Somewhere between the unconventional rhythms, unpredictable arrangements, and effortlessly fluid deliveries, bib sama has found a musical identity that feels unmistakably his own. Nearly eleven years into his creative journey, the experimental rapper and producer has built his artistry around one simple principle: make whatever sounds good, and never stop exploring. It's a philosophy that's taken him through countless sonic transformations, from the creative reset of DOGMA to an ambitious collaborative run with TayoLoxs. With his upcoming LP bibcore. promising an even richer and more adventurous sound, bib sama is entering his next chapter with renewed curiosity and confidence. We spoke with him about finding freedom in experimentation, learning to embrace change, and the creative instincts that continue to shape his music.
There’s something almost effortless about the way you rap over production that can be incredibly dense or unconventional. How do you approach finding your pocket when a producer gives you something that feels completely outside the usual boundaries of hip-hop?
Honestly, a lot of what I listen to isn’t hip hop, or doesn’t subscribe to the set boundaries of what hip hop “should” be.
Because of that, I don’t tend to think about what’s the “right” way to approach a beat-- I just do whatever sounds great to me. Also, being a producer, there are a lot of ways I find space to fit in sonically when making a song. I don’t often credit myself, but even when working with other people’s beats, I’ll make minor tweaks to make it work for me, as if my vocals are just another layer to the beat.
This could be me slightly tweaking the arrangement, adding additional elements, or even when I get down into the mix.
Your collaborations with producers like TayoLoxs feel especially seamless, even when the production is pushing into really experimental territory. What makes a producer someone you want to build an entire project with rather than just collaborate with for a song or two?
It’s either I see myself a lot in a producer, or they have an approach I appreciate that’s so unique to them.
With Tayo, it’s both! It really does help being genuine friends with him and all my other frequent collaborators.
You and TayoLoxs released an entire album and deluxe together this year. How did working together across that much material change your understanding of your own sound or what you're capable of as a rapper?
Honestly, it’s given me more time to focus not only on being a performer but also an executive producer of sorts.
Being able to trust him to handle that side of things makes the process of making tracks so much quicker, and with the spare time & energy left, I can really look at things as more of a whole. All that is transferring so well into working on my own production for my next LP bibcore.
It was almost like a vocal hyperbolic time chamber for me lol.
Your flows often feel like they're serving the production rather than competing with it. How conscious are you of the instrumental's textures, rhythms, and space when you're writing or recording?
Hell yeah, thank you!
I’m always so conscious of all those elements. I always want my vocal contributions to add to the overall experience.
I listen to a whole lot of music without vocals, so I don’t always see vocals as necessary.
Because of that, I’m so intentional with how vocals are used as an instrument, where they sit in the stereo field, how they interact with other elements, what does it add to, what way it detracts from, etc.
Experimental production can sometimes become the main attraction of a song, but your music still feels incredibly approachable and vibey. What do you think makes an unconventional beat feel natural to you?
Most of it is definitely down to intuition.
Funny enough, I produce way more than I record. I only rap or sing when the instrumental moves me enough.
This could be because of the overall rhythm, the melodies, or this indescribable scratch I feel in my brain when hearing some beats.
I’m not musically trained in the slightest, so I really can't draw a line between what’s experimental or not; it’s just a spectrum to be, and I like what I like.
When you're working with a producer who's constantly trying to push the sound somewhere unexpected, do you prefer to adapt yourself to what they've created, or are there moments where you deliberately try to pull the production in a direction they weren't expecting?
More often than not, I’m the one trying to push the sound somewhere unexpected ahaha.
I genuinely know I could hop on anything but don’t necessarily want to hop on anything. I do love when a producer sends me something that I can’t figure out and challenges me; that’s one of the real joys of music-making.
On the flip side, I love taking an already great beat and making it weirder through my vocals, mix or additional production.
Everyone needs to get weirder now!
You seem to have a pretty wide range as an artist without your music ever feeling like you're forcing yourself into a different identity. How do you decide when you've found something worth pursuing versus something that's simply interesting for the moment?
This is a really good question!
It’s pretty hard to make that distinction, as that momentary excitement can blind you sometimes. Luckily, after doing this for almost 11 years now, I’ve learned how to make things my own after taking it in.
What I mean is taking in sounds to apply to the context of my own inner world. If the new sound i like is a word, I’ll change the font into my own.
This could look like changing the sound of a snare to fit my palette, or mixing a chord progression with the drum style that isn’t typically associated with it. It’s a whole bunch of weird combos that make sense to me in my head.
A lot of artists talk about wanting to experiment, but experimentation can also mean risking the things that already work.
What are you willing to sacrifice in a song or project in order to discover something new?
The audience.
Music is really a journey, and some of your audience are only going to be there for a moment, which is completely fine! I’ve still, to this day, got people wishing I still made the same type of music I made in 2022.
My thing is I’m not 22 anymore; I’m 26 in 2026.
If me being further along my artistic journey and honouring that means I have to sacrifice the ears of some, it is what it is. I hope our paths cross again, but boy, am I proud of how far I’ve come.
Looking back at everything you've released so far, is there a song or project that changed the way you understood yourself as an artist? What did it unlock for you?
After losing all my music at the end of 2023, DOGMA was really my artistic reset. It cleaned the slate and allowed me to realise I really need to just make what I love.
That included rap, but it also includes so many electronic genres such as Drum and Bass, EDM and more! I could finally show my range in a way that didn’t water down who bib sama. is.
This new track NOW DATS WHAT I CALL MUSIK is just that but turned up a notch. Making that in the studio with Jack Laboz was one of the most playful sessions I’ve ever had; we were just two music nerds making whatever.
Again, it reminded me I gotta get weirder and I gladly will.
It feels like you're at a point where almost anything you try can become part of your sound. As more people begin discovering your music, what do you want the next chapter of bib sama to explore that listeners haven't seen yet?
This is real specific, but I’ve been challenging myself to try keep my usual charged energy on stuff slower than 130bpm, and it’s been leading me to make some of my best music yet.
I’ve also been taking it beyond 160 - stuff for the raves!
I’ve also been pushing myself to use my English degree (lol) and focus even more on my writing, something I feel most don’t know me for at all.
Overall, I’m really in incubation make and trying to increase the “richness” and “maturity” of my sound and my so excited to show it off on bibcore. next year…
If there's one thing that becomes clear after speaking with bib sama, it's that his curiosity remains the driving force behind everything he creates. Nearly eleven years into his musical journey, he's developed a remarkable ability to embrace the unfamiliar, transforming unexpected influences into something distinctly his own. From the creative rebirth of DOGMA to his collaborative work with TayoLoxs, each chapter has brought him closer to understanding the artist he wants to become.
With bibcore. on the horizon, that journey is far from over. New sounds, sharper songwriting, and an increasingly ambitious creative vision promise another exciting evolution for an artist who has made experimentation his second nature.
And while there's no telling exactly where his curiosity will take him next, one thing is certain: bib sama is going to keep getting weirder, and we'll be listening every step of the way.