Lexa Gates, the 22-year-old Queens-based rapper, has recently emerged from her year-long hiatus with ambitious plans: A newly released single, a complete album and a plan for rap-world domination. “I can’t wait,” she shares with me the week before the eagerly anticipated release date of “Lately, Nothing” — her latest single that aims to elevate her sound to the pinnacle she’s been striving for since the debut of her first project, Scum of the Earth, in 2020.
Much like her New York music idols — MF Doom, Westside Gunn and Pop Smoke to name a few — Gates shares a strong and genuine connection to the city she grew up in. Growing up in a Latin household in Astoria, Queens (where she still resides), Gates attributes much of her early influence to her mother.
“My mom was the one playing music for us; she was playing Wu-Tang, Eminem, and Aaliyah. All RnB stuff, all the popular Y2K-type things.” These influences can be felt in much of her music, from the Aaliyah-like deep cut of ‘If I Die, I Die’ to the way she raps over a Conductor Williams-esque beat in ‘Selfish.’
Embodying a surly teenager as her online persona, Gates is truly a child of the internet. She attributes much of her influence to the SoundCloud and Odd Future eras when independent rap became a reality for many artists. Gates’ stylistic influence is the subject of intense debate amongst fans and critics alike, much of it occurring on TikTok, the platform where a considerable amount of her early fame came from.
Dive into her comments section to experience a breadth of opinions on her music; One fan points out a supposed stylistic resemblance to cult favorite Princess Nokia — Gates swears she doesn’t see it — while another likens her to Brockhampton sweetheart Matt Champion or any member in the Buffalo-based collective Griselda.
For Gates, an independent artist, TikTok and Instagram have been major tools to grow her music. Utilizing this new way to gain exposure, her TikTok has garnered nearly 1 million likes alongside several viral YouTube videos, including a newly released On The Radar freestyle and a handful of self-released music videos. She has recently transferred this online influence into a run of shows, most notably a headlining show at Cafe Erzulie in Brooklyn and co-hosting a concert alongside the likes of Mavi, Valee, and Na-Kel Smith at Smokers Club in Manhattan.
“It was great,” she explained a month after her first solo show at the Cafe Erzulie, “Honestly, it was better than I expected. Because people lined up, they knew all the words. I practiced and it was kind of for nothing because they were screaming the words louder than me.”
One major talking point for Gates is the role of women in hip-hop, an industry that has been traditionally male-dominated. The past decade has seen serious strides for equality within the industry, the 2023 XXL all-female cypher, the groundbreaking success of Doja Cat, Latto, and most recently Ice Spice, PinkPantheress and Sexyy Red to name a few. Gates still sees a divide.
“We have, the sexy type and then we got the thug-like, hard rappers. I want to bring something intricate, artistic, and emotional to the game because I’m not some bulletproof, perfect human being. I feel like a lot of the time that’s what women are trying to portray. We feel in competition with the men in rap and that’s all about like, who doesn’t give a f*ck, the most.”
Ironically, Gates is exceedingly nonchalant, a common characteristic of the hip-hop world which she embodies but is trying to distance herself from. “I’m trying to be a businesswoman and be serious, straight edge. On some Tyler (The Creator) sh*t. I think that will be influential for my career because not a lot of people are doing that. It’s not popular to care.”
Being straight edge and conforming to industry standards for Gates is a sensitive topic. She doesn’t like rollouts or sitting on music for too long because “then it just doesn’t resonate with me anymore,” a semi-controversial sentiment in the new world of drawn-out over-the-top album rollouts.
Her newest single “Lately, Nothing” is obviously still resonating with her. “I’m so excited,” she responds when asked about the forthcoming single, “and we didn’t even release it yet.”. “Lately, Nothing” is the first step in Gates’ plan of 2024 dominance. The track, at just over two minutes, features the Queens native rapping over layered singing on a distinctly laid-back beat. An increase in the level of production is immediately noticeable, alongside an obvious step out of her comfort zone with outreaching vocal flairs.
As for 2024, Gates’ plans don’t stop at the release of “Lately, Nothing.” “I want to drop a full album,” she says. “I have a full album done, like 12 or 14 songs that I’m ready to put out.” This would be her fifth studio album and first since the release of Universe Wrapped In Flesh in Summer 2022. “I’m ready,” Gates tells me, eager to continue her 2023 hot streak. “I need my sh*t to drop now.”
Check out our conversation below!
EH: How did you first get into music? Why do you think you gravitated toward rap?
LG: “My mom wanted to be a singer, but she was a single mom so she had to prioritize working and paying the bills. She got me a singing teacher, this dude from Guatemala, to come and teach me how to play piano. She had gotten the piano so that they could sing together, but then I came in and I was like playing it because I thought it was cool.”
EH: What music were you listening to as a kid? Who was putting you onto new music?
