Empress Of Is Redefining What the Latinx Experience Sounds Like

Empress Of's musical aesthetic isn't easily definable—and that's precisely the point. For the 30-year-old Honduran-American musician, her genre-leaping sound is always inspired and defined by the physical places she finds herself in—whether it's the calming chaos of New York City, her laid-back hometown of Los Angeles, or a different city every day while on tour with the likes of Lizzo and Blood Orange.

Empress Of, born Lorely Rodriguez, does more than simply make dance music, however. Her status as an experimental artist serves as a current-day example of the ever-changing notion of what it means to be a Latinx musician. Her latest album, I'm Your Empress Of, explores the infectiously intriguing territory Rodriguez finds herself in when she embraces all the factors, moments, and memories that have shaped her identity up until this very moment. Whether it's via the subtle sampling of salsa music in tracks like "I'm Your Empress Of" and "Void," or incorporating the words and advice of her mother throughout the new project, Rodriguez's message is clear: Her Latinidad absolutely defines her life and her sound—but not through the shallow lens that has defined mainstream success for Latinxs in America thus far.

Below, we speak with Rodriguez about the inspiration behind her latest project and share a behind-the-scenes look at the making of her stunning album art and "Give Me Another Chance" music video.

For our readers who maybe are just now being introduced to you, I would love to know how you personally describe your musical sound.

I think my music is kind of genre leaping and a mix of all the things that you love. It's got pop, it's got dance, it's got electronic, it's got a little bit of R&B, a little bit of jazz. It's everything in one. It's really hard to put me in a genre box.

I was reading up on a few of your past interviews, and I noticed you talked about how you recorded your record at a very significant time in your life and you wanted it to sound a bit broken. But I feel like when I listen to it, even though obviously some of the lyrics are very personal, very intimate, I think it sounds sonically celebratory and free. So I would love to know, how did your experiences at that time dictate how this new project was going to sound?

I think I was at a point in my life where I just crossed the threshold of not giving a fuck or not giving a damn. And sometimes, you have to be so down to not be afraid of falling anymore or afraid of letting fear dictate your artistic choices. And so I don't know, maybe that's where you get that liberating sound where it's just, well, I've already been through so much emotional baggage that I don't know, there's not really anything to hide anymore. And if music is the one thing that I have that makes me feel the best, why would I limit myself in my writing and my music making? Also, broken things are great things. Sometimes, those are some of the best things.

Your mother makes a few appearances on the project, and I love those little cameos. Why did you decide to include her in this, and what is it like creatively collaborating with your mom?

I wanted her to talk on the record, because she just always has such incredible things to say, also really annoying things to say. I think I talk about her a lot, and I just got to the point like, "Why not finally introduce her in my music and bring that whole full circle?" And she had already been working on clothes with me for my live shows. And I always talk about how much she influences me as a kid of an immigrant in the States. And just trying to bring both of those cultures together, American culture and Latin American culture. So I just, I wanted something to put on the record that is a through line of my identity as all those things. A woman and a kid of an Internet and all that stuff.

What do you think were some of the specific stories you were trying to tell with this new project?

It's a breakup record, so there's a bunch of stuff about that. All the different phases you feel, desperation and lust and jealousy and love. There isn't a jealousy theme on there, but yeah. Just vulnerability and just all those feelings that you feel towards someone. But also, it's not just about how you feel towards someone, it's how those feelings let you find out stuff about yourself, how you want to be treated and how you want to be seen and how you want to be perceived as a woman. It's the things you find out about yourself, more importantly, on this record.

You've mentioned how your music obviously leaps through different genres—it's not a monolithic musical experience. Who have been some of your biggest musical influences who have kind of helped shape your sound thus far?

I think Kate Bush is a really big one. I think Björk's a big one. I think Blood Orange is a really big one. Whenever I put his records on, I feel like I want to go to the place where I become a better artist. I just like listening to stuff that makes me want to become a better artist. Yeah. So those things, Childish Gambino makes me feel like that.

This content is imported from YouTube. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.

I know you're home in L.A. right now, but you also spent a few years in New York, kind of toward the beginning of your music career. Do you feel like there's a difference between creating in New York and creating in L.A.? How do you feel like those different cities have influenced you creatively?

I think it's just different periods. New York is a different place now, because it's just been overrun by Apple stores and Starbucks and all that stuff. And so there's not really a very thriving artistic community towards the end of when I lived there. But when I lived there, there was a very chaotic energy, and there were a group of artists that I just felt really inspired to live around. I mean, that's not fair to say. New York has very incredible artists that live there. And just walking down the street, you get inspired by the history and the culture that there are there. It's an intense place to live and I think that influences my music.

I think living in L.A., it's just, I don't know. I don't know if it affects my music or not, because the record, I made most of those beats on tour, in a plane, in tour centers and stuff. I'm not in the point in my life where a surrounding really affects the way I write. I think it's more me internally will affect the way I write and just where I am. So I've just been touring for four years and we just hear that. I think you hear that more.

I love that you don't hide your identity in your projects and in your music, whether it means that you have a few lyrics in Spanish or, with the new one, include your mom's words on the record. But you also don't make what I think mainstream radio and media would define as "Latinx" music. So my question to you is, do you ever feel pressure to sound or appear a certain way in your music because of your identity?

I think pressure isn't the word, I think I just have an obligation to myself to discover who I am and portray that to myself. To me, what's really important is for people to see me the way I see myself and just really explore that. So, how should I say this? I know I'm not a typical Latinx artist, but being Latinx is a vital part of who I am. And so with my album cover and the other artists I chose to collaborate with on this record, I knew that that story was going to elevate who I was as a Latin-American woman and in my art.

I just wanted to explore that more and push that, and do it in a way that I haven't seen and that I haven't seen myself in. Because it's really easy to just do the person I am, which is growing up in L.A. and wearing Dickies and we're in Cortezes and wearing a lot of workwear stuff. But I don't know, I wanted to go to Mexico, and I wanted to collaborate with other artists who were pushing those fundamental things that are in Latin-American culture to another level. And it was really inspiring, and it brought out a lot of confidence in me to do that.

What do you feel that the music industry right now gets wrong or kind of misunderstands about Latinx artists today?

I think because our community hasn't had the type of exposure that we have right now, that we're starting to have. I think it's very easy to put everything into just the Latinx box. And right now, reggaeton has had a huge moment. But not every Latinx artist makes reggaeton. There's The Marías who make completely different music. Cuco, who's obviously a mega star, and Kali Uchis. They're just so many different artists who make different types of shining music in the Latinx community. So I just think diversity is going to be the next thing that needs to happen with exposing more Latinx artists.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.

Bianca Betancourt Assistant News Editor Bianca Betancourt is the Assistant Digital News Editor at BAZAAR.com where she covers celebrity news, pop culture and of course, Royal family ongoings. This content is created and maintained by a third party, and imported onto this page to help users provide their email addresses. You may be able to find more information about this and similar content at piano.io This commenting section is created and maintained by a third party, and imported onto this page. You may be able to find more information on their web site.