Interview
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Miguel Bosé admits that on the first day of rehearsals for his upcoming Importante Tour 2025-2026, he felt terrified. “Oh my God! How was this done? How did one walk on stage?” he thought. But when the music started, his body began to move and glide naturally across the wooden platform to the rhythm of his famous song, “Nena.”
Everything was set for the great return of the pop icon, after an eight-year hiatus. It was time for the world to witness his personal and artistic rebirth.
“I was ready to come back, and suddenly going on tour became the most important thing in my life,” says an visibly excited Bosé to Billboard Español in Mexico City, where he has lived for the past seven years.
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“I feel very motivated, with a lot of desire. Oh!” he adds. “You see, I wanted to wait eight years to let all the past drama settle down and be able to rebuild myself physically, spiritually, mentally, emotionally. All that had to be rebuilt.”
Bosé’s last tour was Estaré in 2017, which started in Mexico that February and followed the concept of his last album to date, Bosé: MTV Unplugged (2016), concluding the following year. His last recording was a cumbia version of his classic “Morir de Amor” with Los Ángeles Azules, included in that band’s 2018 album Esto Sí Es Cumbia.
Today, Bosé looks triumphant for having overcome a crisis that shook him on various levels: He partially lost his voice between 2019 and 2023; ended a 26-year relationship with Nacho Palau; suffered the death of his mother, the Italian actress and model Lucía Bosé; and was the victim of an armed robbery at his luxurious home in Mexican City in August 2023.
“When everything that happened happened, and all the problems began to accumulate from all sides, I blamed Bosé. I said, ‘He is to blame’ — ‘You are to blame, bastard, for being who you are. You have destroyed my life.’ So I deconstructed myself like a Lego, and left all the pieces there for eight years,” he said at a press conference following the interview.
The singer of “Aire” and “Si Tú No Vuelves” points out that he had to exercise humility, and decide that the self-punishment had been enough. Therefore, he says that his 2025-2026 Importante Tour will be a “luminous” and “powerful” concert.
“People are going to hear the super hits,” he says, explaining that he had to leave many songs out of the setlist. “I can’t do a six-hour show. It’s not viable.” He details that this tour will consist of several segments like “a collection of paintings” that will depict various characters, stories and landscapes.
Importante Tour will begin its journey on Feb. 27 at the Congress Center in Querétaro, in that state neighboring the capital of Mexico, and will arrive at the National Auditorium in Mexico City on March 14 and 15, before visiting other Mexican cities.
He will continue in June in his native Spain. And, on Oct. 2, he’ll begin the U.S. trek of the tour at The Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York City. In the coming weeks and months, the artist hopes to announce dates for Latin America.
“I look forward for everyone to come and see luminous, a fun show — a journey through time, through the soundtracks of millions of people — to see this beautiful and bold proposal,” he adds.
With more than 30 million albums sold throughout a five-decade career, Bosé is one of the most recognized Latin pop artists globally. On the Billboard charts, he has placed hits like “Nena,” “Morena Mía,” and “Como un Lobo” on Hot Latin Songs and Latin Airplay, and multiple albums in the top 10 of the Top Latin Albums ranking, including Papito, Cardio, and Papitwo.
And his influence extends beyond music. Awarded with accolades such as the Latin Recording Academy 2013 Person of the Year, the Global Gift Humanitarian Award and Telemundo’s El Poder en Ti, as a philanthropist, Bosé is deeply involved in such causes as Patrimonio Indígena Mex, Fundación Lucha Contra el Sida and National Geographic’s Pristine Seas.
Although the 68-year-old artist — who’s also a writer and an actor — says he has many songs he has written over the last few years, he has no plans to share new material anytime soon, because he considers that releasing albums is “not viable” at a time when music has been digitalized.
“I have already built my career,” he says. “I don’t feel like recording anything right now. How do you sell that music? Are there stores, are there supports? How much do you pay? What does it contribute? How much does it give you financially? Nothing, I have no desire for others to take advantage of the new creations, that neither I nor my fans have something tangible — a CD, a cassette.
“[Instead] I’ll sing to the people the first 30 songs they are expecting to hear [on the tour] — because if I don’t, they will slit my throat,” he concludes with a laugh.
“I’ve been bursting at the seams to be able to talk about this stuff,” Chloe Moriondo tells Billboard of her upcoming album, Oyster. The singer-songwriter shifted her aesthetic across her three previous albums, from the ukulele twee on 2018’s Rabbit Hearted. to heartfelt pop-punk on 2021’s Blood Bunny to fuzzed-out, radio-ready melodies on 2022’s SUCKERPUNCH.
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Oyster, due out Mar. 28 on Public Consumption/Atlantic Music Group, functions as an amalgamation of those sounds, while also featuring the 22-year-old’s most vulnerable lyrics by far. “This feels like a very special project,” says Moriondo. “I’m nervous, as I always am before releasing things, but especially because this one’s so personal.”
On Wednesday (Feb. 19), Moriondo released the second preview of the album with “Hate It,” a gleefully unhinged pop track with a creeping bass line and an obsessive protagonist (“Wanna wear your body and trade places / Everybody loves you, and I hate it,” Moriondo sings on the chorus). After showcasing a sardonic streak on SUCKERPUNCH, Moriondo lets the dark humor simmer on the track while the listener is urged to hum along.
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“It’s one of the only non-aquatic songs off the album,” Moriondo says of “Hate It,” which is surrounded by songs titled “7 Seas,” “Abyss” and “Shoreline” on Oyster. “I did stick very thematically with the ocean, water and all things aquatic in general. But ‘Hate It’ was an oddball, and it just proved to me that I’m going to continue writing murderous pop love songs till I die, I’m pretty sure. And we just couldn’t leave her off the album.”
Moriondo began working on the new album in early 2023, tinkering on songs for weeks at a time in London and Los Angeles, while also processing the worst breakup of her life. Heartbreak, and how to manage its aftereffects, serves as the undercurrent of Oyster, from the mournful piano ballad “Pond” to the reflective bedroom-pop track “Raw” to the breathtaking “Siren Calling,” which offers closure within the final track.
“It was very cathartic to be able to pour out everything that had been going on in my brain and in my life,” Moriondo notes. “It was nerve-wracking, in some ways. I kind of felt like a baby sea turtle — flopping around, confused — for the first couple sessions and the first couple songs. I felt a little bit nervous, but it also felt like an outpouring of pent-up energy and emotion that I was excited to finally be able to release.”
Not only does Oyster represent the cohesive front-to-back listen of Moriondo’s career, but the singer-songwriter says that she wants every aspect of this album campaign to feel part of a whole — and that she became more hands-on with the planning of execution of this rollout than she’s ever been.
“With this album, I’ve just learned how crucial it can be to be as involved as possible creatively, with every facet of the album,” she says. “With an album like Blood Bunny or Rabbit Hearted., I was so young, and I say this as a term of endearment, but I was still very ignorant to a lot of things. I don’t think I poured as much of myself as I could have into a lot of my previous stuff, in terms of the touring, the vinyl packaging, just the life and blood of it. So I think I’m much more connected creatively to this album than I have been.”
After releasing “Shoreline” as the first taste of Oyster last month, Moriondo also announced a spring headlining tour, which kicks off on Apr. 24 in Detroit. She says that ideas for performing these new songs live have dominated her thoughts for months, and she hopes that her shows are as freeing for her fans as making this album proved to be for her.
“The people who come to my shows, whether they’re longtime fans or new fans or boyfriends or parents of fans, can expect to experience a very immersive show,” Moriondo says with a laugh. “A lot of dancing, a lot of potential crying, and something reminiscent of the Jellyfish Jam from Spongebob.”
After dropping a career-spanning live album (2024’s Then And Now) and joining fellow gospel greats Fred Hammond, Yolanda Adams, and The Clark Sisters on Kirk Franklin’s arena-visiting Reunion Tour, Bishop Marvin Sapp made a move few in the gospel world saw coming – releasing an R&B EP just in time for Valentine’s Day (Feb. 14).
Aptly titled If I Was An R&B Singer, the new EP is a notable – but momentary! — genre pivot from one of the most decorated voices in contemporary gospel music. An 11-time Grammy nominee, Sapp has sent a whopping 14 titles to the top 10 of Billboard’s Gospel Albums, including 2007’s Thirsty and 2010’s Here I Am, both of which spent over 20 weeks atop the chart. He’s also earned four chart-toppers on Hot Gospel Songs, led by 2007’s seminal “Never Would Have Made It,” which achieved rare crossover success, reaching No. 14 on Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and No. 82 on the all-genre Billboard Hot 100. His most recent Gospel Songs chart-topper, 2020’s “Thank You for It All,” was a finalist for top gospel song at the 2021 Billboard Music Awards.
