Rapper Girlfriend is a pop star who’s 16 forever. She’s impossibly from London and New York at the same time. She’s a young white woman who raps in earnest, but you’re still not sure if you’re in on the joke—cuz, like, is she serious? Her music sounds vaguely as if it could have been produced by Mark Ronson in 2006, like if Lady Sovereign and Lily Allen had a slightly off baby, like a Lil Debbie who prefers vodka in her tea every morning over weed. Of the four videos she’s published online, one is dedicated to stealing Tom Hardy away from his wife. (She’s weird AF.)

Many pop stars dabble in the fictitious, a raw curation of a persona vetted by a team. Rapper Girlfriend is no different, but there’s another level of Lil Miquela-esque freedom in simultaneously participating in the culture while being removed enough to comment on it when it comes to RG. Like many young women in the music industry she’s a symbol of power with no agency. Regardless of whether or not she is “real,” her presence is legitimate and she’s on the come-up. Conceived by Cody Kostro and Simone Grossman, Rapper Girlfriend is a multi-platform narrative combining music and storytelling that utilizes the broadening diversity of how we ingest content. The Rapper Girlfriend pilot starring Grossman and ‘80s queen Ally Sheedy is currently in post production, her newest single and accompanying music video “Take It Off” will be released on August 30th, and her first EP drops this fall.

Photographer: Iris Torres-Gatherer @_throughtheiris

Rapper Girlfriend/Subject: Simone Grossman @rappergirlfriend / @porkbunpapii 

Artistic Direction/Story: Cody Kostro @codybrodykostro 

Styling: Alex Dorschner @alexandradorschner

Clothing Featured

@savagexfenty

@vintedgenyc

@marsannebrands

@shopthebreak

@adidas