BBNO$ Interview: ‘It’s Pronounced Baby No Money Tour,’ JayVik Nation, and what comes next
Canadian rapper and singer Alexander Gumuchian has become pop music’s most attention-demanding artists since striking stardom in 2019. Despite being a TikTok sensation and cosplay extraordinaire, BBNO$ is more than just his online persona and has taken to the road for his world-wide ‘It’s Pronounced Baby No Money’ tour.
“I started making music with my friends, and then I really fell in love with the art of the creation of making music. It’s the simplicity. I do all of this s— for the right reasons, I like the art perspective. Then, I fell in love with marketing. It’s just me. I’ve developed a way and branded myself to do the least effort all the time. It’s like, fantastic! It’s incredibly rewarding because I never stop, but I don’t really have to think about things. The more I flood [social media], the more I spam…,” BBNO$ said when looking back on the early beginnings of his career.
He went on to reflect on his first major single, ‘Lalala,’ which gained an immense amount of popularity on TikTok. “Back in 2019 when I made Lalala with Y2K, he was like ‘yo, [have you seen this?].” BBNO$ specifically noted the everlasting influence that Tyler, The Creator’s ‘Call Me If You Get Lost’ album cover had on him. “I don’t remember the album lyrically, but I remember the album cover, which was just placed around LA to the point where all I could think about was this f—in’ silhouette of [Tyler’s] face. It’s interesting because the more you’re up in everyone’s feed, it really shines and shows people that you’re there. If I turn my phone off, I’m irrelevant. The more your digital footprint is prominent, the more your career will be bustling.”
While BBNO$’s unique style of branding has become an online phenomenon, he knows that there’s the opportunity to individualize how he navigates his online presence. “Unfortunately, [the constant posting online] doesn’t have anything to do with the artistic perspective or the creative perspective. Being able to [put my twist on] everything that I portray myself through online, and am able to put my personality or perspective into my simplistic content, allows me to be able to be different.” There’s differentiation in how BBNO$ portrays himself online compared to how he truly acts around people offline, and he’s well aware in the dramatization of his online persona.
“I’ve been doing the same s–t for the past seven years, eight years, and nothing’s really changed. I’ve started to accept what my business is more and more. Now, I have a strong team behind me that I trust. I’m just having fun! I’m finally in the pocket of music I’ve been wanting to make for ages. My life’s great,” he said when thinking about any direct changes he’d make when re-evaluating his professional musical career.
When opening up about those who have inspired BBNO$ to embrace his brand, the musical artist said that Lil Nas X does a really great job of ‘spamming online.’ “At the end of the day, none of this matters. You turn your phone off, and none of my career exists. It’s all fabricated. It’s all a facade, and things that have been weirdly put on a pedestal for capitalistic perspectives. Once you turn it off, it doesn’t exist. I have completely viewed Nas [as an idol] and learned that posting constantly will make your career bustle. I’ve found this weird pocket where I have fun. Everyone takes themselves too seriously and Lil Nas X has [created an online presence] so incredibly well. “
BBNO$ did confirm that Lil Nas X has complimented his music before, and remains hopeful that the two are able to collaborate on a greater scale. “If Lil Nas X and I worked on a song together, and planned on a way to market it, it would be ‘f—ing huge.’” They’d break the internet ‘over, and over, and over,’ according to him. “When I can recognize someone who understands how to articulate themselves online, and when they understand the internet, they’re more fun to work with,” BBNO$ said. “Ideally, a collab with Lil Nas X would be amazing. But as of right now, there’s nothing yet.”
While TikTok sparked BBNO$’s initial success, he doesn’t want to see his career only appeal to TikTok as a whole. Instead, BBNO$ emphasized that he wants his content to align with his own personal standards of quality. “I don’t want to make TikTok music,” BBNO$ said, “I get bored of songs so fast. If there’s a moment where my music f—ks my vibe up, then the song’s not good. You want the listener, and yourself, to enjoy the song all the way through. Something I’ve noticed in the past couple of years is that my taste is why my music is successful. I know what I like, other people like too. I make the best music possible for my standards.”
