BeMyFiasco Carries the Torch of R&B With Where I Left You

After a breakup, most of us console ourselves by going to bed with two men named Ben and Jerry. Bianca "BeMyFiasco" Rodriguez made a healthier choice, and created a jazzy and soulful R&B mixtape.

After a breakup, most of us console ourselves by going to bed with two men named Ben and Jerry. Bianca "BeMyFiasco" Rodriguez made a healthier choice, and created a jazzy and soulful R&B mixtape. It took a push from her friends and supporters to publicly share a personal piece of herself, but the SoundCloud release would kickstart her professional musical journey and her ascent through the music industry.

Then a college student at Stephen F. Austin State University, BeMyFiasco filled that mixtape with ripped SoundCloud beats and heartfelt and heartbroken lyrics. The Dallas native would soon go on to laying vocals on a song called “Violet" for prestigious jazz pianist Robert Glasper's 2016 Miles Davis tribute album.

Two years ago, BeMyFiasco represented Dallas in a Sprite artist showcase called Sprite Way Live, where the brand selected unsigned artists from around the country and provided them a platform to do what they do best. She killed it. When introducing BeMyFiasco to the Sprite stage, the host described her as, “As soulful as your momma’s Sunday playlist.”

BeMyFiasco’s last project was an EP titled Layers, which she released in 2016. Now she is ready to debut her first full album, Where I Left You, which dropped on Oct. 15. In the record, BeMyFiasco continues to stay true to her sound by balancing classic genres.

Most of the artist's musical references date to the late 1990s and get older from there. She takes elements from neo-soul, jazz, hip-hop and some good old-fashioned R&B, to create a sound that's original yet nostalgic.

“When I was doing Layers, I was still really finding myself,” BeMyFiasco says. “Where I Left You could be where I left my relationships, all these different people and all of my old habits.”

The first single release off the album was "Caramel," which was followed by "Bad Dream," an uptempo story based on true events from BeMyFiasco’s life.

“'Bad Dream' was inspired by a few toxic relationships from my past," the singer says. “I have a lot more perspective now, but for a long time I blamed myself. I’d look back on those situations like, ‘Was it all a bad dream? What the hell was I thinking?' Now, I’m just thankful I can laugh and write songs about it."

Each record on the album is a story that starts with her pen. The versatility in her writing and voice are on full display throughout the 11 tracks. Toward the back end of album's song list are two special offerings of R&B, "U and I" and "Thinkin’ Bout It." The latter is a masterful duet featuring Darien Brockington.

“We wanted real good, old-fashioned R&B vibes," BeMyFiasco says. "That was the plan; we wanted to call that feeling back.”

The musician and her team of creative support have a rollout plan for the release that will include music videos and behind-the-scenes content on the making of the album, in which BeMyFiasco will

dive into the lyrics of each song in detail to help fans better understand her interpretation.

The artist comes from a musical family. Her mother was in a gospel group with her sisters, and her grandfather on the paternal side was a nomadic Tejano singer with Latin roots. BeMyFiasco spent a year in Madrid where she picked up most of her Spanish, played shows, landed a spot in a TV commercial and lent her vocals to the TV show La Que Se Avecina in two episodes.

At this point in BeMyFiasco’s career, she is aiming for consistent growth, but staying true to who she is as a person and artist is her top priority. It would be easy otherwise to crumble under the pressure, as BeMyFiasco seems to have been tasked with holding the torch for a classic genre that's often deemed as a sound of the past. But BeMyFiasco trudges along; as soon as release plans for Where I left You are behind her, she says, she'll shift her focus toward scheduling live performances. She wants to make it happen for her fans.

October 19, 2021 - Dallas Observer