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 exhibits 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 may see the tunnel imaginative and prescient in her inexperienced eyes. Her followers, who’ve been by her facet 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 yr, “Ojos Verdes,” is a cumbia ballad impressed by private conditions she’s gone by way of, fairly presumably 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 lady, I’ve listened to cumbia and know a lot about it. The one different time I’ve labored on a cumbia music earlier than was with the [band] Angeles Azules,” she says. “Now I really feel comfy and ready to make my very own music, so that is me doing it alone.”

Nicole has come a far method in a brief period of time. Her 2019 debut album “Recuedros,” full of sprinkles of pop, soulful R&B, and urbano tones, consists of 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 a couple of. “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 music I put out has actually helped me to evolve my sound,” she says. “When you hearken to my first and third albums, you’ll be able to see the expansion not solely vocally however all the way down to the general ideas, even the way in which I specific myself. I like when individuals can discover that evolution in my music.”

Her fourth studio album remains to be a piece in progress, however Nicole notes that the mission’s total idea is completed. “I do not wish 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 unbelievable songs,” she says. “For this subsequent mission, with regards to construction and melodies, there might be a number of hip-hop, R&B, and rap — that would be the focus. Musically, although, apart from my subsequent mission, there might be many surprises that may come about this yr.”

Rising up, Nicole’s musical influences diverse. She grew up listening to tango, cumbia, rock, and varied genres. “Amy Winehouse, Christina Aguilera, Kendrick Lamar are a few 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 effectively,” 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 start and rise of hip-hop in New York Metropolis, and desirous to study 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 wished to study extra about this world, it actually caught my consideration,” Nicole says. “I began to hearken 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 at this time. 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 at this time.

As a white Argentine lady, Nicole understands that she occupies an area created and originated by Black of us — 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 combat, and it is easy for anybody to co-opt an area that they did not start in, however I will by no means take possession of an area I am a visitor in,” she says. “To know the origins of hip-hop is vital, bringing visibility to issues that went on within the tradition prior to now, and so many unbelievable rappers that make up these areas, appropriating the house 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 capacity to freestyle.

“I really feel like hip-hop, however principally rap, taught me tips on how to specific myself when freestyling. Not simply musically, but additionally it taught me tips on how to 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 particular person, I’d say it in a freestyle, in a studio, in a battle, and I discovered to specific myself this fashion. And thru freestyling, I discovered tips on how to socialize, and it additionally served me in my private life in tips on how to converse 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 pleased 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 a number of them personally, so it makes me pleased 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 outdoors 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 sooner or later. What’s retaining her grounded is her household and associates, and having fun with what she does.

“I am actually reaching all the pieces I ever dreamed of, and that is what retains me going,” she says. “To have the ability to help my mother and father, 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 selected deal with Latine creators. Along with PS, her writing has been printed by Billboard, Byrdie, Folks en Español, Refinery29, Rolling Stone, and extra.