Rihanna is testing the limits of her fans’s devotion. After tweeting a couple of cryptic messages featuring the hashtag #BBHMM on Wednesday, the pop star directed fans toward mobile messaging app Dubsmash to hear her new single this morning.
Head to Dubsmash for my new single #BBHMM!! http://t.co/epMtBf34Rh
— Rihanna (@rihanna) March 26, 2015
Those hoping to listen to Bitch Better Have My Money in full might have been disappointed: only 10-second snippets of the song’s intro and outro could be heard on Dubsmash. App users would have received a push notification alerting them to their exclusive access to clips from the trap-inspired and bass-heavy single, according to music business site Music Ally.
Fans reacted quickly, expressing both their excitement and dismay about the song’s step-by-step release.
I hope #BBHMM isn't just a snippet
— AmeRIHcan Oxygen (@ja8son) March 26, 2015
MY LIFE HAS OFFICIALLY BEEN SLAYED AFTER ONLY 20 SECS OF MUSIC #BBHMM
— 2POC (@rihpoc) March 26, 2015
Dubsmash allows users to upload and share mobile phone videos of themselves lip-syncing to audio clips. Since its launch in November 2014, users have typically turned to the app to record and share silly clips of themselves lip-syncing to recognisable audio memes or clips from well-known films and TV shows.
The app’s format has also been used to let users lip-sync to song clips, as fans have already done with BBHMM.
I can't with Leandra😂😂 #BBHMM pic.twitter.com/U0ICOmURbw"
— fenty. (@dontsaywords) March 26, 2015
In this case, the song title harks back to a film. The line “bitch, you better have my money” was used in Keenen Ivory Wayans’s 1988 blaxploitation parody film I’m Gonna Git You Sucka, and spoken by Antonio Fargas’s character, Fly Guy. Rihanna shared a short clip of the relevant film scene on Instagram, to further whip up enthusiasm from her fans.
Bitch Better Have My Money is expected to receive a full release on Thursday.