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There’s always a kerfuffle when gospel artists cross over to secular music, but Sapp’s new EP arrives under special circumstances. First, people have been wondering what Sapp would sound like on an R&B song for years – it’s one of the ways he grounds the EP’s narrative in the intro. (“I wonder,” muses on-air personality Tyrene “TJ” Jackson on the track, “What it would sound like… an R&B song, or a whole R&B project by Marvin Sapp?”) Second, after a 36-year career that’s garnered him billions of streams and numerous historic achievements, Sapp is in a place where he feels comfortable taking risks – even if he doesn’t think they’re as dicey as others might.
“I sing gospel because that’s my conviction, but don’t think I can’t do what other people do,” he plainly tells Billboard on Valentine’s Day. “I can do it; I just chose a different genre.”
That relaxed freedom and artistic security shines across If I Were An R&B Singer and its quiet storm-inflected, late-‘80s R&B foundation. Featuring writing and production from a close-knit team, led by his son, Marvin Sapp Jr., If I Were an R&B Singer is an entertaining artistic exercise that never sacrifices or compromises the integrity and overall mission of Sapp’s purpose as a singer and artist.
In a lively conversation with Billboard, Marvin Sapp details the making of his new EP, his favorite line dances, the differences in vocal technique across genres, and the R&B he used to croon in the school lunchroom.
When did you finally decide to make an R&B project?
I didn’t sit down and decide to make it; it kinda just fell in my lap. For my whole 36-year career, people have always asked why I haven’t ever sung R&B music or anything of that nature. I always said the reason was that I didn’t feel like it was my assignment. I feel like whenever you do anything musically, there has to be a conviction that’s attached to it.
My son [Marvin Sapp Jr.] said I should make something like [If I Were An R&B Singer], and his good friend Kolten [Perine] produced the record. I decided to put my career in their hands, more or less, because they’re younger and Gen Z, they get it.
You touch on this during the intro, but talk to me a little bit more about your experience with R&B while growing up Baptist.
I grew up in a very traditional church here in Grand Rapids, MI. We didn’t have drums, didn’t have an organ, we had an upright piano, couldn’t rock, couldn’t clap, couldn’t do any of that. When I was a teen, everybody was listening to New Edition because they were a hot group — but I never felt like they could really sing. I was sitting up listening to people like Peabo Bryson, Teddy Pendergrass –who influenced my style in a gospel way – Con Funk Shun and the Dazz Band. These were the groups and singers who shaped me as an artist. That’s who I played around the house. Even though I chose gospel at the age of 10, you know, I was pretty much raised by those individuals.
When you had someone to sing to in the lunchroom, what songs were you singing?
I was singing stuff by the Dazz Band like “Heartbeat” and “I’m So Into You” by Peabo Bryson. My junior year in high school was everything to me because that’s when Between the Sheets by The Isley Brothers came out. I was singing the whole first side of that album. I remember my first major solo at my middle school was “Sparkle” by Cameo. I can count the number of times I’ve sung R&B in my life, maybe 20 times maximum.
This [project] is a one-and-done. I challenge everybody to get it because it’s not like we’re going to do anything else like this again. I just wanted to try it, and I think I did a pretty good job.
How did you develop the specific style of R&B you were going for on this project?
First, I wanted to make sure I didn’t veer too far away from my assignment and my calling. I still want to be the preacher, the teacher, the pastor, etc. I still want to be able to go back to doing what I feel like I do best — and that is singing the Gospel of Jesus. We wanted to make sure that lyrically, it was about love and relationships, but it was clean like a lot of the ‘80s and ‘90s R&B I grew up listening to. I wanted to revisit that particular style and texture.
I also had a conversation with my son and Kolten about making sure that I didn’t jeopardize who I was for the sake of the project. We came up with something that’s current, sensual, but not sexual. And that was the goal.
Who else was involved in making this project and when did that process begin?
It started last year. I built my own recording studio on my property during COVID, so I recorded it there like my last two CDs. The young man who mixed and mastered it, Curtis Lindsey, is actually my [musical director] and has been with me for maybe 17 years. Of course, my publicist Kymberlee [Norsworthy], my son — who co-wrote “Free Fallin” with Kolten and shot the album cover. I’m a very strong believer in using younger gifts that are around you to help you to remain current. It’s very difficult being an artist of 36 years and being blessed to remain relevant – especially when you’re trying to reinvent and introduce yourself at the same time. You have to make sure that you have people around you who really understand the pulse of what’s happening now, and Kolten and Marvin get it.
Did your approach to singing have any notable shifts between gospel and R&B?
Singing R&B is more melodic. In my gospel music, I might be hollering at you one minute, and the next, I’m singing softly and doing certain riffs. This particular record is more of me singing and people being able to sing with me to the hooks. We were trying to make sure it was catchy so we could give people the opportunity to hear me in a totally new light and recognize my versatility. I was able to use my falsetto a little bit, which I’m not able to do as much on the gospel side. I could do it, but once you recognize what people enjoy you doing, you just do that.
How did you come to an understanding of what R&B audiences want to hear in 2025?
I really studied! Of course, I’ve known Tank for years, and I listened to him. But I knew I couldn’t be a Tank. There’s a new young man [named October London] who I really, really love and listen to a whole not. He sounds like a Marvin Gaye type of artist. I literally sat and studied his music, placement and lyrical content. I listened to people like Joe, old-school Dave Hollister, and so many different people, to create some form of gumbo. I took pieces from each of them. The first song, “Listen,” is kind of a throwback to Kem. I got a clear picture of what people enjoy and what they want to listen to.
“Free Fallin” has a bit of a line dance moment. Could we be seeing you hit those moves soon? Do you have a favorite line dance?
I’m still doing the Cupid Shuffle, man. But I’m also learning the dance for [“Boots on the Ground” by 803Fresh]. I know they gonna do it tomorrow night at this event that I’m at. I’ve been on YouTube trying to figure it out. I’ll probably do a [“make your own line dance” challenge] for “Free Fallin” too.
You said this is a “one-and-done” project, but what do the promotional plans look like for the EP? Is a tour in the works?
There aren’t plans for me to tour it, because I don’t think that’s my actual assignment. We’re going to definitely see about getting airplay on R&B radio for “Free Fallin,” because I really think that song’s a vibe, to be perfectly honest. But I haven’t even thought that far. I just wanted to do something that was on my bucket list.
What were those internal conversations with your team like, considering you’re momentarily pivoting to R&B as one of the most highly regarded working artists in contemporary gospel music?
Kymberlee and I sat down and had a real conversation about it — because we were about to hit the road to do the Reunion Tour with Kirk Franklin, Fred Hammond, Yolanda Adams, and The Clark Sisters. This was a big tour, and we had just dropped my new live album. We talked about [how to handle] putting [the R&B project] out, because we were still on the Billboard charts with gospel tracks. We didn’t want to do anything that was going to jeopardize that. After thinking it through and mapping it out, we decided that this shouldn’t be an obstruction to what we do — especially because our target was to release it on Valentine’s Day.
There was definitely concern about backlash, but I think that the body of Christ is extremely mature. There are some that will have negative things to say, but those individuals who really know my heart and my passion understand without question that this is something that I’m doing just because I can. I’m not choosing it as a career.
Do you think there’s something to be said about waiting for the right time to do this project? Would the EP have sounded like this if it came out 10 years ago?
Heck no! Not even close. 10 years ago, I was still striving to be the best artist that I could possibly be. It’s easy for me to do this – and I don’t want this to sound wrong – because I’m accomplished. I can take risks. Even though I don’t honestly feel like this is a major risk, it’s still somewhat of a risk. 10 years ago, I probably wouldn’t even consider doing this. “The Best in Me” was hot, “Never Would Have Made It” was still at the top of the charts and on the R&B/Hip-Hop charts — I had already crossed over! [Laughs.]
Now, I’m focusing on pastoring and opening up another charter school in the DFW metroplex. I’m still making quality gospel music, and I’m still on the Billboard charts. And I’m older, I’m stronger, I’m wiser and I’m better.
We got a live album and a blockbuster tour from you last year. What do you have planned for 2025?
I’ve got a Tiny Desk set later this week, and my church in the DFW metroplex is growing by leaps and bounds. I gotta start a second service. I have two grandchildren now. In this particular season of my life, I’m coasting. It feels really good to be able to pick and choose what you want to do and not have to grind like I did for 20 of the 36 years I’ve been out here.
