Is the Leila Grey track a ‘Baddie’?

Steve Swift

28th October, 2024

"Baddie" by Leila Grey

Leila Grey is a wrestling success story, from Ohio Valley Wrestling to a feature player in AEW and she’s only been doing it for three years.

But is she a “Baddie”?

Musically, that is.

Now, I’ll admit I’m not a fan of Jade Cargill and after aligning herself with her as one of her Baddies supporters, her departure to WWE may well have put a crimp in her style. She bears no grudge, as Grey told ThePopBreak.com: “I am very happy for Jade. I think that is a great step up in her career and I am excited to see where she goes … I thanked her for our time working together because working with her was a great experience for me and it was an important moment in my career and it is something I will never forget. I owe a lot to Jade Cargill.”

And now she’s with AEW tag team Top Flight (Darius and Dante Martin, with Action Andretti) as a “Flight Attendant,” dressed as one but really a manager – erm…

The current role doesn’t seem to have “permanence” stamped on it, so perhaps it would be good to look at other options, but you’d need some training to be an actual flight attendant. You wouldn’t, though, to be a pop star — topulous of the populous!

I jest of course, but Leila has just released a track and a video (do people still call it that?) to go with it.

Leila Grey at the Icons of Wrestling Convention & Fanfest on Saturday, October 28, 2023, at the 2300 Arena, in Philadelphia, PA. Photo by George Tahinos, https://georgetahinos.smugmug.com

But Is It Any Good?

Well, “Baddie” will please lots of people and, perhaps more importantly, it will not frighten anyone.

Leila has been seen in the video for Bad Bunny track “Mia” and this has a really commercial feel, it’s made to nestle in the charts whilst having a bit of a saucy feel.

Why do I say that?

Well, there are no diversions from braggadocios Rap tracks like Sexyy Red (without the in-your-face sexuality), even fellow grappler Lio Rush or Rocky Romero produce more interesting tracks, sounding a bit more underground.

So this has a simply clashing, clapping drum machine backing and no discernible verse or chorus. Yes, I’m aware I might seem like a curmudgeonly, elderly music reviewer; I’m not disliking the no-chorus thing, just commenting on it and aware that much commercial Rap has this feel.

“Baddie” has one direction; forward. And because it’s a flow of confident personal bigging up, it’s important that she continues that energy and she manages that very well.

That’s an issue and a strength. There’s no light and shade here, Leila gives us that confident list of her success throughout; the song only about two minutes long, though. She’s clear, sassy and had that Rap Battle sense throughout – very on point.

A song as slight as this needs something to keep your attention. And “Baddie” has …

The Video

It’s Leila in a variety of outfits, nothing really skimpy, you feel that if the camera were allowed to move lower, we’d be in a different place and that’s a choice, no twerking permissible here.

What we do get is the Baddie Leila in what looks like a rather dirty warehouse (watch out for tripping hazards), cavorting on a chaise longue, on a motorbike and, as someone on YouTube suggested, in a Volvo which looks weathered and even a little rusty.

That’s interesting. She might throw money at the end, but there are no sports car, yacht and champagne shots here. Not sure what she’s really trying to say, maybe it’s a general comment about keeping it real; perhaps she’s just Leila from the block …

I can’t find anything on the net about who wrote and produced this, it didn’t drop in early October with any hoopla or hullabaloo. It has the feeling of just something that Leila wants to do; of course it’s of the entertainment industry, someone has to record it, someone has to organize and film the video, but this feels pretty organic.