He continued to say that the most important component is knowing how to make a good song, and know how catchy that song is. Both knew that ‘Lalala’ was going to explode online, and gave BBNO$ ‘everything he wanted’ in a song. “This helps me believe [in the quality of] my music when I market it,” BBNO$ said, “you can tell when other artists are marketing a song and don’t really fully believe [in their work,] it comes across. ‘Lalala’, a ginormous TikTok song. But when we made that song, Y2K and I believed that this song was ‘so fire.’ It’s so catchy. Regardless of if I’m saying nothing at all, it doesn’t matter. The song evokes a feeling; that feeling is ‘oh, this song is catchy.’”
Now that he has a Bonafede listenership, BBNO$ firmly believes that people can start to associate themselves with him through his music. “Typically, people disregard that when you make music, it has to come from your personality, it has to be authentic. When you market it, it has to be authentic, so it comes from your personality. That’s something I do well, I do exactly what I think is right; the ‘if he likes it, I like it’ [mentality].”
Despite the extreme levels of popularity that BBNO$ has earned for himself since his initial debut, the Canadian rapper and singer doesn’t listen to music. He likens casually listening to music to a research process, and looks for inspiration for his next big hits. As he embarks on his world tour – It’s Pronounced Baby No Money – BBNO$ breaks down what fans can expect. “I usually just perform the hits. Whenever I go to a show, I usually want to hear the artists’ hits. It’s crowd-pleasing. In all honesty, the reason why a crowd is at my show is because they heard the hits. They heard the songs that pull them in. My setlist needs to flow.”
BBNO$ did admit that the It’s Pronounced Baby No Money tour may feel a bit similar to his past shows, but enthusiastically ensured that concertgoers could expect more production. “I’m not doing the tour for me, I’m doing this for my fans. I’m trying to put on the best show possible. If a crowd is [at my show], and they’re singing, and they’re chanting along, it makes a better atmosphere. Everyone is bonding together – and it makes it more fun for me, too.”
Thinking ahead to what he’d like to achieve through future tours, BBNO$ said that “eventually, I want a full musical. That’s the goal. The thing is, anything is possible. You just put your mind to it. I also want to do a 20-piece orchestral tour. Something that I’ve always wanted to do, and something that will be beautiful once I have the ability [to make it happen].”
As to why he wants such a unique take on a tour? It doesn’t make sense, and that’s exactly what BBNO$ wants. “BBNO$ shouldn’t be doing a 20-piece orchestral tour, but f–-k it I guess! That’s what I like doing; pushing myself and doing things that don’t make sense,” he said. “I like pushing myself to a limit where I probably shouldn’t be doing whatever I’m doing, but I’m doing it because I want experience.”
Recently, BBNO$ has taken his online presence in a creative new direction, and has frequently incorporated the art of cosplay into his posts. “All this cosplay, I wasn’t into cosplay five years ago, but I did drag one time and was like ‘woah, this is awesome.’ I did full drag and it was really sick. This was the first time that I was like ‘woah, it’s really fun to not be yourself.’”
BBNO$’s cosplay has generated incredible amounts of attention across social media, and the musician wholeheartedly looks forward to continuing to explore how he can continue to incorporate cosplay into his brand on an even more prominent level. “Honestly, yes it’s marketing, but I can use my funding to pay for cool experiences. I went to Alaska to shoot a music video, stayed up for the entire day, and it’s probably an experience I’ll never be able to live down. Yes, I’m an adrenaline junkie, for cool experiences, but it’s also my life — why wouldn’t I want to experience all of it? I have a very sick life. I get to do anything I want at any given moment. Having that freedom and ability screams pretty loudly through how I portray myself online. I’m trying to be the spokesperson for ‘doing you,” he said.
