Introducing our community to an authentic and multifaceted artist, Bella Renee. A household name within the industry through various communities in the electronic scene. Whether you listen to her breathtaking standout lyrics in collaborations with big names like REAPER, MitiS, and Blossom, or catch her making waves through her socials by advocating for vulnerability and honesty with mental health in the music industry. Bella Renee truly has become a powerful force within the dance community!
Recently becoming a part of our Hawk Eye Artists to Watch List for 2024, we got to sit down with the incredible artist. Electric Hawk got to speak about the project’s origins, astounding growth, and openness about mental health. Dive into why Bella Renee has been stunning the crowds everywhere she goes!
In Conversation with Bella Renee
seradopa: Well I’ve known about you as an artist since 2021. But for our audience, what is the origin story of the Bella Renee project?
Bella Renee: My origin story? I’ve been doing this now for almost 10 years, just pursuing music in general. Throughout my whole life, I’ve had just one passion, and that was to be an artist.
When I was growing up I would perform in cafes. I was just known as a girl who did music. I would also do pageants. That way I could get that stage presence, practice, and exercise. Which honestly, I had a really bad experience with pageants. But I’m grateful because it allowed me to gain that stage presence and overall articulation in front of crowds.
Then I went to Berklee College of Music. I moved across the country at 18 years old. And I ended up dropping out. While I was there I was doing a lot of Indie Folk and Pop. I had like a full band and we had a banjo, trumpet, violin, drums, and a keyboard. We would perform throughout Boston. I had two bands and they were called Indie Blue and Bella Renee and Company.
Then I dropped out and moved back to Phoenix. I’ve been producing out of logic, I would make some original songs. In 2018 and 2019 I was just like, “What am I waiting for?”
I started looking up music producers in my area, studios in my area, where can I get my music professionally recorded. From there, I had four jobs at one time [Starbucks, Server and Hostess, and Doordasing] so I could pay for my studio fees and anything else I needed.
I just snapped out of it, I guess. And I knew I could make this happen. I just needed to know how. Then I met some people who got me into collaborating with EDM DJs. I started working with some people who were managing me at the time. They were sending me a ton of collaboration offers and I started working with DJs. It just snowballed from there.
I’ve always been a fan of EDM. My dad would play electronic music and my little brother is a prodigy in the making. He goes by Lumo and he would like DJ talent shows as a fifth grader! I got to learn about DJing through him and realized that it’s an art form.
Then I did “IMY” [by REAPER] and that took off! That was literally insane!
I didn’t know much about top lining and there are multiple sources of income you can have as a singer. My mind was opened up to all these different opportunities.
Lastly, I DJed at my first festival this year at Decadence Arizona. For the longest time, I was just known as a vocalist that was featured, and then from there, I was thinking, “I need to figure out how I can just be like a full act because that’s what’s in my blood.”
That’s always been what I’ve done! I put on a show and connect with people that way. I live and breathe music! It honestly is the one thing that has kept me afloat in my life for the longest time. Music has always been something that has just gotten me out of bed at the end of the day.
seradopa: Last year, you were given the opportunity to be the first release of the GRL GANG imprint, how did it feel to have that chance to show their community more of your solo music?
Bella Renee: Literally being the inaugural release was amazing! Jeanie is amazing!
GRL GANG was one of the organizations I found online. They were more like a blog, writing articles and mixes at first. Then they said, “Yo, we’re actually turning into a record label as well.”
I emailed them and said, “Hey, I have this original song I’ve been working on I would love to release on your label.”
And [Jeanie] said, “We will have you as the inaugural release!”
That was a candid moment for me!
seradopa: It’s a great song! Very catchy and it came out perfectly during the Spring. Right in time to ring in the Summer.
Bella Renee: “Oblivion” is my favorite song that I’ve done. Obviously, there are so many favorite ones that I’ve done, but this one means a lot. It was about my great-grandma and we were really close to her. And she passed away. It was cool to write about something from the perspective I had of somebody passing, you know? She’s with me forever.
seradopa: 2024 has been already a huge year working with artists like Pushing Daizes, Shndo, other Dim Mak releases, and reuniting with REAPER, how does it feel to be releasing all these tracks this year?
Bella Renee: Honestly, I’ve always wanted to be really big on being transparent and authentic and geared towards mental health. Because of what I’m currently writing about, It’s cool to see my music map out my life for me. Recently, I feel I’ve gone through it and my life has cycles in a way. So every time I have a release it’s almost perfect timing aligned with the universe and just full-circle moments.
Every time I can release something that I’ve been sitting on for a while, especially the recent REAPER collab it’s cool to see myself heal from those moments that I wrote about. I see so many people message me and say, “Hey, you are making me see life in a completely different way.”
That was one of the main things that I remember getting a message from somebody. If I can keep being authentic and honest, I really believe that it’s helping people!
seradopa: You’ve touched on it a bit but I know you’ve been an advocate for mental health. How important is it for people to make it a priority, especially in the music industry?
Bella Renee: The beginning of my career, in 2020, when [the pandemic] hit, I believe that it affected everyone’s mental health. We were just put in such a crazy situation! And that was at the beginning of my career, I ended up actually spending time on my mental health in the hospital. From there, I met so many people who made me grateful for my life.
