Black girls telling Bree what an inspiration she is and how she's everything they wanted to see in a pop star growing up. The video for 'Big Racks' kicks off with statistics about racism in the workplace, and throughout she's shown experiencing various microaggressions, and eventually covering her face in white plasters to assimilate.

"I want to stand for something, you know, because in general I do stand for something, and I want to show that to like the world as well. I'm not someone that just gets up on camera and dances like I really do care about shit. And with my platform, no matter how big or small I want to share my own important shit".

When she spoke with NYLON, that topic of being an inspiration came up - and Bree Runway feels that responsibility when she hears positive feedback:

“Your music has really inspired a lot of young women, especially young black women. I was on YouTube and I saw a lot of comments saying that you're the black pop star that they've always dreamed of. How does it feel to hear that?

Do you know what, it makes me feel or it reiterates to me that I have a responsibility, and me being a musician is just more than anything you could, I don't know, it's just less about the vanity and more about the purpose, 100%. I feel like I was placed in this position to almost be like a gateway to women in the next generation. Even women of all ages, I think. We all struggle with that limitation that has been put on black women like growing up, there's still women repairing themselves from traumas in their past and things that have been said about them, or how they've been made to seem at work. There's so many different ways you can face limitations as a black girl”.

I will wrap up, but I wanted to bring in a fun little bit of an interview that Bree Runway conducted with London in Stereo which was quite quick-fire; where she talked about her favourite music/books etc:

“Earliest song you remember…

spice girls – viva forever! I was so young and dramatic, it used to make me cry all the time! it has such a euphoric feel to it, I imagine if ascending to heaven was a song? that would be it.

The worst job I’ve ever had…

omg, so I had to quit my dream retail job at Christian Louboutin, my music schedule was getting so busy but then I started getting super low on cash, I had to start waitressing, they treated me like absolute crap, managers had 0 respect for waitressing staff, it was so depressing. but I had to pay them bills!!

A book I love…

‘The Secret’ there’s so much power in that book and has really contributed to my positive, ambitious mindset! I dream with NO limits, always”.

I have no idea whether Bree Runway is planning any gigs but do keep your eyes out as she will definitely want to hit the road soon! The 2000AND4EVA mixtape is a stunning release, and there are some great collaborations alongside tracks where Bree Runway is at the centre. It has received some great reviews, and it looks set to be one of the best releases of 2020. I look forward to seeing where Bree Runway goes from here, but it is clear that she has a very bright and busy future! I can imagine her conquering the world very soon and making it to the same level as one of her idols, Missy Elliott. On songs such as ATM, and the fantastic 2000AND4EVA mixtape, Bree Runway shows that she is very much…