The heart of a rebel and the voice of a new generation.
At nineteen, most girls are obsessed with clothes, makeup, and boys. And although Bayje is like most nineteen year-olds, she also happens to be a musical prodigy. Blessed with a killer set of pipes and the looks of an angel, Bayje (pronounced "beige") was clearly born to sing. And with just one listen to her stunning multi-octave range, which greatly belies her age, you'll understand why her Atlantic debut album is already one of the most anticipated releases of 2008.
Unlike some of her cookie-cutter peers, don't look to Bayje to bust out some silly nursery songs. She may only be nineteen, but she's been honing her writing and performance skills for years, and she has worked with top-notch songwriters and producers in the process. She made important compositional contributions to her debut album, while riding beats by production hot-shots Scott Storch and Stargate, as well as collaborating with industry heavies like Brian Michael Cox.
While attending Roxboro Road Elementary and North Syracuse Junior High, she had been the victim of occasional discrimination. One day she came home with tears in her eyes and one question for her mother, "If I'm not black and I'm not white, what am I?" Her mother simply replied, "You're beige." When it came time to think of a stage name -- since her given name, Brittany, was a little too close to a certain infamous pop singer -- the word "beige" quickly came to mind. She just had to sprinkle a little bit of creativity and style on it to make it her own. The rest is B-A-Y-J-E history.
It's hard to believe that the outgoing and beautiful girl we see today was once someone that didn't really have friends until she was in the eighth grade. Growing up, she was considered one of the odd girls in school. She recalls, "My mom never really knew how to do my hair and I wanted to do it my way. So I would just go in with my hair looking crazy, like fro'd out on one side and straight on the other." Her struggle to find an identity led to a rebellious attitude towards life, but through all the fighting, tears, and heartache, music became her voice. She always believed that this was the only way that she could truly be heard.
Whether in the custody of her mother or on an occasional visitation to her father, she gained a balanced diet of musical flavors. It may have taken her some time to figure out her personal style but it seems as though traveling between her father's predominantly Black neighborhood and living with her mother in a mostly White one quickly opened her eyes to some of the cultural differences. This also helped Bayje learn and grow as an artist. When with her father she says, "I listened to Roger and Zapp and Rick James and I watched a lot of Soul Train." When home, "My mom had me listening to Led Zeppelin, Prince, Genesis, and Rod Stewart." And she added her personal favorites to the list, including Mariah Carey, Boys II Men, Whitney Houston, and Blackstreet.
Some frustration about the direction of her career led Bayje to take a break and return home to collect her thoughts. With no money saved, she arrived back in Syracuse only to find a job as a waitress. After only a few days of training she realized, "Yeah, I need to be a singer cause this real job thing isn't really working out for me." She had bigger plans for herself. With a new outlook on life, Bayje came back more determined than ever to complete writing and recording her debut album.
Her music is best described by Kevin Liles, the Warner Music Group executive who signed her to Atlantic Records: "Her music is a reflection of her real-life experiences." Bayje is a strong individual who refuses to let anyone control her. She's part of a new breed of artist: one that can put out a dance record like "Heavy Rotation" but at the same time release strong, meaningful songs like "Dear Mother" and "Find A Way."
For Bayje, her name really says it all -- someone whose talent blends cultures and transcends boundaries to create a sound and style driven by diversity, creativity, and unbounded energy.
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