Juno-winning rapper bbno$ stepping away from music over online negativity

bbno$ poses for photos after winning the TikTok Juno Fan Choice award during the Juno Awards in Vancouver on Sunday, March 30, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

Canadian rapper bbno$ says he’s stepping away from the music industry over what he says is a constant stream of online negativity.

Earlier this month the entertainer from British Columbia posted on social media he’d stop making music “for the foreseeable future.”

The Juno-winning rapper told the Fear& podcast this week he likes to stay positive, but has faced bullying online and says he isn’t a fan of the negativity.

Bbno$, whose real name is Alexander Gumuchian, says there’s no harm in stepping away, but was indifferent on whether he’d return to music, saying he’ll be doing a lot of self-reflection in 2026.

Gumuchian burst onto the scene in 2019 with his single “Lalala” and gained further traction through TikTok in 2021 for his track “Edamame.”

At the Juno Awards this year, he won the Fan Choice Award, beating out major names in pop music such as Tate McRae and Shawn Mendes.

“I’ve just been bullied online,” he told the podcast. “I’m obviously a small little pillar online of positivity … I get messages every day from my fans, like my diehards, being like ‘I can’t keep up with the negativity. I’m trying.’”

“I’m just like, why not take a step away? Like, it’s fine. I’ve done what I’ve needed to do in my life, and maybe I’ll come back, maybe I don’t. I don’t know.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 20, 2025.

Aaron Sousa, The Canadian Press