BIA is a shortened name of Bianca, the Christian name of the American rapper. With an ancestry of Italian and Puerto Rican descent, she has a rich tapestry of culture to pull on when it comes to her influences. She signed to RCA way back in 2014, but it wasn’t until 2018 that her first EP was released. Since then, there have been regular releases and a string of accolades that are well-deserved.

"Sixteen" seems to refer to an age - an age where life was fairly different for Bia. If you don’t know the artist, there is a fortune transformation, and at sixteen, she was far from affluent or lucky. This song describes in short bursts the events that marked what would appear to be a troubled adolescence, but then the change to where she is now. With rap, the lyrics are clear to hear, the delivery is excellent, and you are left hanging off every word as the story is told.

With the emphasis on the lyrics of the track, the music that sits behind them, whilst clever, is at the same time relatively straightforward. With a simple trap beat pushing the tempo, it allows for the quite intricate and pacy vocal lines to come through. There is a solid, steady bass and some synths that make up the rest of the backing. I think had there been much more to the instrumentation, it may have spoiled the song, which shows the expert craftsmanship that has gone into putting sixteen together.

Author: Phil Arnold

Phil Arnold is a musician, producer and music reviewer from Devon, in the South West of England. Whilst not writing music reviews, Phil also writes and records under the name of Ugbrooke.