This International Women’s Day, breakout pop-punk artist Hayes Warner and rapper Billy B are coming together to celebrate the power of women!
Along with producer and lead guitarist Kevin Rudolf, the team has released a new single titled ‘Just A Girl’. The newest single is set to be the girl-power anthem of the year. The lyrics clap-back against societal norms expected of women and showcase the power it takes to even exist as a woman. It reimagines the hit from 90’s rock band No Doubt by the same name. Warner and B’s version takes the song and brings a freshness to it, redefining what it means to be a girl in 2024. Hayes sings “nothing new to say about it, nothing’s getting through. I’ll just sing the same old chorus ‘cause that shit’s still true”, paying homage to the old song and showing that while the world looks different now, the power of women stays the same.
Not only does the song celebrate women, but the team behind the hit are putting their money where their mouth is. A portion of the single’s proceeds will be donated to Supermajority, an organization dedicated to building up women’s collective political power. They provide information, training, and resources needed to take meaningful action at the local, state, and national levels.
The Knockturnal got a chance to ask Hayes and Billy B a couple questions about the single. Read the full Q&A below:
The Knockturnal: How did you and Hayes meet?
Billy B: We actually met initially through IG. She direct messaged me saying we should collab, I was down, the rest was magic!
Hayes Warner: I’d heard Billy’s music before and was a fan. I was talking to someone that I work with about how much I love her, and she offered to introduce us. Ultimately I just ended up dming her though because I was really excited to get to know her and get her on this track. LOL! I immediately thought of Billy for it because I loved the idea of two New York artists coming together. She’s both a mother and a total superstar and just so many more things I wanted to represent in this song. Our first official meeting was just us talking about music and what we have coming up. We became great friends through that. I was excited about her agreeing to join us on the track. Her verse is undeniable!
The Knockturnal: What was the most interesting part of working with each other?
Warner: The collaboration was really fun. She is such a quick songwriter. When I presented the idea to her, she whipped up a verse within an hour and sent me a voice memo. We wanted to actually record it together and it ended up being the funnest day in the studio. We were going back and forth, changing lines. It was really collaborative, but it was more like a friend hangout than anything else. We weren’t even 100% sure if it was going to come out. We just loved the idea and were having a great time.
B: I didn’t expect Hayes to be so funny! She is legit so naturally funny we are always cracking up.
The Knockturnal: Where did the idea of this song come from? What was the process like making this song?
B: The idea started with Hayes but as soon as I heard the record, and she shared what she wanted to do, I was stoked. My writing process has changed over the years. I used to get wasted and vibe out to the beat until I came up with my cadence for my flow and go from there. Now that I’m in my soft girl era I write my verses while I’m doing my morning workout once my pre workout kicks in. For this specific track I wrote it on the elliptical in LA Fitness. Since this was more of a pop track I wanted to make sure I bring that hip hop flare but still keep it very girly girl.
Warner: The idea for the track was something that came about organically as I was talking to my team about my influences and who I look up to. As a huge fan of No Doubt, I wanted to stay true to what the original song was about so it made sense to do this reimagined East Coast version and release it on International Women’s Day. We felt this was important because while some things have changed and gotten better for women, there’s still a lot of things women are fighting for.
The Knockturnal: When you hear the phrase “girl power”, what does that mean to you?
B: Well women are technically superheros so girl power is a phrase we use when we are revealing our super powers. That’s my meaning, anyway!
Warner: I agree! I also think girl power means women are represented in whatever space it is and their voices are being equally heard to everyone else in that room. I think that it’s bringing confidence to women’s voices and women championing each other.
The Knockturnal: A portion of the proceeds from the song are being donated to Supermajority, why is this cause important to you?
Warner: This taps into your question about girl power. I think it’s important to make sure that women’s voices are heard. It’s an important voting year and Supermajority is really committed to providing resources and information to women to help them build their own collective political power at all levels of government. I’m really impressed with what they do and I think they’re an amazing organization run by different women of all backgrounds. I’m excited to be using this song to support something so important!
B: Supporting other women and building a community to help us all get ahead is very important to me. I am excited that some of the proceeds will be going towards a good cause!
The Knockturnal: How did growing up in New York affect you and your music?
B: Growing up in New York has shaped me into the artist I am today- from my flow to my versatility.
Warner: There is a really fast paced energy to New York. Some might even call it chaos. I grew up in that chaos, and I think it’s a huge part of my personality. When I started making music, it was definitely reflected in my sound and in the lyrics I’d write and continue to write.
The Knockturnal: What inspires you?
B: My life experiences and my peers inspire me the most.
Warner: I feel like that is the same for me as well. I would also say I am inspired when I hear a song with lyrics that emotionally reflect something that I’ve been through. It’s just crazy to me that songwriting and someone’s specific experience can be so universal.
The Knockturnal: When did you finally decide music was what you wanted to do?
Warner: To be honest, I don’t remember a time when I didn’t want to make music- whether that was writing for myself or writing for other artists, I was always really obsessed with it. I started learning piano when I was young. I didn’t grow up in a musical family and my family definitely thought it was an unusual career path but the more confident I became in wanting to do music the more I pursued it.
B: When I graduated from high school I was so indecisive on what I wanted to do so I tried everything- from working retail to taking real estate courses. But I knew that taking those routes would just be temporary because I wasn’t passionate about any of them. All through my junior and senior year I was remixing songs and people would tell me I should take it seriously but I honestly didn’t see myself being a rapper. I don’t know why. One day I was hanging out with my friend 40 thousand who was a well known rapper at the time. I told him I can rap and he didn’t believe me until I spit a freestyle for him. It was actually good so he ended up letting me get a verse on one of his songs. That’s where my journey started.
The Knockturnal: What does success look like to you?
B: Success to me is being able to make a comfortable living off of doing something that I love.
Warner: There is nothing better than that. I want to be able to make music that is true to me and that I am proud of. I’d love to be able to look back in ten years and say I am proud of what I put out.
The Knockturnal: What’s next for the two of you, separately or together?
Warner: Well I really hope people enjoy this record and we get the opportunity to do some live shows together! We performed for SiriusXM which should come out soon and will be performing it live in Pennsylvania for an audience for the first time this weekend on March 9 on a St. Patrick’s Day float! That should be an exciting experience. I also have an EP coming out later this year so stay tuned.
B: Same! I hope it takes off and we can travel the world together. I am also working on my own EP coming out this summer. I cannot wait for everyone to check out!
The single premiered on SiriusXM Hits 1 today. Listen to it here!
artwork credit: Christos Alamaniotis (@christos.jpeg)