It was such a crazy moment for me, especially being in music. And like having that struck already pulled me out of my world for a long time and I couldn’t have my phone. I couldn’t go and post anything like I just sat there with everything and went through it. That’s why I carry mental health so much closer to me than anything else that I want my brand to represent. I’m writing about how I feel, and how I feel is so relatable in so many ways to a lot of people.
Slowly, I’m beginning to talk about what I’ve dealt with in my music career. And I’ve noticed that it doesn’t matter who you have on your team, it doesn’t matter who is surrounding you if you are not holding yourself – you have to be very careful with yourself and protect your energy. That honestly is so hard to do in the music industry! You’re constantly tiptoeing around the different dynamics in the music industry and different egos and your own ego. The vices that you can run into, you know?
We’re all artists and we’re so fragile. It’s just really important for me to talk about!
seradopa: No, that’s awesome! With your music and writing, you’re getting an opportunity to release all these things you keep inside differently and healthily, which is pretty cool! You also tell your community and are very transparent. I find that amazing because you don’t see that a lot!
Bella Renee: I mean, I still fall to those lonely days. It’s just important to be honest because you never know who is out there. Just waiting for something to grasp onto to make them feel like they’re not alone. I saw this quote the other day and it was like
“I will write something that will help someone survive.”
That is just a mantra that I tell myself every day because one moment of vulnerability and sharing something you went through can save somebody!
seradopa: What do you believe has been changing for the better and what do you believe needs to be improved/changed immediately in our industry? How could we better build a supportive community within the electronic scene?
Bella Renee: Well, there’s one – also more quotes! I got a lot of quotes up in here!
[Laughs]
“Life doesn’t get better, you do.”
And that’s something that I tell myself all the time because we can’t wait for the music industry to change. But it’s going to take generations of people standing up and demanding that we’re treated equally. Demanding that we have a voice to be able to talk about what we’ve been through and be authentic. We can preach about being authentic all the time. We all know that there’s a mask you can put on to come off that way and still feel like you’re not getting so fulfilled in the ways that you need to be as a woman artist in the industry.
I believe we can do an all-round better job at knowing that we are all on our own journey. We are all human beings. We tell ourselves it’s a game, we have to play it.
As I was talking to you guys about the Women’s Initiatives. If we are not whole then we’re going to project that. We need to be intentional about what we do. So that way, we can stand up for somebody! Because if we can’t stand up for ourselves, these microaggressions add up.
But as a collective, we can be like, “That’s not allowed, and I’m going demand my respect for it.”
I believe in more respect, more self-love, more inclusivity – it’s not a game. It’s real life. We’re all human beings, so we don’t have to play each other like a game, we don’t have to do that! We can just operate at a great natural, authentic frequency! Then not everybody has to tiptoe around these blockages of energy. I look at it in such a spiritual way because I’m so spiritual, just in general, sometimes we just forget that we’re all just human beings. We’re like kids with a dream, you know?
seradopa: How surreal does it feel to reflect on your journey in the past three years?
Bella Renee: Literally, insane!
I can’t believe I was waiting for this to happen for the longest time. Recently, I actually hit 31 million career streams. And every time I say that, it makes me want to cry.
[Laughs]
I did not believe that just expressing yourself through music can take away the numbers, I don’t even care. The people that I’ve met, the messages that I get, it just means so much. And I hate to call the people who support me my fans because I build genuine relationships with these people. I’m sending my people audio messages on Instagram. I’ve made it my goal to authentically connect with the people that listen to my music. While I can’t get to everybody all the time, it goes deeper. I feel like I have a family! I get emotional talking about it because it’s literally insane! That is everything I’ve ever wanted. And it’s only the beginning that is crazy to me!
[Laughs]
seradopa: Yeah! It is, you recently just were on the big stage with Skellytn!
Bella Renee: From the beginning of my career, my first ever rave was a Drive-In Rave. And was just like “Wow I want to perform at EDC one day, I want to perform it Beyond Wonderland,” and then like one year later I’m on one of the main stages that EDC BassRush performing with Reaper. Then I’m hitting all these things! I remember Subtronics being my favorite DJ when I started raving in 2020. And just three short years later I went on tour with Skellytn and him in New York and Boston. Everything keeps coming full circle. I’m just so grateful!
seradopa: Lastly, what should your audience expect to hear from your project this year and beyond?
Bella Renee: So I have been working my ass off!
I have a drum and bass album in the works. I have a Liquid EP and then I have a Dancefloor Jungle EP! I’m stepping into different subgenres! There’s still going to be some sweet little treats of Electronic Pop and Future Bass. And I’m always doing these collaborations!
I have crazy collaborations, I can’t even say right now but I can’t tell everybody yet. There’s just so much in the works right now! And a lot of people are like, “Oh, this is just the beginning for you,” but it really truly is! I’ve been just operating as a collaborator for a long time but I found my voice, my team, and my confidence. And I’ve been working so hard on original music and lots of collaborations.
I have songs coming out every month and I actually have a whole thing where I’m going to do an EP release show! Just know that there is so much being planned right now and I’m very excited!
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Looking for new music? Keep up with our weekly Spotify Playlist, Fresh Hunts. Updated every Friday with all the latest releases. Whether it’s the newest drops from Bella Renee, all your favorite artists, some old-school, or underground… we want you to hear it.
