LGBTQ Jersey Shore musicians Blaise and Heather Hills out with new single “B–ch Like Me”

Blaise is a Jersey Shore gender-fluid, queer pop star, and Heather Hills is a trans rapper also known as the Princess of the Jersey Shore. Together they debuted the live performance of their single collaboration “B–ch Like Me” at Low Dive music venue on the Asbury Park boardwalk this spring. The song is the fourth single to be released off of Blaise’s new record Sealed With Best Wishes.

The two artists are LGBTQ trailblazers and tastemakers shaking down the old boys’ club of rock n’ roll into a new era of art equity. The collaborative debut for both performers was symbolic of a much larger mission: to build and nurture community within Asbury Park’s queer and trans communities as well as the city’s music scene.

“One of the most important things for me is to uplift and to make sure that any opportunity I have, I bring my f–king children and family with me,” Blaise said after his set. Blaise was talking about the family he holds with Miss Hills. 

“The idea sparked,” Blaise said “and the minute the idea went off, I was like, ‘Oh, we know we need Heather on this because that is my sister. That is my girl. That is my family.’”

The song “B–ch Like Me” points out many facets of society, while it reimagines the culture of performance spaces and the wider world. 

For a bit of context, the lyrics “Some time in history/I don’t know when/A strong woman/Became a threat/Regulation/And Oppression/Conversation/Must mean flirtation” speak to a broader normality Blaise says he’s experienced throughout Jersey Shore stages. 

“I have always exclusively been [performing] in heteronormative spaces, and what I always wanted to do was make people love me,” said Blaise. “I’m gonna wear the gayest outfit or the gayest wig. I’ll have f—king amazon lashes that go up to my brows, and I’m going to make you love me because of the fact that I feel like it’s a responsibility. It’s a challenge. It’s part of my drive in music.” 

Blaise hopes to inspire change with the new single too. To reclaim what people know, and experience, of the term “b–ch.”

The lyrics echo to a larger community: “Within the b–ches/There’s a revolution/We’re taking it back/We are the solution/Kings and queens/In case there is any confusion/Tall in our crowns/Won’t stand for diffusion.”

“[This single is a] reclamation of the term b–ch for women, men, and all the beautiful genders outside and in between. ‘B–ch Like Me’ is an empowerment anthem that spits on the patriarchy — a queer, cherry-flavored kiss-off,” Blaise said.

For Hills, the song is personal and makes her feel happy. “The song being called ‘B–ch Like Me,’ and me being the person that’s been considered b–chy, crazy, aggressive, all of these things my entire life, and I’ve kind of embraced them,” said Miss Hills. “I don’t take bulls–t.”

Check out “Miss Hills”: “Was you about to go there baby? Let’s not/I’m the one that’s gonna say that sh–t that make ya chest hot/if you throwin’ stones you better bring ya best rock/I’m the girl that really get it going so ya best not/Baby, I’m a b–ch cause I wanna be/At least that’s what they be callin’ me/Not what I’m supposed to be/Nobody’s in control of me/Still tryna get a hold of me/But hunny they can’t/You weak b–ches better step up ya plan/It’s Miss Hills.”

The only person that could coax Miss Hills as a baby was Janet Jackson. There was a time her mom would play a tape of Janet Jackson’s performance of “Doesn’t Really Matter” from the Nutty Professor movie to get her to stop crying as a baby.

“Probably by the third or fourth time, I garnered some of my first few words from that tape. It’s almost as if Janet Jackson taught me how to speak,” said Miss Hills.

While Blaise also found his voice at a young age, his story took a different turn. Blaise, as well as Miss Hills, had years in the Garden State to explore their “drive in music.” In fact, Blaise grew up with three brothers in Middletown Township. He says his family is where he found “a fantastic foundation of support.” 

“As I grew up I started — very, very young — to understand that singing and performing was the journey that I was meant to be on,” Blaise said on Late Nights with Lana, a limited late-night show series.

Blaise wouldn’t embark on his dreams of being a pop star until he graduated college in New York City. That’s when he came back to New Jersey. At that time he’d met people that changed the course of his life as a musician. 

“I was living the pop star life,” Blaise said. “It came to the point where I wanted to do it and I want to do it, but I never thought I could do it because there weren’t people like me out there.”

Nevertheless, that lack of representation for queer, gender-fluid pop musicians didn’t stop Blaise, and the pushback against Black trans women headliners at Jersey Shore music venues didn’t stop Miss Hills. It is the tenacity of both Miss Hills and Blaise that made their debut performance for “B–ch Like Me” magnetizing. 

Like Blaise, Miss Hills grew up on the Jersey Shore in Neptune Township. After school, she’d rap with her friends. They thought Miss Hills was a superstar, but so did she herself. Today, the self-described T-Girl lives in Brooklyn, New York. Contrarily, that hasn’t taken her out of performing at some of the Jersey Shore’s most notable venues. Miss Hills still regularly performs at The Wonder Bar, Georgies, and The Stone Pony.  

The duo will perform again on August 12, 2023 at Blaise’s record release show at The Stone Pony. The release is happening simultaneously with Remember Jones’ second annual Summer Slay. Special guests Heather Hills and David Ross Lawn will join Blaise on stage. Jones will also perform a full set. 

Listen to “B–tch Like Me” on all streaming platforms. Blaise’s Sealed With Best Wishes releases on August 4, 2023.