It’s no surprise that Bex is the unapologetic rapper that she is. She hails from a solid foundation of matriarchal figures who have undoubtedly shaped her and her music. Now, together with a clique of FLINTA* artists, she’s reshaping the Vienna music scene.
“The universe owes me a beautiful adulthood.”
Bex was raised by her foster grandmother – the mother of her Austrian stepfather – in the Pongau region of Salzburg. It was a stark contrast to Busua, Ghana, where she was born and lived until she was 9 years old. Such discrepancies and transitions meant her childhood was not always easy: the only Black child in the town, and the only Black pupil at the school, she was subject to repeated bullying, ranging from racist comments on her appearance to (frequent) racially motivated threats to her safety. The problems were compounded by the stark ignorance and lack of support from the authority figures around her, and she was often left feeling alone and alienated. “Even the driver laughed along with them. I had to get off the school bus, and as soon as it passed, I just broke down”.
Fortunately, Bex was able to find solace both in her roots and in the love and care she received from her extended Austrian family. Her relationship with her Austrian grandmother beautifully mirrors the one she enjoyed with her Ghanaian grandmother, who passed away in 2018 but is still very much a part of Bex’s life. Showing me photos of them, Bex’s eyes grow wide with joy and full of admiration. From her Ghanaian grandmother, a seamstress and fashionista, Bex kept the kente and various garments left behind when she passed. Quite wonderfully, inheritances in the Fante – Bex’s ancestral tribe – traditionally pass to the first daughter; as such, her mother was prioritized, as was Bex in her turn. From the material possessions she had to choose from, she kept the precious fabric and clothing of her forbearers. Scrolling through more photos with a smile on her face, she shows her grandmother dressed head to toe in a satin Ankara print at formal occasions in Ghana, then photos of her mother (whom she strongly resembles) wearing an array of hairstyles and outfits that Bex recalls and relives fondly for a moment. Hairstyling and clothing are a huge part of Bex’s private persona, and these hand-me-downs have naturally become a central part of her identity as an artist as well.
‘Bundles’ of bangers
Her latest release is her first under her own name: the EP is titled “Bundles”, a reference to masses of hair (or weave), the raw material for an endless array of possible hairstyles. It speaks wonders of a Black woman’s power to create her own look – and emphasizes the importance of her having that control. It’s then no surprise that Bex’s artistic family is mainly made up of local queer Black hairstylists and creatives – her close friends W1ze, The Good Bush Project, Sunny Jana – who have supported her and her craft to date. Especially in light of the history of Black women’s hair and their creation of protective styles, the EP title alone carries a proud, political message of strength and resilience. The music is a back-to-back run of club bangers, covering rap, house and techno. The power of her performance is perceptible – loud, brazen, authentic lyrics and tracks that make you move and feel her big energy, even without a stage.
It wasn’t until 2019 that Bex moved to Vienna, but after that, things moved fairly quickly: one of her first performances, in 2021, was at a local event organized by female promoters and event managers. She could hardly have imagined that in just a year, she would be performing live at the Amadeus Awards show.
Bex notes that she and her bestie and fellow musician W1ze – despite the latter being nominated for the award for best sound – weren’t booked to perform at the awards ceremony, which is criticized annually for predominantly acknowledging and awarding white Austrian acts. Nonetheless, Bex was brought into the medley performance by the Viennese rapper, poet and author Yasmo. The performance marked her first national exposure, and it put Bex on the map: anyone who didn’t know before was now aware that Bex was a rapper to watch.
Bex’s Austrian grandmother (whom she describes as her biggest fan) and half-sister traveled in secret from Pongau to Vienna to surprise her at her Amadeus performance. Her grandmother watched from just a few meters away as the young woman she had raised showed a new bold side of herself. “I told my little sister not to tell my grandma I was making music,” she laughs. But perhaps she needn’t have worried: her Austrian family has supported her completely, signaling an acceptance of her in her totality. They even attended the Amadeus afterparty, where they met Bex’s friends and partied late into the night.
The sound of doors opening
Later, Bex reflects on the fact she was the first person to take her grandmother on a plane – she flips through photos of them together in Berlin, pausing at an especially cherished image, of her grandmother looking into the sunset on that first plane ride. Bex brought this woman out of her tiny village in Pongau and brought her along on her journey. Their bond is the foundation for many of Bex’s relationships with the women around her, women who continue to put forward her name in a world that suddenly seems full of opportunity.
Another of those opportunities was manifested recently, as – a scant four years after her arrival in Vienna – Bex performed on the main stage at Popfest Wien, often the springboard to the next stage of a young artist’s career. Add that to the new EP, set for release on August 11th, and the future looks bright indeed.
But Bex is taking it all in stride, seeing where it goes. She has created a life for herself that, as she manifested, far transcends the hardships of her childhood. As an artist, defying an environment that tried to tell her otherwise, she owns her image and persona completely. And now we know where that conviction, that self-confidence comes from: her grandmothers, and the women around her. And it runs deep.
Tonica Hunter