For pedestrians near Boston’s North End, if you look up you could be greeted by a white billboard proclaiming “I Hate Boston” in all capitalized letters. Harsh.
While the words may come across as blunt and out of context, it’s actually a promotion for artist Reneé Rapp’s debut album “Snow Angel” — including a song titled “I Hate Boston” — which is out for release on Friday.
The billboard caught the attention of the “Only in Boston” account on X, formerly known as Twitter, posting a picture of the sign, which Rapp then retweeted with the caption “no stone unturned.”
Talking about the billboard, Rapp told CBS New Boston that the song is about a bad breakup with a man from Boston.
The singer added to the outlet that she harbors no ill will toward Massachusetts’ largest city, to the contrary, but that she was intentional about wanting to get people arguing about the sign, sarcastically saying people in Boston are “very good at that.”
Rapp, 23, is originally from North Carolina and her career has included starring roles as an actress in HBO’s “The Sex Lives of College Girls” as Leighton Murray, a member of the show’s main girl group, as well as the role of Regina George in the “Mean Girls” musical on Broadway.
Reneé Rapp performs on NBC’s “Today” show at Rockefeller Plaza on Friday, July 28, 2023, in New York. (Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP)Charles Sykes/Invision/AP
She released the EP “Everything to Everyone” and the single “Tattoos” in 2022, according to the musician’s Spotify profile. Rapp released her new album’s title track and the single “Talk Too Much” earlier this summer prior to the full 12-track album’s release on Aug. 18.
Those wanting to catch a glimpse of the billboard can see it best from the area around Valenti Square, just south of North Station in Boston. The billboard sits atop a building in the block between Cooper, Cross, Endicott and Stillman Streets in the North End and is partly obscured by a neighboring building under construction from some angles.
