Bree Runway has been making her way in this industry since 2015. And she’s been using her edge to create a lot of buzz. She’s creating an emerging yet steady career for herself. And that is why I chose her as the “Rising Artist of the Week”.
Bree Runway’s sound is a combination of things. she describes it as “genre-bending” as well as “genre-fluid”. We can always look forward to her experimenting with various sounds and genres. Bree Runway signed to EMI Records in 2018. She released her first commercial EP Be Runway in August 2019, followed by her debut mixtape, 2000and4Eva, in November 2020. However, she didn’t gain much attention that is until she released “What Do I Tell My Friends?” alongside an amazing music video, highlighting the exploitation of young females in the fashion industry. She also went viral for posing in look 4 of Moschino’s FW20 RTW for September’s issue of Harper’s Bazaar.
2020–present: 2000and4Eva
On 5 March 2020, Bree Runway released the critically acclaimed single “Apeshit”. It immediately drew immediate comparisons to Missy Elliott who would later co-sign the track on Twitter. A censored version of the song titled, “Ain’t It”, was included on the “FIFA 21 VOLTA” Football soundtrack. In April 2020, Bree Runway was featured on the cover of Issue 87 of British magazine Notion. On 28 April 2020, Runway announced that her next single would be titled “Damn Daniel” and would be a collaboration with rapper Yung Baby Tate. The single was also released alongside a “quarantine edition” music video.
I really became a hardcore fan of Bree Runway when she released the single “Gucci” with Maliibu Miitch (I love her). She bodied that music video! I feel like it was at this point that her visuals and artistry really started to elevate. She also released the single “Little Nokia” in September 2020, which would later go onto be ranked the fourth best song of 2020 by Time magazine. In October 2020, Bree Runway was the cover star for the DIY issue of British magazine Hunger.
Conclusion
“I always feel the need to correct people anytime they call me an R&B sensation. I’ve said it before, and I’ll repeat it. I’m not R&B. I need to keep reinforcing this because the world is so obsessed with labelling people and putting them in boxes that sometimes people lose who they are, and then they start obsessing and put themselves in a box. Then people don’t feel comfortable stepping out and being who they are because this is what they are being told is how they should be, and it’s so wrong.”
—Bree Runway on genre categorization
Her mixtape, 2000and4Eva was supported by the dope singles; “Apeshit”, “Damn Daniel”, “Gucci“, “Little Nokia” and “ATM”. The music video for “ATM” featuring Missy Elliott was truly everything! The modern flapper girl theme was black girl magic. And anything with Missy Elliot is guaranteed to be visually amazing! On 28 March 2021, Bree Runway announced the release of the single, “Hot Hot” on March 31 2021. She also just killed a shoot for Paper Magazine. Basically, she has her foot our necks and she’s not letting up! I can’t wait to see her glow enhance over the coming years!