I’m going to enjoy it because it’s really hard to enjoy the ride while you’re grinding. You miss out on so much and people don’t get it.
At the height of my career, my wife was sick and dying. I missed out on a lot of things because we were fighting for her life, which was more important than anything I was doing outside of my house. Now, some 14-15 years later, I’m in a different place. I’m still able to maintain a level of success and relevance. I’m enjoying every moment of it now because I get the opportunity to view it from a different perspective.
After delivering successful songs as a songwriter to big stars of the new regional Mexican genre — and after making it onto the Billboard charts with hits like “Si No Quieres No” with Luis R. Conriquez, “La Patrulla” with Peso Pluma, and more recently “Loco” — the corrido singer-songwriter Netón Vega presents his debut album, Mi Vida, Mi Muerte.
Released on Friday (Feb. 14) under Josa Records, the 21-track set includes collaborations with Peso Pluma, Luis R Conriquez, Gabito Ballesteros, Oscar Maydon, Victor Mendivil, Chino Pakas, Juanchito, Xavi, Tito Double P, and Aleman. He arrives with “Morena” with Peso Pluma as the focus track, and brings the first single, “Loco,” which earned Vega his fourth top 10 hit on the Hot Latin Songs chart.
“This album is very personal and represents the mixture of all the influences that have marked my career and my life,” Vega tells Billboard Español about this production — which, in addition to corridos tumbados, adds some rap and reggaetón.
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Netón Vega (real name: Luis Ernesto Carvajal) was born in La Paz, Baja California Sur, and at the age of 12 went to live in Culiacán, Sinaloa, the birthplace of corridos, where he began writing songs. His first musical references were the traditional regional Mexican artists, such as Grupo Intocable, one of his favorites. Along the way, he delved into corridos tumbados, until he became a hit maker for the great stars of the genre.
“My songs gained momentum and first reached Hassan (Peso Pluma), who recorded ‘La Patrulla,’ ‘Rubicón,’ and ‘La People,’” Vega recalls. “Then they were picked up by Luis R. with ‘Si No Quieres No’ and ‘Chino,’ followed by Tito Double P with ‘El Gabacho,’ and then by Código FN and Gabito Ballesteros, among others.”
Now, at 21, he is releasing his debut album with the collaboration of many of these colleagues — a union to which he credits the growth of this movement. “It makes us stronger,” he notes. “Even though this is a business, we help each other.”
Below, Netón Vega breaks down five essential songs from his debut album Mi Vida, Mi Muerte in his own words. To listen to the album in its entirety, click here.
“Morena” (feat. Peso Pluma)
It is a corrido with classic requinto and a lot of ambiance. This song was born at a live event where I intended to record with Tito Double P, but for one reason or another, I couldn’t do it with him. I wrote this song while I was in a car. Later I showed it to Peso, who liked it from the first moment. At first, the song had a different direction, but it turned out very good. Peso asked me to make it the focus track of my debut album — and of course, I agreed.
“CDN” (feat. Luis R. Conriquez)
It’s a corrido that carries the hallmark I’ve always loved, with classic guitar picking, flawlessly executed. Honestly, this song was created because I knew it would be perfect for Luis R. Conriquez, and it turned out just right. It’s exactly the style that he and I share — and from the moment we made it, we knew it was going to be a hit. It’s one of those corridos that feels authentic, with real power.
“Chiquitita” (feat. Tito Double P)
Initially, “Chiquitita” was meant for Tito’s album. I sent it to him to record quickly because it needed to be submitted. However, in the end, I asked for it back and decided to keep it for my own album because I felt it needed a change, to have my own stamp on it. Honestly, I really liked how it turned out. “Chiquita bonita, déjate querer” (Pretty little one, let yourself be loved), that phrase is key in the song. It’s a romantic corrido that brings that touch of emotion with a distinctly marked requinto.
“Me Ha Costado” (feat. Alemán & Víctor Mendivil)
“Me Ha Costado” is a track with Alemán that came together in a crazy way. I remember sending him a video with the idea, and he liked it so much that he stopped eating and went straight to the studio. I mean, he really liked it — one of those times when you say, “This is a hit!” Then I invited Víctor Mendivil, and honestly, he did a great job on it. This song talks about effort, about everything it has taken for me to be here because I’ve been working since I was a kid, and everyone knows that. It’s a trap song with a really good beat.
“Cuando Me Ocupes” (feat. Xavi)
“Cuando Me Ocupes” came out very naturally, and was the last one to be recorded. With Xavi, we made two tracks, one for him and one for me. Everything was put together in two intense days in Guadalajara. Josa, my manager, arranged everything, and we got down to recording. It’s a love corrido, but with that style that makes it feel real. It’s one of those songs that brings a lot of emotion.
Netón Vega
Josa Records
Everyone’s curious about the teens and twenty-somethings who make up Gen Z. How do they interact with each other? Do they even dance in the clubs anymore? What’s the dating world like for them? With his new Wonderlove album, rising ATL-bred R&B singer Chase Shakur may have a few answers.
Introduced by singles like “Focus on Me” and the TyFontaine-assisted “Fairytailes in Midtown,” Wonderlove arrived on Friday (Feb. 7) as Shakur’s debut studio album — and his second full-length project under Def Jam. His new record charts its moody, introspective emotional odyssey through a soundscape that amalgamates gospel, soul, dancehall, Miami bass, trap, Afrobeats and more. Inspired by the surrealist world of Quentin Tarantino’s Oscar-winning Pulp Fiction and the globe-traversing DJ sets of his closest friends, Shakur sought to make an album that truly examined what love looks like for Gen Z in 2025.
“Sometimes we look at love kinda surface-level,” he tells Billboard just two days before the album drops. “We look at love for what we can get from it instead of adding to one another. I wanted to make a body of work that feels like a hug.”
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After bursting onto the scene with his 2022 debut project, It’ll Be Fine, Shakur spent the next two years pumping out music and hitting the showcase circuit in 2023. Last summer, he toured the globe alongside The Kid LAROI on the Grammy nominee’s The First Time tour.
A rapper-turned-singer with deep reverence for the roots of traditional R&B, Shakur displays tremendous growth across his debut album, which he began recording while touring London in December 2023 and finished during The Kid LAROI’s tour. On “Fairytales,” he slickly flips Sexyy Red’s raucous “Get It Sexyy” into a brooding, sensuous ballad, and he even buried a trap-inflected hidden track on the back half of the album’s closer, “A Song for Her.”
Billboard caught up with Chase Shakur about Wonderlove, deepening his film knowledge, his forthcoming tour, and honoring his family legacy through music.
Do you have a favorite moment from the creative process for this album?
Just living in L.A. for three months and being hella disciplined. I was on a meal prep routine and going to the gym; we only wore black clothes so we could lock in and not be distracted by anything else.
How do you feel you’ve grown as an artist and as a person since your debut?
I have a better understanding of what I’m trying to do with my career and my art. I’m learning maturity in my music.
What are some elements that you would consider immature in your older music?
Being scared a girl I’m talking to might hear something that I say [on a record] and crash out on me. I used to be nervous about that, but now I’m like “F–k that s—t.”
How do you think your growth manifests itself on Wonderlove specifically?
I’m a lot more fearless on this project. I had a session with No I.D. and Raphael Saadiq, and No I.D. gave a n—a the illest advice about not giving a f—k about perception. Just tell your story and bring those special nuances. I was nervous as f—k because they’re my inspirations, but they’re mad cool. In between recording, I would walk out into the lobby and get to hear how they did “How Does It Feel” with D’Angelo. We [as up-and-coming artists] overthink it. Listening to them talk about how the song was made because D’Angelo was looking for weed… we overthink a lot of the time!
You dropped your first two projects in back-to-back years. Why’d you take a bit more time with this one?
I wanted to make a story that people could understand. This was my first time doing something that had elements of surrealism, but I still wanted to keep it rough at the same time. When I was on tour [with The Kid LAROI], I was watching a bunch of movies that I hadn’t seen but everybody else had seen. I watched Pulp Fiction for the first time, and it felt real but like… your friend not gonna tell you no s—t like that, you know what I’m saying? [Laughs]. I’m trying to blend that world with my production and lyrics and make a full body of work, not just one song.
What does the term “wonderlove” mean and when did you know that was the title?
I came up with the title after coming home from tour and going to my grandma’s house. I grew up in a house with eight people, split between the women in the family and the men in the family. In Black households, we all have that picture that everybody knows. I was flipping through the photo album with my grandma, and there’s a picture of her and my grandpa. I never met my grandpa, but my grandma used to always tell me about the love they had for each other and the type of man he was. In her telling me that, I wanted to make something that was the opposite of what people are talking about right now.
