2010s baddie: Blac Chyna
The intro to my 2010s analysis series begins with Blac Chyna. In recent years, she has gone by Angela. She said online someone can call her “Chy” or “Ang” - I will use those interchangeably out of respect. She wanted to separate the two identities because she was too lost in it. Chy is hailed as one of the original influencers. I would say she is one of the last few it girls and has a special place in our hearts for those of us who were on Tumblr in its hey day.
Angela Reneé White
aka Blac Chyna
born on May 11, 1988.Childhood.
Angela grew up mostly with her grandmother after her mom. Her grandmother was loving and doted upon her. mom had her at 17. When her mom was 36, she was 18. If you ever see pictures of her and her mother, they look just alike as a result - nearly spitting image of each other.
Toni was a hustler and a dancer as well. Her mom was always about the money, and that’s what gave Chy her drive. She said one of the favorite things Toni taught her was “Don’t be a little bitch.” LOL.
***I won’t focus on the intricacies of Angela and Toni’s relationship for now but just know they’ve always butted heads. This post is about Angela. If you search on YouTube, their arguments together will pop up. They are cordial for now, and that’s what matters.
Angela lived with her godparents during her last year of high school. Her godparents were strict with her. She moved out of their house at the young age of 18. She said she couldn’t afford college. She was living on campus with two other girls. She wanted to leave the dorm because she was coming from the strip club and it was incompatible. Chy dropped out, and did end up furthering her education later in life.
The unaffordability of college is why she started dancing for 2 years (6 total). She decided to drive to Miami with her grandmother. Her grandmother, sadly, passed in 2013 and she believes that’s when things took a turn into her Blac Chyna persona.
King of Diamonds.
She left for Miami and met Shenellica Bettencourt (Joseline). She was amazed by the empire of dancers: Joseline, Cardi B, and Amber Rose.
She got known for her long blonde hair, tanned skin, tattoos, and a curvaceous body. This was her persona, “Blac Chyna” at a very young age and as someone at 25, I can’t imagine what she had to go through while we were fawning over her past self.
The most notorious dancers had their dressing rooms, and Chy was one of them. Tyga requested her to come out after Chris Brown’s F.A.M.E. Tour After Party at King of Diamonds. Micheal Ray Nguyen-Stevenson aka Tyga (backronym: Thank You God Always), originally had a recording contract with YMCMB in 2008. He is known for founding an independent label “Last Kings Records” and recording the song “Rack City”, etc.
Tyga requested for Angela to be featured in the Rack City music video. They got engaged in November 2011. Angela acknowledged recently that everything happened way too fast as they met in October.
I would be remiss if I did not mention her iconic friendship with Heather during this time. Heather was her best friend and met her through Tyga/Trell. Heather was also a hustler and owned a Boutique. They were always together. They had a crazy falling out chronicled on Snapchat in 2015 over a misunderstanding. They didn’t speak after that but recently reconciled.
Chyna ended up having King, Tyga’s baby at the peak of her career. She was 6-7 months pregnant moving away from Miami. She felt like she had to hide the pregnancy. Chy believes this was protection from stress and the spotlight and that in retrospect, she appreciates it.
She was only 24 at the time of her pregnancy. Tyga was always gone, she was in the million-dollar mansion alone. They broke up in 2014.
The Kardashian Dream.
Tyga left Chy for Kylie Jenner. Chy was originally cordial with Kim K, who discovered her iconic photos on IG. They would take iconic mirror photos. That was short-lived after the Kylie scandal.
Kylie was also plumping her lips and emulating everything Chy already was, and that created more beef. Her mom has gone on numerous rants about the Kardashian-Jenner family (as she should).
This all came to a head when Dream was born. Dream Renee Kardashian was born on November 10, 2016. Dream is the only heir to the Kardashian name left, due to Rob Kardashian being her father. Most people were not happy about this union, especially her mother Toni. Rob was going to the gym, losing weight, and in a healthy mindset at the time. They had a TV show called Rob & Chyna, with low ratings (and it didn’t help image-wise, either).
Angela tried to trademark Angela Kardashian, but sadly the Kardashian sisters barricaded her from doing so. As mentioned in my Socialite post, Kim was known for a good scandal and this tanked Angela’s image. Rob accused Chyna of cheating on him and being an addict. Rob posted salacious photos of her. She filed a restraining order and tried to file a 100 million dollar lawsuit. Being the black girl in a situation under a massive empire, the judge ruled in favor of the Kardashians. No damages were awarded to Chyna. This created a shift in Chyna, but in the end, I feel like she had the last laugh. Nobody can take Dream away from her!
Angela White & her beautiful children, King & Dream
IF ALL OF THIS WAS CONFUSING: "Blac Chyna was Tyga PUM PUM Kylie Jenner use fi har (used her) PUM PUM tek weh (to take away) Tyga from Chyna So Chyna just give Kylie bredda (brother, Rob) PUM PUM" -SPICE
Building a Brand.
Unlike most “it girls” today, Angela has a lot to show from her traumatic experiences at the strip club, Kardashian scandals, etc. Most of the girls on Instagram will be a pretty face with nothing to show for it. Angela is someone who always was ahead of the wave, regardless of the outcome. She opened a boutique. Then expanded into a lash brand “Lashed” was turned into “Hearts Pure”.
