Getting to Know the Beauty Behind Bianca Mendez, The First Female/Hippie Member of Dip-Set
“Don’t be afraid of the pain. Lean into it for the lesson. As a society, we want to numb ourselves versus doing the work to understand ourselves. As black and Latina women we are born with residue pain in us that has yet to be healed.” –Bianca Mendez.
The beauty in these words set the stage in understanding the foundation of Bianca Mendez. A woman who knows herself, stands in who she is, and portrays to be nothing less. With an Instagram feed that reads of infections hippie-like positivity, you’d never guess that she’s also the type to be bumping the music of rap legends Outkast and spitting dip-set lyrics with her bestie Camron of the unruly hip-hop group, The Diplomats. Proudly claiming to be the first female/hippy member of Dip-set, Bianca Mendez is the prestige representation of an intriguing oxymoron to me. Yet, these unique variations add to the complexities of the beauty within her.
Her energy has paralleled her career to align with the likes of Rich Boy, Jeezy, Chamillionare, and Trey Songz to name a few. Born Bianca Samadhi Mendez, her mom named her after Bianca Jagger who was Mick Jagger’s wife, and in her eyes the first Latin crossover. As her name is tied to music, so is Bianca. Being that her career is rooted in her irrefutable love of music, I asked her the quintessential question, quoted from Brown Sugar, when did you first fall in love with Hip-Hop?
“I can’t say the exact moment. I remember just being programmed by the local radio station. As I became a teenager we listened to and loved everything Jodeci, DJ Quik, E-40, and Snoop. When I was closer to 18 I started getting into “hip hop” like Wu Tang, Tribe, etc. If I had to share a moment though, it would probably be my first house party, around 12-13 years old, in the project bedroom dancing to the cassette single of DJ Quik’s single, Sweet Black Pussy & AMG’s Bitch Betta Have My Money.”
These pure brash tunes shaped both the 90’s culture and Bianca’s future. Her career path started in ‘98 around street promotions, she then went into mixshow radio promotions, and then got into management with Rich Boy and Jeezy. While working with Jeezy she met Trey Songz, who she then started working for. Initially only focusing on social media and direct to fan marketing then transitioning into marketing and creative as well as filling in whenever anything else is needed. For her, she says, “Working with Trey doesn’t feel like work. We’re all just loving and supporting our Brother. Working for someone you love isn’t really work. The things I do for Trey I used to do when he couldn’t afford to pay me, before the Ready album. While we all have our roles and responsibilities that Trey and Team holds us to, we just have fun, we laugh, we sing, we hold a frequency of love. That’s what makes it great, our mutual love and respect for what everyone brings to the table.”
While Bianca has grown into a career she loves, her path to get there wasn’t always as beautiful. Earlier in her career while working for Jeezy, “The Snowman” himself, she was laid off which left her in a state of feeling worthless and tired of life. What brought her to this point was not simply being laid off, instead, her low state was primarily rooted in how much value she’d placed on her position and material things. She’d come to a point where she was struggling with the anxiety of meeting society’s standards versus living a life purposeful to herself. Reflecting back on that moment I asked her, what advice would she give to those struggling with those same battles.
“Don’t be afraid of the pain. Lean into it for the lesson. As a society, we want to numb ourselves versus doing the work to understand ourselves. As black and Latina women we are born with residue pain in us that has yet to be healed. I believe what’s happening now is that everything is coming to the surface to be healed. As a world, but also as individuals. It’s all part of an awakening to show us the power that we are. We are creators of life. We are healers. We are manifestations of God.”
Founded on these lessons Bianca has used this to drive her career. Coming into her own and understanding her passion for life and value as a woman in the entertainment industry. For a woman, this position can be plagued with the stigma that they’ve slept their way to the top. An image that often overshadows their accomplishments and fuels the prominent perspective that there is a lack of female voices in power positions in the entertainment industry. To those upholding that mindset Bianca is firm in her belief that, “People will always make judgements according to the frequency they reside in. So, if someone is assuming a female has slept their way up, they haven’t come into the understanding of the power and necessity for the female energy for balance. How a woman chooses to stand in her feminine energy is her personal choice… Women are excelling in the industry on their own merit, but they don’t promote the women in the game that are doing it. Julie Greenwald at Atlantic Records is someone in business that is killing it. My personal favorite is my friend Tracey Waples who flies way below the radar but is a beautiful force of God’s power and black excellence.”
Bianca Mendez believes that when women wake up to their power as healers and givers of life they can have whatever they want; the career, love, happiness, and it all simultaneously. She challenges the system in which we have been stuck on having a woman’s worth determined by the attention of men. This led us into discussing her own worth and what she viewed as her biggest success. Outshining the accolades that come with working with infamous names and well-known brands she instead identifies her biggest success as, “…allowing God to push the ego out and take up full residence inside of me. So that what I think thru is a filter of love for myself and my brothers and sisters. Otherwise fear was just running the entire show. Fear of not having enough, fear of not being enough, etc.” An answer so unparalleled with her industry that appears saturated in fame and clout. Yet, an answer that so aligns with the beauty of Bianca Mendez.
Speaking to Bianca reminded me that genuine beauty is so much more than skin deep. It is not the reflection you see in the mirror, instead, it is the reflection you see within yourself. It is determined by the choices you make, the ideologies you decide to build your life on, and the selflessness you try to emulate. The essence of beauty is aligned with the internal being of your soul. For some, that beauty flows through their veins, glows through their reflection, and exudes an energy that pours out for others to see. I was able to see that beauty in Bianca Mendez.