Other than Pulp Fiction, what else were you consuming while making Wonderlove?
I listened to a lot of stuff. Reggae, a lot of Afrobeats, R&B of course. I watched Belly and Paid in Full – I know, I’m supposed to have been seen that shit – and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. I’ve just been studying film, man; I’m trying to make my visuals stand out with those elements of surrealism.
I think when people see me – I don’t know what they think really – but I feel like there’s an element of mystique. And with mystique, there’s a little bit of magic.
How did the Smino collaboration come together?
I was on The Kid LAROI’s tour, and he sent his verse a month before I left Baltimore. I randomly got it on the bus, and I was like, “What the f—k!” In my personal opinion, we got the best Smino verse in a minute. The video for that is gonna be wild too, so I’m excited. There’s always an element of unpredictability; I was playing his s—t months before that particular exchange even transpired. I like having a blend of vocals or a different contrast when I collaborate with people. I also want to step outside [my comfort zone] and mix genres.
You got a track on here called “Sex N Sade.” What’s your favorite Sade song?
“Soldier of Love!”
You end the album with a slightly more traditional piano-led ballad. How do you keep traditional R&B present in your style?
For this album, I would say the [main traditional] element was gospel music. With “2ofUs,” my mentor, Ari PenSmith, really helped me understand how to use my voice in a way that still has what I grew up on: the gospel and blues elements of traditional R&B.
In the past, I undermined my vocal evolution. I listened to the last project I dropped a couple of days ago, and vocally, I’ve made a 180 [degree turn]. When you listen to the first joint and then listen to me now, I’m much more confident and open.
“Undercover Angel” is a sick mix of Miami bass and dancehall. What was that studio session like?
Everybody thought I was crazy when I said [that was gonna work], ain’t gon lie. That’s slick how it goes a lot of the time, and then it works! A lot of my friends are DJs, and I go to their events and listen to their mashups and s—t. I record them when they blend Afrobeats and all that, I think it’s cool. I don’t know what made me want to have those dancehall elements, but I just wanted people to have fun. People be like, “What the f—k?” when they hear it – especially when the bass drops.
“Face” also has some overt house influences. Do you plan on exploring dance music further on future projects?
I try everything in the studio. I have rock songs, I got jazz songs, I got country songs, everything. When I tried making dance songs for the first time, it wasn’t cause I could dance. I can’t f—king dance. When I started working on this album, I was going to a lot of clubs where it wasn’t section culture. I’m in Atlanta, so I’m pulling up on R&B nights and seeing it’s possible for us to have fun and be cool at the same time. That’s what inspired me to make and throw out more dance songs.
How have you grown personally and professionally since signing to Def Jam?
I learned that everything is a choice. Somebody told me that, at this stage, you can choose to do three shows a night or do one show and go home. But it’s all up to you to put in 10,000 hours — not just with recording, but performing and being an all-around artist too. I know I want to be an artist with longevity, and being on Def Jam is teaching me ways to be patient with that.
Do you have any tour plans?
It’s gonna be a family affair, man. I’m excited about the tour. I got SWAVAY opening up and my family with me. Got a couple of shows being opened up by artists from the [Forever N September] collective. We’re coming with a stage that tells a story. It’s my first time doing some stage design, so this is a real learning process. I’m most excited to perform “Say That You Will.”
What happens when Caribbean tropical rhythms meet the world of astrology, feminine energy, and spirituality? A colorful supergroup called ASTROPICAL is born.
The new band group created by Bomba Estéreo and Rawayana — two of the most beloved contemporary bands from Colombia and Venezuela, respectively — took the world by surprise just a week ago when it released the track “Me Pasa (Piscis)” while making the announcement that the song was just the first single of an entire project that was soon to come.
On Thursday (Feb. 6), Billboard Español can announce that the 12-track album — one for each zodiac sign — will be released on March 7. Or as Li Saumet from Bomba Estéreo says: “Before Mercury goes retrograde.”
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The LP, also titled ASTROPICAL, includes the songs “Brinca (Acuario),” “Siento (Virgo),” “Otro Nivel (Capricornio),” “Una Noche en Caracas (Tauro),” “Happy (Libra),” “Calentita (Aries),” “El Lobo (Cáncer),” “Llegó El Verano (Sagitario),” “Quién Me Mandó (Géminis)” and “Corazón Adentro (Escorpio)” — in addition to “Me Pasa (Piscis)” and the upcoming single “Fogata (Leo),” to be released on Feb. 20, and which Saumet feels “is going to be one of the most transcendental songs of this album.”
And they have already started scheduling live performances, beginning with the Vive Latino festival in Mexico City, where they are set to play on Sunday, March 16, and the Estéreo Picnic festival in Bogotá, where they will perform on Saturday, March 29.
In an interview with Billboard Español, Saumet and Beto Montenegro from Rawayana talked about zodiac signs, feminine energy, and the musical “child” that was born from their union.
For starters, how did this collaboration come about?
Saumet: I have an intuition, and I visualized. A little voice told me, “The time has come to make the song with Rawayana.” And I woke up and said, “I’m going to call Beto and tell him.” Since my team is close to his team as well, I asked for his phone number. And Beto got me right away and sent a track.
Montenegro: I told her yes, of course, but let’s book two days in the studio instead of one in case the first day doesn’t go so well.
Beto, were you already a fan of Bomba Estéreo?
Montenegro: I have loved what Bomba has done in their career; they are an icon and musically speaking, they are exceptional. And something was happening to me — like I was understanding the power of manifestation and discipline and work. When Li contacted me, it was one of those things. I was watching Bomba Estéreo at a sunset on a beach in Chile, in Pichilemu. We were the four Rawayanas watching Bomba and I told the guys it felt like: “Wow! It seems like this is what’s going to happen now.” And then Li contacts me a year later. We got together in the studio and in two days three songs came out, so from there we agreed: “Let’s make an EP, but let’s go to your house in Santa Marta.”
How was that process, and why is it called Astropical?
Montenegro: Li is so wonderful, full of flowers and light and spirituality. And throughout the process, the presence of the [zodiac] signs was there. It was like: “You are so Aquarius, you are so Capricorn”… her and her friends. So I tell her, “We have to do something that has to do with the stars,” because we had the whole process with this theme. And I tell her, “Honestly, I don’t follow astrology much, but I find it very interesting.” And it didn’t take long for her to say, “How about Astropical?” And I said, “Wow!”
When did all this happen?
Saumet: In January last year. I mean, a year — we literally had a child. In January he impregnated me, or I impregnated him, because from here you don’t know who impregnated who. And now the kid is coming out. And it’s nice because I’m lucky enough to coincide with people with whom I complement with musically and things come out, always trusting also in my intuition, which is accurate in the sense that I can complement something or contribute something nice and organically. I feel it has been incredible to work with Beto and the guys, because their energy is wonderful. He is Aquarius! I mean, my husband is Aquarius. Aquarians are beings that move me a lot because I am Capricorn and I am earth, I am always working and I have many ideas. But he takes those ideas of mine and complements them. When that comes together, it creates a wonderful mix.
Add to that that my birthday (Jan. 18) and his birthday (Jan. 21) are close, so there are the signs. Then the planets align. I mean, it’s all very crazy, even to me as someone who believes in that. I feel that everything that is happening is organic, we haven’t planned it. Of course, there is a general plan, because fortunately, we are very clear about what we want and we have good ideas, but it has been very organic and very nice. It has been like a complement not only vocally, but also lyrically. I feel that the whole image and the whole concept has been complementary and it has been nice because he says he has learned a lot from me, but I have learned a lot from him too.
How do you complement each other?
Saumet: Well, Beto is a millennial, and I am timeless. [Laughs.] I am very open to changes, and he is very aware of what is happening. That was one of the things that attracted me a lot to this new process with Rawa, it inspired me like, wow! Because artists are always reinventing themselves, it’s not something you do or you don’t — you have to do it as an artist. But what people from younger generations have a lot, more and more, is that they reinvent themselves all the time: One day they are one thing or the other o everything at the same time.
They don’t let themselves be typecast…
Saumet: No, they don’t. And that has always caught my attention, because in a way, when I started making music, I did that. I made music that no one else was making and it was weird and people said, “What is this? Or I don’t know, a haircut or something. I mean, very atypical things at that time, because I have always been very atypical and I feel that he has a very good intuition at the work level and he is also very logical, he has like a very masculine energy, which is cool. The Aquarian is always a being who is between heaven and earth, that is, someone who is a bit made to do great things. And well, I am very spiritual, but also very hardworking, very disciplined, so I feel that we complement each other in that: intuition with thought.