Angela also makes music and is still a model for Fashion Nova. Fashion Nova reached out to Chy personally. The CEO, Richard, had a personal relationship with her. Amber and Chy were one of the first girls to model for the brand.
Instagram: Blac Chyna
Blac Chyna became more than just a dancer. She is an entrepreneur and straight up business woman. I remember her saying in an interview that she felt like everything she did was out of pain through the hustle. This hustle paid off. We can’t forget that shoutout from Drake in “Miss Me” and her being a double to Nicki Minaj. Let’s analyze her signatures in more detail!
Chyna-Era Signatures.
Firstly, I have to mention her ATTITUDE! TYPICAL VIXEN “IDGAF”. Just search Tokyo Toni on YouTube and you can see where she got it from.
That was a Chy signature. She was a stubborn BULL through and through. To her credit, she was young and went through a lot. This is the “shift” I mentioned earlier. She was just hurt, but luckily this spawned a LOT of memes and kept people talking if you ask me. Bad press or good press, she won. shrugs
Chyna Bang.
In the 2010s, Chy popularized a blunt bang, For a long time she wore various shades of blonde hair and experimented with other colors at one point as well. This was the early 2010s era Chy. A lot of people think this was only a Nicki thing, but if you ask me, SHE started it for real. SORRY!
Dimple Piercings.
At one point, dimple piercings were SUPEERRR in, and this is due to Chy. She is one of the only women I know on the planet that could pull that off. She naturally already had dimples and a perfectly shaped face for it. It just emphasized features she already had, such as her high cheekbones. We can speculate all day about 2010s Baddies and their potential surgeries, but if you reference Chy’s younger photos, she always had IT facially. Idc.
If you have to rope astrology into it (I don’t know her birth time, I do know she has a Pisces moon)… Chy is one of those people in the zodiac that definitely say “F it, I’m going for it, if nobody else does.”
Exotic Barbie Realness.
Her old makeup was perfect for dancer life, camera wear, and it’s what I call Barbie exotic glam. Sometimes, she even did a super bright under eye (which is in right now, just not as bright). She was good for a good contour and bold lip. Sounds familiar, doesn’t it? The tanned skin also ATE DOWN! Her own mom even does this look to this day. The girls who get it, get it! I honestly think at some point, the eyeshadow will come back around.
I HAVE to give her her flowers because, if you ask me, she was ahead of her time… years later this trended around 2017 when bold brows, matte lips, and Anastasia's eyeshadow palettes and Morphe (gags) were IN. What a time.
Booty & Boobs!
The “BBL” look was in WAYYY before the late 2010s and 2020s. That’s just dancer culture! A lot of them are getting their shots dissolved (back then it was the shots… you can refer to K. Michelle for how painful and risky that was at the time) now, including Chy as she transitioned back to being Angela. Buttttt it still ate down. You can achieve this look with formfitting dresses and push up bras. I do think the girlies should bring back CLEAVAGE!
Late 2010s: Natural.
I think this newer look was inspired by her new California life and being in a different social circle of rappers and influencers. Her makeup around this time would be more tasteful - brows, neutral lips, and lashes. LA is all about NATURALLLLL looks to this DAY!
To achieve this 2010s Baddie meets Vixen look, I like to do a wispy extensions lash set, my natural hair in a silk press, arched eyebrows, and a glossy lip. You can do a light foundation, but the point is to drive attention to your natural features. (Notice how all the VIXEN personality girlies did transition into a more natural look but maintained their ALLURE!!!)
2024: Short Cut.
Lately, Blac Chyna has been sporting her natural hair with a short finger wave cut. She is one of those women that looks good in any hairstyle. I love the girlies that are able to literally chop off all of their hair on their spiritual journey. My sister shaved her head bald in the 2010s when the big chop was in. It holds true that: “If you can wear a short cut, that’s how you know you’re really that girl.”
What can we learn?:
With the evolution of Blac Chyna to Angela White, there are a lot of things we can learn from her and take with us into this decade so far.
Authenticity is key.
One thing about Angela White is that over the years she has remained true to herself. She has never made herself out to be a different person than what she was. The allure of the 2010s baddie was always the authenticity of it all. Everyone was unapologetically themselves.
2. Stay focused.
Angela always kept her eyes on the prize, regardless of what it was. That is how she has managed to stay relevant today. She could’ve ended up like a lot of former vixens and internet models who lack identity outside of men, but she made sure to build her own identity and brand in her faith. She stayed focused on sobriety, her children, and strengthening her knowledge and businesses.
3. Appreciate your journey.
A lot of people look back at their past with a lot of self-hatred, but one thing I’ve loved about Angela in her new interviews is that she has a perspective that has empathy for who she was and the challenges she had. It is easy for her to reflect on who she used to be (Blac Chyna) and who she is today. Other posts of mine detail personalities/alter egos - the point is to always acknowledge the layers of who you are. Humans weren’t meant to be one-dimensional, to be honest. And who says you have to explain your past, anyway? The only person’s perspective that matters is your own.
I hope this helped you learn more about the evolution of baddies and how it’s more than just surface level. Beauty is one thing, character development is another. Stay tuned for the next 2010s baddie in this series!
