Jessie Reyez, Snow Tha Product and Adriel Favela gathered to talk about the ways in which they disrupt gender roles and why it matters in the Latin music space in a new episode of Billboard’s Cultura Clash (watch above).
“I didn’t really fit in most of the times in my 10-year music career until now,” regional Mexican singer Favela says. “I felt lost all the time but it’s just having that Mexican-American culture and being proud of it. There was a moment when I was the first one tatted in regional Mexican and it was a bad thing. It wasn’t until I decided to be myself and have fun with it that people got attached to it.”
Mexican-American rapper, Snow, could also relate.
“I was raised very traditional Mexican. They take your biggest insecurity and make that your nickname. So, they definitely did that to me,” she notes. “They tugged in a lot on the type of person I was or what I did. It made me want to be very true to myself and that’s how I ended up putting everything into music. I learned to love myself because of the way the fans loved me for becoming myself.”
When it comes to defending their art, Colombian-Canadian singer-songwriter Reyez assures that it’s “a given in this industry.”
“I feel that my skin has gotten a little bit thicker throughout the years,” she elaborates. “Sometimes you just have to have fun. I have to be careful that I don’t become a character of myself for the sake of going against the grain. I just need to do whatever I want to do, regardless of whether I’m getting cheered on or not because the cheers have to come internally for them to be valid.”
On this week’s episode, hosted by YouTube’s A.J. Ramos and presented by Capital One, the three artists also opened up about receiving backlash on social media, the artist they most admired growing up for breaking gender norms, and much more.
“The simple fact of being human beings deserves respect,” Favela proudly states.
Now in its second season, Cultura Clash — hosted by Latin executive AJ Ramos — spotlights Latin artists and influencers who discuss trending topics within Latin culture and music. A new episode airs every Wednesday on Billboard.com, social media, and Billboard‘s YouTube channel. Watch this week’s episode above.