What have they learned from each other?
Saumet: I’ve learned to listen, to trust. I’ve learned a lot! From the way he treats work, which I always had at a certain level and now I see from a different perspective, like interacting more. I don’t know how to explain it. Something I’ve seen from Beto in these months that I have been with him, is that he opens up a lot, and I have always opened up a bit but closed, very much respecting my space. I feel that it shouldn’t be like that, that there should be a balance.
I feel that this interaction makes things move forward as well, because it’s always an exchange of energy, and he is very good at that. He takes the leadership and he goes out and he makes it happen. I’m a bit shyer sometimes. When I’m on stage it’s another thing, but in terms of — I don’t want to say the word, lobbying, I’ve learned from him that when you open up, other things open up for you as well.
Montenegro: What happened to me, in the moment I am personally living now, is that the arrival of Li has been like an encounter with spirituality. It’s like a rain of flowers mixed with a strong feminine presence. I mean, I feel super feminine in this process. I have been working with men for many years, and working with a team of girls, where we are debating things or making decisions, I am delighted.
I think God is sending Li to me so I can connect with that, with spirituality. In the creative process, I tell my team: “Here the boss is Li. We are here; let the feminine power take over us.” And I really like that she is a person who has managed to design a life full of colors. She says she is reserved, but she shows a very interesting openness. And I think maybe the mix works because of that. I also think, when you hear her voice, it’s an explosive thing and maybe my voice is a bit sweeter. You can feel that in terms of sound.
Any fun anecdotes from this last year working together?
Montenegro: Well, our birthdays celebration was crazy.
Saumet: Ahhh, it was great! We went to San Sebastián in Puerto Rico, where we were actually doing a listening of the album, and we celebrated every day.
Montenegro: It was like a That was like a fair. We danced… The cultural interaction has been very interesting, but I feel that if we weren’t singers, Li [still] would be my friend. We like similar things. I mean, we celebrated our birthdays and I felt like when parents bring two little kids together to share a birthday, with the same friends. Our friends [ours and hers] are all alike. We are different nationalities, but we are all the same specimen.
Saumet: It was lovely. We did karaoke, salsa lessons. We had a great time.
What can we expect next?
Saumet: A song that I really like, called “Fogata (Leo),” which I feel is going to be one of the most transcendental songs of this album. It comes out on Feb. 20. It also has a beautiful video. I feel that when we made it — I don’t remember if I was on mushrooms or not, I don’t think so. But I remember that it was something magical; that song generated a super nice energy for me.
What is it about?
Montenegro: Well, “Fogata” is like a request of what we want for when we are not around anymore.
And when is the full album due?
Montenegro: March 7th.
Saumet: Before Mercury goes retrograde!
La Original Banda El Limón de Salvador Lizárraga, one of the longest-running Sinaloan bands in the genre, is celebrating its 60th anniversary and is preparing to celebrate throughout 2025.
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“I am happy to announce that Alex Lora, frontman of El Tri, has joined our celebration with one of his songs, “La Raza Más Chida,” which we will unveil in due time,” reveals Juan Lizárraga, grandson of the group’s founder and current music producer, in an interview with Billboard Español. “There are several guests for duets that we will be announcing in the near future.
“We would like to include some of the vocalists who have been in the band, like Julio Preciado,” continues Lizárraga, referring to the first official singer not only of La Original Banda El Limón but of any banda music of its kind.
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La Original Banda El Limón was formed in 1965 in a small town in Sinaloa called El Limón de los Peraza, from which it took its name. Following in the footsteps of its predecessor, Banda El Recodo de Don Cruz Lizárraga, it began as a wind band and, already with a defined style and an earned reputation, served as accompaniment for great stars such as Lola Beltrán, José Alfredo Jiménez and Antonio Aguilar. In 1990 they released their first album, Puro Mazatlán, with which they innovated by putting their own vocalist in a Sinaloa band for the first time.
Since then, the band has released more than 50 albums, 10 of which have appeared on Billboard‘s Top Latin Albums chart and seven on the Regional Mexican Albums chart. The group has also placed 33 songs in Regional Mexican Airplay, reaching No. 1 with “Al Menos” (2010) and “Di Que Regresarás” (2011), among other achievements. Banda El Limón has received multiple awards such as Latin Grammys for best banda album, twice, for Soy Tu Maestro (2010) and La Original y Sus Boleros De Amor (2013), as well as the Billboard Mexican Music Award for Excellence in Regional Mexican Music in 2012.
On Jan. 29, the group received recognition from the Promotores Unidos USA association in Las Vegas, kicking off his anniversary celebrations.
Today, Don Salvador Lizarraga’s grandchildren, who call him papá, carry on his legacy since his passing in 2021. One of them, producer Juan Lizárraga, talks with Billboard Español about their accomplishments, their upcoming plans and the possibility of one day seeing La Original play alongside music peers like Banda El Recodo and La Arrolladora Banda El Limón.
How great is the responsibility to remain relevant after six decades?
I would start by saying that I am very excited. Time goes by very fast; ten years ago we were celebrating our 50th anniversary with a huge concert at the Zócalo in Mexico City, something that marked our history. The legacy of my papá Salvador is something that must be dignified, something that we must work hard on. My brother Carlos, my brother Andrey, Francisco and I learned from him as a professional, but also as the great gentleman he was. This celebration is a dream come true for my dad, even though he is no longer here, and for us who are carrying on his legacy.
Characters like Don Cruz Lizárraga (from Banda El Recodo) and Don Salvador Lizárraga built a very important part in the history of regional Mexican music. Did your father realize that?
My dad used to tell us that he couldn’t imagine what was going to happen to his band. At the time, the only thing he thought about was bringing home the bread. People like him and Don Cruz Lizárraga loved music and in it they found their family’s livelihood. They were not looking for success; they just enjoyed what they did. It has been a great journey in which many characters have left their lives to achieve that the bands are positioned as an important part of Mexican culture.
What is it that keeps Sinaloa’s bands alive?
There are songs that are 30 years old and are still hits. That is what makes a group great, that makes the difference. It is with music that we really transcend and remain relevant. As long as there are singers and musicians who love the band, it will never stop and will continue to be strong. Banda El Recodo and La Original Banda El Limón are recognized for their longevity, but we cannot overlook what Banda MS has done. In twenty years, they have achieved what it took others twice as long. La Arrolladora also had its golden age. Banda Los Recoditos too. In short, there are many that continue to dignify regional Mexican music.
Fashions come and go, but what is well cemented continues. It is like when a hurricane passes and does not knock down a palm tree; it will shake it, it will bend it, but it is well planted and will not knock it down. Banda sinaloense music already has a hard-earned place.
What do you have planned to celebrate these 60 years?
I am happy to announce that Alex Lora, frontman of El Tri, has joined our celebration with one of his songs, which we will unveil in due time. He is delighted with how the arrangements turned out because we took care of the two essences, we achieved a point of balance. At the end of the day, we are enhancing Mexican music. We are focused on making collaborations with artists that are joining us. It’s not about doing songs by La Original Banda El Limón; we did that not too long ago. We want the guest to choose the song, and most importantly, we want them to enjoy banda music. As for a party, we also have it in mind and we are working on it.
Throughout your history you have had some great collaborations, is there one you remember in particular?
Fortunately there are several, with very important artists like Jenni Rivera, Juanes and Becky G, but one that was definitely a big challenge was to be part of the tribute to Caifanes with “No Dejes Que.” Making it sound good with a band and making them like it was not easy, but they were very satisfied. All those moments make us feel happy and proud of our genre.
Will there be a time when we can see something together with Banda El Recodo and La Arrolladora?
With whoever, we are open. I believe that all our colleagues should have the idea of making our music continue to transcend, to make a team. I believe that there are no egos or envy, what we have are matters of negotiation. My dad used to say and he said it well: “Credits are not earned on a piece of paper or in an advertisement, they are earned on stage.” At least for La Original Banda El Limón, opening or closing is the least of it. We are very happy that Banda El Recodo and La Arrolladora are touring together. We wish that could be extended. There are many things that can be achieved if we all come together, to make a great team so that we can bring a strong musical history to the people.
After becoming the youngest winner of the Latin Grammy for best new artist in 2023, at the age of 19, Joaquina finally released her highly anticipated first LP, Al Romper La Burbuja, on Friday (Jan. 31). The album, released under Universal Music Latino and co-produced by the young singer-songwriter mostly with Julio Reyes Copello, represents a crucial moment in her artistic and emotional evolution, with a mature, authentic, and reflective proposal.