BBNO$’s JayVik cosplay — the romantic pairing of Viktor and Jayce from Netflix’s Arcane — was greatly celebrated online upon its grand reveal. “I commented on a JayVik video to say ‘yo, this [edited JayVik compilation] bangs.’ Then I posted about JayVik on Twitter, where the post exploded,” BBNO$ said when reflecting on how the cosplay idea became a reality, “After looking into JayVik, I was like ‘alright, gay rights. I support gay rights. That was basically it, before I asked the internet if they wanted a JayVik cosplay.”
The musician shared that he’s familiar with League of Legends, and that he played the game when it was still in its beta state. “I really liked Arcane, [Netflix and Riot] did a great job with the show. So when I saw JayVik, I was like ‘alright. Gay rights.’ I’ve always been very supportive and grew up in a warm, loving home. My ethics and morals are aligned with perspectives that most people in my fanbase would agree with. Truthfully, I didn’t think much of it until I got into Arcane. I ended up championing Arcane and JayVik for a while. If I can provide people with entertainment and also basically protest for gay rights, why wouldn’t I do that? It’s what I believe in anyway. I put a lot of smiles on peoples’ faces – the medicine that people need.”
BBNO$ acknowledged the ironic timing of posting the JayVik cosplay reveal on January 20th. While BBNO$ finally shared long-awaited pictures and videos across his social media, President Donald Trump was being sworn into office for the second time. The inauguration was a politically controversial event that featured Elon Musk demonstrating a gesture that resembled salutes used by Nazis. “The JayVik cosplay post was the same day that Elon Musk’s siege heiled,” BBNO$ said when looking back on his second major cosplay, “You choose your battles. I remember talking to Will Neff afterwards, and he said ‘in a dark day where one of the most powerful people on the internet was claiming that he didn’t know what he was doing, we were spreading positivity.’”
JayVik wasn’t always on BBNO$’s radar, though he now deems himself as a ‘JayVik warrior.’ “I’m gonna be honest, before everything, I wasn’t a JayVik stan from day one. When I started researching it, I was like, ‘I am!’ Then when going through the videos and seeing the tones of how Jayce and Viktor actually do love each other, and the notes in Arcane, there’s definitely something there. It was a cool experience to really see what cosplay is all about, and the enjoyment of being someone or doing something else. It’s an experience.”
BBNO$ has already achieved everything he envisioned for himself in 2025, and once more re-iterates the tremendous want for a musical and an orchestral tour. “The amount of success I’ve had this year already? We’ve already broken my goals for this year. I’m just going to keep riding this and having fun. The thing is, doing a 20-piece orchestra and doing a musical is already enough musically.” At the same time, he still looks forward to what his future holds for him outside of his musical career. “I have goals in life; I want to make a non-profit organization for the youth in Vancouver, including the unhoused and less fortunate youth to make music and stay at. They’ll have people come teach them about making music; they’ll have seminars about creating music and art. The only thing else I have to do in life is spread positivity. I want to give people more of a chance. If I were to die right now, I would be totally happy because I’ve lived such an amazing life. Why wouldn’t I want to give back that experience? The only thing I’m worried about, career-oriented wise, is when I want to stop. I don’t know how I’m going to feel. I work every single day because I love it. I haven’t gotten to the point… at least five more years,” he said. BBNO$ additionally promised that he’ll be releasing an album, which will ‘be his best project.’
There’s still a drive to give back to those around him, and BBNO$ is determined to make an impact on the world. For now, he’ll start with his community. “I’m a normal f—ing human being, but so fortunate to be in the position I’m in. I need to be able to give back. I threw a festival last year and raised money to fight the heroine and opioid crisis in Vancouver. That’s my hometown, and we’re going to do it again. It’s the small things that can help.”
BBNO$ can be found on Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, and X. His music is available to stream on Spotify, SoundCloud, and Apple Music. Tickets for upcoming shows, BBNO$ merchandise, and more information about BBNO$ can be found on his official website.
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