“We’re Not Having No Boyfriends”: A Six-Minute Cig With Bronx Rapper Baby Osama

SATURDAY 4:39 PM JULY 13, 2024 DOWNTOWN

Trump got shot in the ear, but Baby Osama got jumped outside the airport and “slammed” that bitch. So tell me, who should be president? On Saturday, the pluggnb princess showed up to her concert in Union Square with her right arm in a sling, enthusiastically promoting her new album SEXC SUMMER, which dropped last week. On the record, Osama fights through a breakup and winds up in a space of catharsis, “having fun doing what the fuck you wanna do.” After her performance, the 21-year-old rapper rolled up a cig and took off down the street in pursuit of a food truck, where we tracked her down for a quick debrief in the back of a Cadillac Escalade. Charmingly shy and slightly buzzed, Osama confessed her love for thongs, how she combats stage fright, and what she’s doing to Bronx boys. (First motion on her presidential agenda: “kill them motherfuckers.”)

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EMMA STOUT: What are you smoking today?

BABY OSAMA: Today, I am smoking block work. Blockie!

STOUT: Period.

OSAMA: Hell yeah.

STOUT: Congrats on your new album, first of all.

OSAMA: Thank you.

STOUT: SEXC SUMMER.

OSAMA: Yes.

STOUT: What makes a Sexc Baby Osama Summer?

OSAMA: Just having fun, you feel me? Not giving a fuck. We’re not having no boyfriends. We’re not committing to nothing. No girlfriends, you feel me? That’s the Sexc Summer. Having fun doing what the fuck you want to do.

STOUT: Exactly. Wait, describe your fit.

OSAMA: My fit? I got Rick Owens on, ACG boots, and a Protect the Lord shirt.

STOUT: Are you spiritual?

OSAMA: Actually, no. I believe in science, but I need to be spiritual because I need to find peace of mind. So… yeah.

STOUT: How do you find that peace of mind before playing a set?

OSAMA: To be honest, I just take a shot and smoke a little.

STOUT: What are you taking a shot of?

OSAMA: Espolòn.

STOUT: Tequila only, right?

OSAMA: Tequila only.

STOUT: This summer, are we wearing Hanes or are we wearing thongs?

OSAMA: Ooh, this is a tricky one. We’re wearing thongs because in the wintertime we closing it up, feel me? The goodies is being closed. The treasure’s closed.

STOUT: On the first half of the album, you’re going through all the stages of a breakup. Anger, like on “If I See You Wit Her,” and then you say something a little too mean and double-back. Is that based on your own personal experiences?

OSAMA: Yeah, it definitely is because that’s dead exactly it. In the beginning of the tape, I was mad and stuff. Then I’m like, “I’m wilding.” I could just move on. I don’t have to sit here and trip. I literally could just move on. This is something I don’t want in the future, so what am I tripping for? Then at the end I’m just like, “What’s up? Where the thooties at?”

STOUT: That’s where the real Sexc Summer comes in for me. Wait, I have to ask about part of your fit [gestures toward Osamaa’s arm sling]. What happened?

OSAMA: Oh, my hand. So basically, I popped my shoulder out of place fighting. I slammed some girl and when I slammed her I was on top of her and my shit was broke the whole time. So I went to the hospital and they put the sling on. So, I got to let the sling hang.

STOUT: It’s kind of fire, though.

OSAMA: For real?

STOUT: I fuck with it. Why’d you body slam her? What was the reason?

OSAMA: I am not going to lie, my loyalty is strong for people and she played me in my face. It’s like, “I really treated you like family, and you played me.” I didn’t even want to fight. It was self-defense, for real. She pulled up on me at the airport, so it was just like, I had to perform.

STOUT: Where’s TSA at? Fuck.

OSAMA: That’s what I’m saying. I had to really perform.

STOUT: I’m voting for you for president.

OSAMA: Please, bro.

STOUT: Okay, fuck, marry, kill: Bronx Boys, Washington Square Warriors, Brooklyn DJs.

OSAMA: I’m going to fuck Brooklyn. I’m going to kill Bronx Boys, kill them motherfuckers. And I’m going to marry the what, SoHo niggas?

STOUT: Yeah.

OSAMA: Hell yeah, I’m going to marry them.

STOUT: What’s up with the Bronx Boys?

OSAMA: I’m not going to lie, everybody in the Bronx sometimes be hating and it’s just like… I don’t know. They all thooties to the max. They real sleazy. I’m sleazy, but I will not fuck with a Bronx nigga. Hell no.

STOUT: Last question. Your album is 18 minutes in total. When I was listening to it, I was thinking about that PinkPantheress interview where she was like, “A song doesn’t need to be over two minutes.” I want to know how you feel about these rappers, like Gucci releasing a four-hour album.

OSAMA: I feel like it’s extra. Everything’s so fast-paced, bro. Nobody gives a fuck, for real. We just wanna hear what we want to hear. And I’m not going to lie, everybody nowadays got ADHD, so nobody can just stay on one thing. We don’t care.