Massachusetts rapper BIA is gaining a whole new audience of sports fans. The former reality TV star remixed her song “Skate” for the National Hockey League (NHL) and its 2021 Stanley Cup playoff marketing campaign.
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BIA Breaks Through With NHL Playoff Song
Former “Sisterhood of Hip Hop” cast member BIA has built a following thanks in part to collaborations with Lil Durk, Rich The Kid and J Balvin. Last year, she dropped the single “Skate,” which caught the attention of the NHL and has become one of the league’s 2021 playoff anthems. BIA produced a more hockey- and family-friendly remix that is getting plenty of exposure as the Stanley Cup playoffs get underway.
“When I went to the studio and heard the beat, the first thing I saw [in my mind] was me, on the rink, skating on the ice,” said BIA, aka Medford, Massachusetts, native Bianca Landrau. “A trophy for a lot of us is jewelry or something like that. And the Stanley Cup is the ultimate goal. So I tied the two together and made a fire song.”
The Original ‘Skate’ Was On BIA’s Latest EP
BIA has yet to drop her debut studio album. In late 2020, she released her second EP, For Certain, which featured the original version of “Skate.” The EP also has cameos by Lil Jon, Lil Durk and 42 Dugg.
In its original form, “Skate” wasn’t a tailor-made sports song. Its video features women in neon ski masks brandishing firearms, “Spring Breakers” style, while BIA raps in a fur coat. The lyrics matched that aesthetic. So the NHL asked BIA and Epic Records to recraft some of the song to add playoffs-specific references.
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