“I believe that with this project I found myself for the first time fully,” Joaquina tells Billboard Español. “This year marks five years since I released my first song, [‘Primer Amor’], and I think all these years have brought me to this moment. Obviously, incredible things have happened, but I feel that right now it’s like the real beginning, so I am very grateful for this.”
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Comprising 14 songs, Al Romper La Burbuja — which follows her Latin Grammy-nominated EP Los Mejores Años from 2023 — includes the previously released singles “Quise Quererte,” “Escapar de Mí,” “Desahogo,” and “Pesimista,” among others, as well as an alternative version of “El Alquimista” and six new tracks, mostly a fusion of poetic folk-pop and classic rock.
The album’s title (which loosely translates to “breaking the bubble”), is “a metaphor for what it means to take care of the things that make you who you are,” she explains. “Having your own stronghold, your escape where you can grow and be yourself and flourish while you take care of your heart, and being able to have that place in your mind that you return to when you need it most and where you can remind yourself of your purpose always.”
It opens with “Carta a Mí” (Letter to myself), which is the way she defines the set as a whole, and closes with “Gracias por Estar Aquí” (Thanks for being here), an ode to her friends. “I think there is a lot of nostalgia on this album,” the Venezuelan artist adds. “That’s like a prevailing factor throughout the project, which is very nostalgic.”
At 20, she feels she has learned a lot about herself, personally and professionally, in the last few years.
“I’ve learned to believe more in myself and to be true to my instincts and the things that move me,” she says. “And making this album I have grown a lot as a songwriter, but also in areas like production. It was always a dream for me to grow in that field. So as a musician, as a producer, I am very proud that this is just the first project.”
Below, Joaquina breaks down five essential tracks from her new album, Al Romper la Burbuja.
JOAQUINA ‘AL ROMPER LA BURBUJA’
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“Capricho”
It’s one of my favorite songs on the album because I feel like it talks about an emotion that took me a long time to put into words. It talks about that moment when you want to understand why a person hurt you, and about always connecting the dots to understand why things happened a certain way. I am a person who likes to understand things a lot and I need to be talking about it all the time, I need to be like dissecting it all the time — and I found myself in a situation where I was talking too much about this thing that had happened to me, and I was so tangled in the subject, I couldn’t let go…
One day in a conversation with my mom and my sister, I kept going and they told me: “Joaqui, this is not you, this person is bringing out the worst part of you, you can’t let this happen.” And I said, “No, but I want that person to ask for forgiveness because I don’t understand why things happened the way they did, and I don’t understand why this person had to act this way because I didn’t do anything.” And in the end they told me, “You don’t have to understand anything, you don’t have to understand everything.” And that really stuck with me. The song talks about that, about you wanting to repay the person in kind for the situation, but deep down you know that that’s not you and that it’s just a whim — because you want the person to ask for forgiveness and you want things to have happened as you would have done them. It is a very complex feeling, a mixture of pain, anger, and sadness. That’s why I love that song.
“Desahogo”
It is one of the cheekiest songs on the album. It’s a song about not understanding what you’re feeling for someone, about a past love that you let go and that deep down you regret but don’t want to admit, so you’re kind of analyzing the situation from the outside and saying, “Well, I don’t remember if I miss you or if I miss the attention you gave me, or if it’s just nostalgia, but this is just a relief.” It’s a bit of a reflection on what it means not to know what you’re feeling for someone, whether you miss the version of yourself that was with them in the past or if you really miss them. In terms of production, I think it’s a perfect mix between a more organic world and a more synthetic world. I think that’s the whole album, but “Desahogo” especially is one of the songs that best combines that. I use Auto-Tune for the first time as an instrument.
“El Alquimista”
“El Alquimista” is the existential doubt of the album, that’s what I call it. And it’s placed as track seven, because for me it’s the climax of the album, but also seven is a divine number, so it’s like a nod to that. It alludes to the book [of the same name by Paulo Coelho], although the story and what I tell is not at all similar. Literature inspires me a lot, so when I read this book and heard that they called God by this term — and that an alchemist is someone who turns mud into gold — it seemed so powerful to me, and I decided to make a literary allusion. “El Alquimista” is a very honest song; it’s an analysis of everything that surrounds us on all levels.
And the creation process was almost supernatural. I wrote all the lyrics first as a poem in one day. I went to Julio [Reyes Copello]’s studio and it’s a very funny story because he tells me, “Oh, I love the idea, but I don’t have time to write today. Can we meet tomorrow?” I’m like, “Yes.” And he says, “But read me the lyrics, what do you have? Can we do something like that with the harmony?” And I go, “Yes, we can do something like that.” “Ah, what do you think?” And he started playing on the piano and we got carried away. I mean, it was done literally in an hour, him on the piano and me doing all the melody and the lyrics, improvising with the lyrics I had. And it’s a song that means a lot to me because I posted it on social media and the video went way more viral than anything I’ve ever posted in my life.
In the album there’s a version that’s inspired by Venezuelan folk music; it has arrangements inspired by llanero music and joropo. The musicians who played on the song are Venezuelan: There’s a cuatro, there’s a harp, there’s a bandola. We made the arrangement thinking of making an allusion to my Venezuelan rootsm and that was always the idea from the beginning. So I’m excited that the demo version on the piano came out and now the complete and more produced version comes out.
“Matices”
It’s a song that talks about when life wants to put you in certain categories. I think that as a human being, but especially as a woman, the world usually wants to put us in boxes and say that you can only be one thing or another. This song is a bit of a fun way of complaining about that, of analyzing. I am a person who thinks that black and white do not exist, that is, that everything has nuances, that nothing is black or white — neither what you should be as a person, nor the way you see life, nor the answers. So in a way the center and the inspiration of the song is my discomfort with people wanting to put me in a box. But I do it from a fun place. It’s a concept that I’m very passionate about and being able to put it into words was nice.
“Gracias por estar aquí”
This song (whose title means “Thank you for being here”) I wrote for my lifelong friends. It happened that I was on a work trip super far away, it was one of my first work trips. I arrived [back in Miami] and I was exhausted, but I went to the beach with my school friends who were here, and I hadn’t seen them in a long time [because they’re in college]. It was the best day of my life in a long time — and I realized that sometimes you have to get away from home and the people you love to appreciate them again.
Before, I always wanted to leave Miami and see the world because I was tired of the superficiality of the city and the people. I never felt good in high school, really, I always felt very uncomfortable and I have many songs that talk about that. So I find it interesting that the opening track of the album, which is “Carta a Mí,” says that the world is bigger than this city, bigger than your room. And at the end “Gracias por Estar Aquí” is like, “Wait, no, but I want to be at home, I want to be in my room, I want to see my lifelong friends, I want to see my sister, I want to see my parents.” I think that’s why the album is a complete journey.
The song also has my favorite chorus of the whole album. It says: “Where will time have gone? Where will it be? Who will be the owner? Will it be floating through the air waiting for someone to catch it? And if one day I catch it, I will squeeze it tightly with white fingers and in the hand a fist.” I wanted to explain the idea of grabbing something like that with your hands — I’m very passionate about that idea of nostalgia and wanting to capture every memory you’re living in your life, every memory you’ve lived, being able to take a photo and have it with you forever.
As documented from BTS‘ industry-shifting trilogy albums to the multidimensional universes created by the likes of ATEEZ and aespa, storytelling has become a crucial point to help power K-pop acts to top the charts and connect closely with their ever-growing global fanbases. With 20 years in the industry, Jaden Jeong remains so committed to his musical lores that he refuses to abandon them — even years after its original group has effectively dissolved.
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The founder and CEO of Korean-pop label and creative house Modhaus, Jeong’s work touched generations of K-pop fans with various involvement in superstar acts ranging from Lee Hyori and Wonder Girls to INFINITE, NCT, and OnlyOneOf, but most famously found his name associated alongside his work with girl group LOONA. Jeong acted as creative director for the 12-member outfit since its start in 2016, overseeing music and a larger narrative where the outfit introduced each girl through her own solo album. Despite drawing in fans like Grimes, Kim Petras and multiple queens from the RuPaul’s Drag Race franchise, he parted ways with LOONA’s label BlockBerry Creative in 2019 over a vague difference in creative direction. His exit not only marked a shift in LOONA’s sound (from forward-thinking synth and hyper-pop confections) but also abandoned the larger musical lore the 12 were developing (which included officially teased songs, a ballad project, international expansion, and more).
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But on Jan. 17, 2025, LOONA members HeeJin, HaSeul, Kim Lip, JinSoul, and Choerry — who recently reformed as ARTMS under Modhaus — dropped their “X1” teaser trailer featuring what fans thought sounded awfully similar to a sound previously teased from LOONA in 2019, the presumably lost track titled “BURN.”