LG: “My mom really was the one playing music for us; she was playing Wu-Tang, Eminem, and Alliyah. All RnB stuff. All the popular Y2K-type things that were like in the early 2000s.”
EH: Do you listen to Latin music like any Colombian music?
LG: “I do; I’m Puerto Rican too and I feel more in touch with my Puerto Rican side. I listen to the classics, but I’m not too avid on listening to Hispanic albums because they just remind me of being in the back of a car with my parents.”
EH: Being from Queens, who were some of your favorite New York artists growing up?
LG: “I’m never ready for that question; I love everybody. SoundCloud was popular so I listened to a bunch of nobodies like Earl, Tyler, and Trippie Redd.”
EH: What have you been listening to recently?
LG: “I’ve been listening to Grimes and Jazz. Also, you know, what’s popular, I like Karrahhboo.”
EH: How was your first show?
LG: “It was great. Honestly, it was better than I expected. Because people lined up, and they knew all the words. I practiced and it was kind of for nothing because they were screaming the words louder than me.”
EH: Scrolling through your TikTok comments, your fans love to describe your music style as a female Tyler the Creator, Matt Champion, and Westside Gunn. Do you resonate with any of these comparisons?
LG: “I resonate with them, I do. I love all those artists that they compare me to most of the time but maybe not like Princess Nokia; they always say Princess Nokia like I’m biting her. I don’t even listen to her, how am I biting her, if I don’t even listen to her?”
EH: You’ve referenced Astoria natives Austin Babbitt and Father Steve as influential figures in your life, how have they influenced your artistic development?
LG: “They’re just like, from the neighborhood that I grew up. So they’re the only people I know from here. That’s another thing that’s valid about Queens is there are no transplants. Where I’m at is just like old people and like little girls with uggs and leggings. The only people I know that were from here and had some sort of influence were Ass Pizza and Father Steve. You can’t ignore them. They put stickers everywhere.”
EH: 2023 was a big year for women in music, especially in rap, what do you feel you bring to this burgeoning female-dominated rap scene?
LG: “There’s the sexy type and then we have the thug-like kind of hard rappers. I want to bring something intricate and artistic and emotional to the game because I’m not some bulletproof, perfect human being and I feel like a lot of the time that’s what women are trying to portray. We feel in competition with the men in rap and that’s all about like, who doesn’t give a f*ck, the most.”
EH: I feel like a lot of your music is about expressing that vulnerability.
LG: “Yeah, I agree. I feel like I do put it in a way where it seems like I don’t care but it’s like if I really didn’t care, I wouldn’t be saying all this, you know?”
EH: I just listened to ‘Lately, Nothing.’ How does it feel to be back releasing music for the first time?
LG: “I’m so excited. We didn’t even release it yet. I’m so used to just finishing music and putting it out the same day like just having all the control. I’m ready; I need my sh*t to drop now. My team wants to take everything slow and have promotion, but for me, I want to just put the sh*t out. I don’t like sitting on things for too long because then I don’t resonate with them anymore.”
EH: How do you feel your music has evolved since the release of ‘Scum of the Earth’ in 2020?
LG: “I think it has evolved, very literally, because when I started doing music, I dropped out of school, I was doing drugs and going out to parties being like a typical New York teen rebelling against everything but now, I’m trying to be like a businesswoman and be serious and straight edge. On some Tyler (The Creator) sh*t. I think that will be influential for my career because not a lot of people are doing that. It’s not popular to care.”
EH: You mention Tyler, I hear so much of Tyler’s influence in your music, on your beat selections, on everything.
LG:”He’s amazing; I don’t want to talk about him too much because he’s as rated as he should be. But that’s like timeless music, that’s what I’m trying to put into the world to like something that you can listen to in 20 years, and it’s not going to be something that was just like a trend right now.”
EH: What’s your routine? What do you do every day?
LG: “I do my bed, I get dressed, I wash my face, I put my hair up, I go to the gym, I go home, I take a shower, I pick up some sh*t from the grocery store, I make a protein shake. I just live like an old lady.”
EH: How do you find inspiration for your music?
LG: “I don’t know. Probably just living. Being alive.”
EH: What kind of brands are you into right now? Describe your style.
LG: “I’ve been looking at Rick Owens and Margiela; I kind of want to dress clean-cut, like somebody on Fifth Avenue. I know fashion right now is very into crazy sh*t. I don’t want to be a Hypebeast. I want to look classy.”
EH: Is there anyone you’re collaborating with right now or do you want to collaborate with?
LG: “I have a song with Z loopers that I’m trying to put on the album; I f*ck with him he makes great music. There’s also this girl Ale Araya who was on ‘Lately Nothing ‘.”
EH: What can Lexa Gates fans look forward to in 2024?
LG: “I want to drop like a full album. I have a full album done and have like 12 or like 14 songs that I’m ready to put out.”