With backup dancers in tow, rapper BIA strutted onto the Miller Light stage at Austin City Limits Music Festival on Sunday afternoon in front of a roaring audience, still-energized from the opening DJ’s mini-set. The audience continued to buzz as the rapper went into her confident anthem “BIA BIA,” which set an upbeat, cool and assertive tone for the rest of the performance. 

The 31-year-old American rapper drifted into the entertainment and music scene through the reality show “Sisterhood of Hip Hop.” She then signed to Pharrell’s record label, I Am Other, and released or featured on several well-known rap hits like “WHOLE LOTTA MONEY,” “LONDON” and “Super Freaky Girl.” She made her ACL debut this weekend.  

With her suave stage presence and use of audience interaction, BIA gave the crowd a thoroughly engaging performance. The rapper’s natural charisma, shown in her coy statements and smooth transitions from one song to the next,  shined in the set, gaining the audience’s adoration almost immediately. BIA’s empowering lyricism and demeanor electrified the crowd. With the audience periodically shouting “BIA BIA” per her request, she commanded the stage with ease. 

She interacted with the crowd on numerous occasions, making sure everyone felt hydrated in the heat, asking them preluding questions to transition into songs and talking to each side of the crowd to see which side brought the most energy. She actually picked out an audience member and invited them to join her onstage to dance. BIA even began to rap her next song, still keeping the fan on to dance.  

BIA’s performance of Nicki Minaj’s rap hit “Super Freaky Girl” was memorable. As the opening lines blasted out of the speakers and into the fields of Zilker Park, the audience erupted, all quick to dance and rap along. During the chorus, the DJ even cut out portions, letting the audience complete the missing parts — a task they completed tenfold. 

In her ACL debut, BIA also notably performed an unnamed, unreleased song. She said she didn’t plan to perform the new song, but she loved the crowd and wanted to rap it for them. The track started with the iconic NeNe Leakes’ line “Bling bling, bitches is mad.”  

BIA began what seemed to be the last song in the set, “WHOLE LOTTA MONEY,” a cappella with fans screaming her lyrics alongside her. As the chorus came in, the beat dropped, causing a wave of dancing to spread amongst the whole audience. This energy remained for the entire song, leaving fans on a high as the song faded out. The crowd chanted “One more song!” over and over until BIA came back to perform “CAN’T TOUCH THIS,” ending the set on an upbeat and flashy note.