Speaking openly about the behind-the-scenes dealings from the past as well as his future creative directions for the first time with Billboard, Jeong says that he and ARTMS will continue LOONA’s legacy through future music releases and touring beginning with the upcoming digital release of ARTMS’ “BURN.”
All 12 of LOONA’s members have successfully returned to the K-pop scene either as soloists (like members Chuu and Yves) or in a new group (as HyunJin, YeoJin, ViVi, Go Won and HyeJu did for two years as Loossemble), Jeong says he watches over all of their creative moves and is cognizant to be sensitive about the amount work that everyone has put into the group.
While shooting new content for ARTMS’ upcoming music as well as a new album for Modhaus’ experimental 24-member girl group tripleS, Jeong says he’s under the weather but still speaks a fiery passion about his past, current and future work that speaks to detail-oriented-yet-grandiose creative vision.
Why are you and ARTMS releasing “BURN” now when LOONA could not? How did you come to this decision?
I am well aware that many fans were looking forward to “BURN,” and for me as well, as it was the very last project I worked on right before leaving BlockBerry Creative. So, when Modhaus signed ARTMS, we wanted to release this song, it was just that we knew the timing would be important. We didn’t release “BURN” as the first song because if we released “BURN” with the reveal of ARTMS, it could have made it look like LOONA Version 2 and weakened ARTMS’ identity. So, we wanted to start ARTMS’ own story and work to where the story can lead up to its release.
Before we look forward to ARTMS, I’d like to reflect on how we got here. I remember learning your name for being closely associated with LOONA, but you left for somewhat vague reasons. The LOONA members left the label as well. Is there more you can share today?
So, this overall situation is quite tricky to express with words…I feel like my departure, or the reason for it, can sound like a criticism against someone, some organization, or a situation; that’s why I’ve avoided answering. But after all this time, if I were to give a little more insight into this…as you know, the members have left after going through a legal proceeding. You can say my whole situation is similar to what the members went through.
That gives some insight because you’ve explained your system with tripleS and the necessary amount of albums to sell for a unit to release more. It paints a picture of the financial realities facing K-pop acts. LOONA had 12 members, so I’ve heard theories wondering if it was difficult to financially justify the large-scale project you envisioned.
Answering about the financial side might sound like I’m criticizing one party over another, so I will only answer from my own side of things…so, like any other team, you start off the group through investments. Then you go through steps where you’re able to recoup [the investments] and make a profit. In the case of LOONA, I actually marketed it as a very expensive project, a group that would require a lot of money to be invested. However, in actuality, there was very compact spending and budgeting. In mentioning that, you can say, for example, that three billion Korean won [about $2.1 million] is a lot of money, while some can say that is a tight budget — it can change according to perspective. But when I’ve worked on groups, it’s not as if I was only working as the producer, but I had to calculate budget and expenses. There were many members for LOONA and we marketed it as an expensive project despite the consolidated spending, so we believe there could have been some illusions or misconceptions. However, especially considering the 12 members, there was a good turnaround, even financially.
So, what was “BURN” going to be with LOONA and what will it be ARTMS?
For the sake of comparison, tripleS is a group where fans’ decisions and interactions are very involved in creating the journey and next project. However, we planned out LOONA from the start. We had [the singles] “Hi High” and “Butterfly,” which are actually very different in concept and style, but I believe the fans could see how those two songs ultimately emerge and connect. The track after “Butterfly” was meant to be none other than “BURN,” so that’s why the “Butterfly” activities ended with a teaser trailer for “BURN;” this was all planned out.
I never told this to anyone in the world, but after “BURN,” we planned to work on [singles titled] “RUN” and then “ONE.” The three are a trilogy, just like how “Hi High” and “Butterfly” connect. “BURN” is about burning oneself, burning one’s identity away…you know, during puberty, you leave behind and “shed” your younger self? It’s like leaving that part of you behind as you grow in your identity. So, the trilogy is about “BURN” and burning oneself, “RUN” where the 12 members run their individual paths, and “ONE” is when the 12 members come together as “one.” For ARTMS, the story I have is that they came out with “Birth” and “Virtual Angel.” Angels can be interpreted in many different ways — for us, the wingbeat, or the act of flapping the wings, can be viewed as a butterfly. Now, “BURN” is meant to burn these very wings so it’s the perfect follow-up. Or that’s how we view it. [Laughs]
Where does ARTMS go from here?
I don’t want to spoil everything, but snippet videos for “BURN” were filmed in Europe and will be released soon. ARTMS is working on a lot of music that will be intertwined with “BURN.” I don’t want to outright share the spoiler, but you can think of it as something after the burn, something from the ashes, almost like a new self and identity. You’ll just have to see how it goes.
But I also have “RUN” and “ONE” in store, but can’t share everything so you’ll just have to look forward.
Sounds like a phoenix is rising soon. But this is all so fascinating; where do you pull your inspiration from?
I don’t think there is anything special, I am like anyone else: the books from my youth, Hollywood movies these days, advertisements, I get inspiration from many different things. It’s not like I have a special talent related to this. However, I do like new things quite a lot. I gain this sense of enjoyment in showcasing something that has yet to be achieved or never before seen.
Back to the music, ARTMS visited the U.S. last year as part of their Moonshot World Tour. Do you have future concert plans?
ARTMS’ next tour will consist of mostly of all LOONA songs. Fans may be confused as to why there are so many LOONA songs, and why ARTMS is performing it, but as someone who really participated in producing these songs, LOONA has a huge catalog of very good songs and we wanted to keep that legacy going. I wanted to have two concepts within ARTMS, where they can tour with ARTMS but also with LOONA’s music.
ARTMS consists of five of LOONA’s original 12. Is there a way you see the remaining members connecting into this future story?
This might be a sensitive topic because I’m planning new things with ARTMS, but I still have a pretty good relationship with all the members including the soloists. And they’re all doing well in their own personal activities. Yves and Chuu are doing well as soloists, Loossemble may be going through a rocky time now and we’re still maintaining that good relationship, but it’s hard to bring all that together as everyone is doing well in their respective areas.
That being said, we’re getting “BURN,” but you teased other LOONA projects during your time — LOONA the Ballad or La Maison LOONA, music aimed at the Japanese market. Do you keep them in mind for future projects?
Like I mentioned, I do a lot of planning — maybe two to three years in advance. I do have lots of songs in store and some are previously recorded. From the fans’ perspective, it makes me really sad that so many of these songs have not been released to this day. The same goes for me as I was participating in these projects and also put a lot of effort into them — the fact that they haven’t been released yet is still saddening to me as well. I do want to showcase those songs with ARTMS but as mentioned, I don’t want to share straight them from the beginning as we’re still developing the identity of ARTMS. Also, with the unsure situation with Loossemble, we didn’t want to jump into it out of respect, but in the future I do want to integrate those songs into ARTMS’ catalog.
Your career spans 20 years at this point. Is there any moment or release you look at with pride? You collaborated on INFINITE’s INFINITIZE album, which is a high point in K-pop, in my opinion.
I really put everything into that album. The memories of those days live with me so vividly — there is a car in the music video for [lead single] “The Chaser,” where it flipped around a full 360 degrees and that memory is still fresh in my mind.
But one of the things that I liked about INFINITE is that they didn’t use [American] pop as a reference. Even now, you can say it’s a trend for many K-pop groups to mix American pop and hip-hop styles into their music. However, for INFINITE, maybe it was our youthful spirit, but I wanted to make them the standard and identity for K-pop — as in, making Korean K-pop with Korean attributes and without U.S. references. Although doing music 100 percent without U.S. reference would be difficult, admittedly. But we really had such bravado and determination.
Your work has spanned from creative direction, A&R, concept planning and, now, a CEO of your own company with Modhaus. Is there a particular role or aspect you enjoy most?
As many know, I was a freelancer when producing LOONA. Same for the other artists I’ve worked with, I was always contracted with them. I came to realize there is a certain limit to working with, as well as the funds of, other companies. Obviously, I do a lot of step-by-step planning and it was sad that it had to come to an ending. But through all the experiences I’ve gained, I thought I had to create my own company to really get that creative process going, but also support other creatives in their fields to express more of themselves freely in their work. I thought timing for that was right.
Looking ahead, what would you like to share about the future of Modhaus, tripleS, or beyond?
Firstly, when it comes to tripleS, last year we released their full, 24-member album [ASSEMBLE24] and tripleS did their activities as 24 members. Since tripleS has many members, I want to do more activities and more various, different contents with tripleS. All the members have their own brand of charm and characteristics, so there is much more content in store that we want to show to the world.
