On a Friday night in Canada, Alex—better known as bbno$—is juggling a late dinner and an interview about the biggest project of his career.
Between bites, he can’t help but grin. “I’m really excited for this album,” he says. “I think it’s my best project.”
That album is bbno$, his eighth studio record, and the first to bear only his stage name. Out October 17 via Broke Records/CMG, it lands just as he embarks on his biggest Australian and New Zealand run yet: the It’s Pronounced Baby No Money Tour, with multiple shows already sold out and extra dates announced.
bbno$ in Melbourne
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Eight albums deep, Alex didn’t agonise over the title. “I didn’t really want to come up with a name, to be honest. I was like, well, Baby No Money is good enough,” he laughs. But there’s more to it than that. “I always think self-titled is a representation of your best work and what you deem Baby No Money to be. Now that I actually have the production budget to do something more than nothing on stage, people will be able to fully understand what Baby No Money is all about.”
That vision? A rave-like live show where fun trumps all else. “It’s not whether or not you listen to the album or whether or not you like it. If you come to a show and listen to this music, it’s going to be lit and fun. I only have so much steam left in the tank, so I want to go out with a bang.”
Despite the weight of a self-titled album, don’t expect bbno$ to suddenly veer into earnest confessionals. “Absolutely not. There is no seriousness for this album whatsoever,” he says. “There’s like a love song on it, but otherwise I’m saying the dumbest shit front and centre. And I like it that way. There’s so much negativity in the world that when you listen to my music, I want you to separate from reality. Especially when you come to the show—it’s just all positivity.”
That philosophy—“nothing is ever that deep,” as he puts it—has become his mantra. “Everyone is so uptight about something. You don’t need to share that. Just take a day off and have some fun. We’re all gonna die, so why not enjoy it?”
Part of bbno$’s appeal has always been his instinctive grasp of internet culture. He’s called himself the “Gen Z Eminem”—a claim he admits he semi-regrets, though it did wonders for the algorithm. His new single Hot Topic, featuring streamer JSchlatt, was born from a YouTube rabbit hole. “I saw this rap battle parody—bbno$ vs Schlatt—and it was the cringiest thing I’ve ever watched. I sent it to him, and he was like, ‘We should do something.’ So I asked if he wanted to be in a music video. That was it.”
He thrives in this hybrid space where memes, streams and music collide. “Music used to be such a monopolised business, but now it’s incredibly democratic. Anyone can just make a song, put it out and explode. That’s inspiring. At the end of the day, creating music should be fun.”
Australia, round two
The tour will mark his biggest ANZ shows yet, and Alex couldn’t be happier to return. “I love Australian and New Zealand shows. They’re absolutely wild. I don’t know what it is, but the culture out there is just so much more fun,” he says. “Honestly, I didn’t expect to sell this many tickets—I’m kind of blown away.”
He chalks some of the connection up to cultural kinship. “Australians are very similar to Canadians,” he reflects. “Maybe that’s why people here get me.”
Kicking off in Sydney this October and closing in Perth in early November, the run has already expanded—every New Zealand date has sold out, with extra Australian shows added to meet the overwhelming demand.
Beyond this run, bbno$ has a world tour, TwitchCon appearances, and his own charity festival, Baby Bonanza, on the horizon. But right now, his focus is squarely on bbno$ and the chaos leading up to it. “We’re still mixing the album,” he admits. “I got the cover finished 15 minutes before I posted it. We run on really tight time—it’s pretty cooked.”
Still, he wouldn’t have it any other way. Whether it’s the playful lyricism of his favourite track gigolo, the sweetness of main squeeze (his girlfriend’s favourite), or the still-secret collaboration on bing bong, the songs are designed to soundtrack parties, mosh pits and dancefloors.
“Making music for me is like a day off. It’s everything. If I can make people have fun, then I could die happy,” he says.
And with a self-titled record, several sold-out shows, and the unwavering motto that nothing is ever that deep, bbno$ is proving that sometimes the smartest move is to keep it simple and fun.
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