Nicki Nicole Shares How Rap Music Became Her Outlet

It is a drizzly Thursday afternoon in New York Metropolis, and Nicki Nicole has spent most of her day answering back-to-back interview questions from journalists. For somebody who simply concluded a tour between Latin America and Europe, to not point out 9 sold-out reveals on the Movistar Enviornment in Buenos Aires, the place greater than 100,000 followers had been in attendance, you’d assume she was able to decelerate. However hours earlier than our dialog, she introduced that her first US headlining tour would kick off subsequent month in Mexico Metropolis. You’ll be able to see the tunnel imaginative and prescient in her inexperienced eyes. Her followers, who’ve been by her aspect since day one, are what inspire her to maintain going.

The 23-year-old budding singer, rapper, and songwriter has cemented a reputation for herself in her native nation of Argentina. Nicole Cucco prides herself on by no means sticking to only one style when creating music; it helped outline her place as a multidimensional artistic eager on bridging the hole between singing and rapping.

With the announcement of the US leg of her tour comes new music that does simply that. Her first single of the 12 months, “Ojos Verdes,” is a cumbia ballad impressed by private conditions she’s gone by, fairly probably alluding to her current public breakup with Peso Pluma. The lyrics translate to: “However I introduced out the very best in you / And also you realized it the day I left.”

“Since I used to be a younger woman, I’ve listened to cumbia and know a lot about it. The one different time I’ve labored on a cumbia track earlier than was with the [band] Angeles Azules,” she says. “Now I really feel comfy and ready to make my very own track, so that is me doing it by myself.”

Nicole has come a far approach in a brief period of time. Her 2019 debut album “Recuedros,” stuffed with sprinkles of pop, soulful R&B, and urbano tones, contains her standout single, “Wapo Traketero,” which she carried out a few years afterward “The Tonight Present Starring Jimmy Fallon” — making her the primary Argentine artist to ever carry out on the late-night present.

In the meantime, her 2021 sophomore studio album, “Parte de Mí,” performs round with reggaeton, hip-hop, and upbeat pop sounds, together with heavy collaborations from acts like Rauw Alejandro, Mora, and Mon Lafarte, simply to call just a few. “ALMA,” a self-exploration album that ties reggaeton, Latin R&B, and darkish ballads all collectively, was nominated for “Finest City Album” on the 2023 Latin Grammys.

“The reality is, each album and each track I put out has actually helped me to evolve my sound,” she says. “If you happen to take heed to my first and third albums, you possibly can see the expansion not solely vocally however all the way down to the general ideas, even the way in which I categorical myself. I like when individuals can discover that evolution in my music.”

Her fourth studio album continues to be a piece in progress, however Nicole notes that the undertaking’s general idea is completed. “I do not need to restrict myself or rush the album. I am all the time studying one thing new. Simply being right here in New York for every week, I made some unimaginable songs,” she says. “For this subsequent undertaking, in relation to construction and melodies, there will likely be numerous hip-hop, R&B, and rap — that would be the focus. Musically, although, other than my subsequent undertaking, there will likely be many surprises that may come about this 12 months.”

Rising up, Nicole’s musical influences assorted. She grew up listening to tango, cumbia, rock, and numerous genres. “Amy Winehouse, Christina Aguilera, Kendrick Lamar are a number of the artists who’ve influenced my music. I’ve by no means labored on rock music as a solo artist, however that is one thing I plan to discover as properly,” she says.

Nicole’s love for hip-hop started when she was 15, across the time she began attending freestyle battle competitions. She remembers being intrigued by “The Get Down,” the Netflix collection that facilities on the beginning and rise of hip-hop in New York Metropolis, and desirous to be taught extra concerning the style’s origins.

“Earlier than watching [the series], I knew considerably of the historical past of hip-hop, however as I continued watching I needed to be taught extra about this world, it actually caught my consideration,” Nicole says. “I began to take heed to extra rap music; I fell in love with all of it. I used to be unhappy that there was just one season of the present.”

At 17, a youthful Nicki Nicole was becoming a member of in on freestyle competitions, which helped form her wordplay as we speak. Her favourite previous and current rappers embody Nuyorican rapper Hurricane G, Lauryn Hill, Ivy Queen, Nathy Peluso, and her sister, Sofía Gabanna. The rise of hip-hop tradition in Argentina is not new; it has been a motion for a while now. Nicole is grateful for El Quinto Escalón, dubbed Argentina’s most distinguished rap competitors, which was held from 2012 to 2017 in Buenos Aires. Duki, Paolo Londra, Milo J, and plenty of others — every with their very own type and essence — have all participated within the competitors and are key gamers within the Argentine hip-hop scene as we speak.

As a white Argentine girl, Nicole understands that she occupies an area created and originated by Black people — hip-hop is Black historical past. It was by no means hers to start with, in order an outsider, it is crucial for her to navigate it thoughtfully and keep away from any appropriation of the tradition.

“This did not begin out as my struggle, and it is simple for anybody to co-opt an area that they did not start in, however I am going to by no means take possession of an area I am a visitor in,” she says. “To know the origins of hip-hop is necessary, bringing visibility to issues that went on within the tradition up to now, and so many unimaginable rappers that make up these areas, appropriating the area is one thing I do not ever plan to do.”

She says she additionally owes hip-hop and rap tradition for serving to her get out of her shell and shaping her skill to freestyle.

“I really feel like hip-hop, however principally rap, taught me how you can categorical myself when freestyling. Not simply musically, but in addition it taught me how you can get out of my shell as a result of I was actually shy,” she shares. “Every little thing I did not have the [courage] to say in individual, I might say it in a freestyle, in a studio, in a battle, and I discovered to precise myself this fashion. And thru freestyling, I discovered how you can socialize, and it additionally served me in my private life in how you can communicate to individuals.”

With a lot music and expertise popping out of Argentina — Cazzu, Emilia, Tiago PZK, Duki, Maria Becerra, and so many extra — Nicki Nicole is happy with the greatness coming from her nation.

“I do know that each single Argentine artist that’s placing within the work proper now actually deserves the entire recognition,” she says. “I do know numerous them personally, so it makes me glad as a result of I do know the entire work and energy that goes behind all of it, and I do know that they do all of this as a result of they dreamt it. It is an honor to know them.”

As Nicki Nicole prepares for her tour and plans her world domination, she is unphased by any exterior noise — something that comes between her work. Nothing can cease her, except it is a possibility to get within the studio with the legendary Tego Calderon or electropop band Miranda, which she hopes will occur in the future. What’s conserving her grounded is her household and buddies, and having fun with what she does.

“I am actually attaining every little thing I ever dreamed of, and that is what retains me going,” she says. “To have the ability to help my dad and mom, to have the ability to spend time with the individuals I like, that is crucial factor to me on this world of music.”

Brenda Barrientos is a Peruvian American journalist and social strategist with greater than seven years of expertise. Along with her work in social media, Brenda writes about music and tradition, with a specific give attention to Latine creators. Along with PS, her writing has been printed by Billboard, Byrdie, Individuals en Español, Refinery29, Rolling Stone, and extra.