Teen Band The Linda Lindas Land Record Deal After Viral “Racist, Sexist Boy” Performance

The band, whose members are between the ages of 10 and 16, gained viral fame after a video of their performance at a library was widely shared on social media.

The Linda Lindas pose in front of the Los Angeles Public Library where they performed a nearly 40 minute set that included their song "Racist, Sexist Boy." | Los Angeles Public Library
The Linda Lindas pose in front of the Los Angeles Public Library where they performed a nearly 40 minute set that included their song "Racist, Sexist Boy." | Los Angeles Public Library

A punk rock band made up of teens and tweens attracted praise from other rock legends and a record label over the weekend after a video of their infectious performance went viral. 

Los Angeles-based band The Linda Lindas, who describe themselves as “Half Asian/ Half Latinx,” performed at the LA Public Library as part of “TEENtastic Tuesdays” in early May for Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month. The library posted the full video of the young rock band’s performance last week, and it has since become an internet sensation. The most notable moment from their nearly 40-minute performance came when they performed their original song, “Racist, Sexist Boy.” Drummer Mila, 10, prefaced the anthem with some background that inspired the tune: 

“A little while before we went into lockdown, a boy came up to me in my class and said that his dad told him to stay away from Chinese people,” Mila said. “After I told him that I was Chinese, he backed away from me.”

The other band members Eloise, 13, Lucia, 14, and Bela, 16, launched into the angsty song, which has since gone viral:

The Linda Lindas told the Los Angeles Times that they had the idea to write a song like “Racist, Sexist Boy” for a while but decided during the 2020 presidential election that it was “the time for it.”

“Of all the songs that we’ve written, it’s the most hard hitting,” Lucia told the LA Times. “It’s very tough compared to what we usually write, and it had to be that way. If it wasn’t that way, it probably wouldn’t have had much of an impact.”

The video was praised by Rage Against The Machine’s Tom Morello, who called it the “Song of the day!” Red Hot Chili Peppers legend Flea reposted the video on Instagram with the caption: “The Kids Are Alright. Straight rockin. Gotta love it.” Paramore’s Hayley Williams called The Linda Lindas “one of my fav new punk bands since about the time they came out of the womb” in March. (Lucia and Mila are the daughters of Paramore’s producer Carlos de la Garza.)

The Linda Lindas have recently signed with Epitaph Records, according to Variety. The record label is seemingly a perfect fit, as it has produced other notable rock bands including Weezer, The All-American Rejects, Rancid, Every Time I Die, and others.

The Linda Lindas have been in the spotlight since 2018 for performing punk covers of songs from Bikini Kill and The Muffs. They were propelled into LA fame after being chosen as the openers for Bikini Kill for the act’s reunion shows in 2019 (Mila wore a Bikini Kill shirt during their LAPL set). The young band has also played with Alice Bag and Best Coast and was featured in Amy Poehler’s 2021 Netflix movie “Moxie.” The band also wrote a song for the 2020 Netflix documentary short “The Claudia Kishi Club,” based on the character of the same name in beloved book-turned-TV series “The Baby-Sitters Club.” The documentary highlighted the importance of Claudia Kishi in the 1980s and 90s when Asian American characters were rarely represented.