Regarding Modhaus, I truly want to make it the entertainment company that proposes and showcases new content, concepts and visions. What this means is that — well, there are many entertainment companies and several hundred or dozens of new [K-pop] teams each year. I am sorry to say this, but they are all pretty similar. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but for tripleS, people can say “Modhaus debuted a 24-member group.” Whether the people like it or dislike it, whatever their reaction is, it is a new concept in Korea or around the world. So, we want to try and pursue a different vision and try different content — the very content that people will say, “I never saw that before” or “I’ve never seen that in K-pop.” We want to pursue and showcase that and succeed with that mindset.
Boldy James had one of the best years of his career in 2025.
The rapper out of Detroit dropped three albums this year with three different producers — a format that’s starting to become his signature. At the top of the year, he released Penalty of Leadership with Montréal-based producer Nicholas Craven, then in June, he dropped Across the Tracks with fellow Griselda affiliate Conductor Williams, and earlier this month he and Harry Fraud finally linked up for The Bricktionary.
This particular project has been years in the making, as the two have ran in the same circles for a while now, becoming familiar with each other through Boldy’s cousin Chuck Inglish of the Cool Kids and meeting each other in person down in Austin for SXSW with the help of Action Bronson and a block of hotel rooms provided to him by Reebok. Their chemistry in the studio mirrors their chemistry in person. Harry arrived late to our interview at the Billboard New York offices in Midtown because of the traffic, of course, but one thing I noticed was how Boldy lit up when he walked into the conference room where we had been talking for about 30 minutes.
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We talked with the duo about finally working together, independence and just life in general. Check out our conversation below.
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So, how did this project came together?
Boldy James: I met Harry Fraud right after I met The Alchemist; it might’ve been on the same day, or same night type sh—t at SXSW. We had been talked about working, and I kind of lost focus on track from the music for a minute, so we revisited the idea of me and him finishing a full length project. We completed it two years ago and worked out all the particulars out. Now the world gets a chance to hear it.
Harry: That was my first time there. I’m there with Action Bronson and had a bunch of hotel rooms. He told everybody to roll with him, because Reebok had given him a bunch of hotel rooms. So, that must’ve been when we met. Obviously, back then, I was a different guy, using different things… Over time, I’d send Bo a song to jump on, but I always had in the back of my mind that to work on a project with him.
You guys have had this in the stash for two years?
Boldy: I sit on a lot of music. Y’all don’t usually hear my music no sooner than a year or two after I make it. The most recent, current to date, like music that I make up into the point where y’all get a chance to hear it is maybe The Alchemist projects and the Nic Craven projects. Everything else usually take a minute to come out, because we got a hash out the layout, the business arrangements and agreements, you know, terms and conditions.
Harry Fraud: The project in general was such a long time in the making. Boldy’s cousin, Chuck Inglish, was the first person to show me music on the Internet. Me and French [Montana] were in the city, and we were selling mixtapes hand to hand. And at that time, a guy that I was sharing a studio with was Chuck’s roommate in Chicago.
Chuck came to the city one time to our studio, and I’m working with French, we’re just doing what we’re doing. And Chuck’s on the computer, and I’m like, “What you doin’?” And he’s like, “Yo, this is Nah Right.” And I’m like, “What the f—k is that?” So, he’s like, “This is a blog.” I’m like, “What the f—k are you talking about?” And he’s like, “Yo, this is where people post your music on the Internet. This is how you get your music out.” And he hands me an email address and says I should send them a song. So, I sent them “New York Minute” and the rest is history.
The whole time Chuck is around us and he’s telling us that his cousin is the best rapper you ever heard. I’m like, “The f—k is this guy talkin’ about?” You know what I mean? Deadass. This guy is talking crazy. Then he starts showing us a song here and there and the guy sounds crazy. And he like, “This my cousin, Boldy.” This is all the way back then. That’s the inception of me even wanting to work with Boldy.
Boldy mentioned you guys worked on this together in person.
Boldy: We did them on the spot right then and there. That was how me and Al work. We sit in the studio, Al cook up the beats, I sit there scribble my rap while he whipping up. Same thing I did with H. Harry played the beats. He sitting there with me, I’m smoking, writing, maybe eat something, talk a little sh—t, and I look up, like, “Aye, H, I’m ready. You ready?” He pulls the beat up, and it’s showtime. We basically did each record like that.
Harry: Yeah, we worked on every song in person. We were staying in my house in the Hamptons together, and then we did some work at my studio in Brooklyn.
Boldy: I was telling him we didn’t do any email records.
Which is rare these days.
Harry: When you really get to know Bo, you realize that’s actually the only way to optimize him, in terms of us creating something that was cohesive — it was necessary for us to be together. It’s important for me with the guys that I really care about as humans and artists to be in the room with them. You know my guys that I really create that s–t with, Bo, Benny [the Butcher], Dave [East], French, we’re in the room. The only one, I would say, not — because he lives so far away and doesn’t travel all that much — is Spitta, but even with him our first stuff is together, and we kind of solidified the sound, so we can do it via email.
Word, you guys have built up a chemistry.
Boldy: Man, this my real brother. The unique thing about this album is that I was perfectly fine in the beginning of it — like the first 80 percent — but then the last 20 percent, I broke my neck, back and f—king leg in the accident. I could barely walk when I came back to finish the rest of it.
Harry: I’m honestly grateful that the album spanned those life experiences for him, because I know it’s cathartic for him to be able to express himself during all those different chapters. I know that allows him to get out whatever is inside him. Just even watching my boy go through that, it’s like, I can’t fix his neck, his back, but I can lend this to him to make him feel better, so he can work out whatever’s in his head. I love hanging out with him.
Boldy: I’m always pullin’ up.
Harry: Like, even yesterday we’re in the studio, I didn’t even think, “Oh, we’re gonna make music. I’m gonna pull up beats.” I just haven’t seen my guy in a while, so I just wanted to chill.
Boldy: I was dead two hours before I got to y’all. I was pullin’ up on my brother. I ain’t even tell them to cut a beat on nothin’. I got there and fell asleep.
Harry: [Laughs.] I feel like a lot of people don’t put enough value in that nowadays. You gotta create real chemistry to have musical chemistry. Talk about life, talk about what’s going on. We’re sitting there and he’s putting me on to a new guy in Detroit that’s on YouTube yesterday, and we’re laughing our asses off. You gotta create that thread. I feel like we’re able to do that effortlessly because of all that lineage I described before. It’s easy for us to work. We were never in the studio scratching our heads.
Boldy: Just having him there helps because with his history, his track record, I’m moreso looking at him for that look — like, “Yeah, we got one” — after I’m done with a song.
Harry: And he’ll tell you. When he would do a verse and I’m sitting there anticipating it — because there’s always a line or a metaphor, something I key in on — and I’m like, “Ahhh,” because I’m such a fan of him. It turns me up, it makes me want to work harder, it make me wanna refine it. And through the process of finishing the album, I put so much pressure on myself — because I feel like he did his job, so it was my turn to match what he was doing. It’s important for me to step up to the plate, even with the mixing and stuff.
Boldy: When he sent it to the first dude, and dude did what he did to it — when they sent it back, I was telling him, like, “It’s cool — but for some reason, I like it the way it sounded when we recorded it. So, just mix it like that.”
Harry: Sometimes, man, you gotta have somebody that you trust to shake you out of your comfort zone, your process, to make you step back and realize, like, “Nah, they got a point.”
Boldy: You forgot about that pulse that be on your beats.
Harry: Exactly.
Boldy: A lot of times, if it’s called for it, you can strip the beat and just have oil on vinegar. But with this type of project — I was telling him — I d–n near felt like we could’ve just put it out like that without three rounds of mixes.
Harry: He’s right. When I went back and listened, we had captured the essence, and we had lost a little bit of that by making it too shiny, too polished.
Boldy: The reason why the beats feel like this is because everything that’s going on with it is what it is that we feeling. When you get to stripping it and trying to bring this back out? Nah, leave that s—t just like that.
Do you use a certain program? A certain beat machine?
Harry: We used an MPC 2500, we used an MPC 2000 on some beats, we did some beats in Pro Tools. And at the end of the day, we put everything into Pro Tools to record his vocals and do the arrangements and stuff like that. The actual creation of the beats ranged from an MPC to an iPad to whatever. One thing I realized about myself is — maybe I got ADHD or something — but it’s easier for me to switch things up because that gives me a new perspective, a new way to approach the beat, a new way to create.
I know you guys said you recorded this together — but in terms of the sound, did you have a pack of beats in mind already, or were you making the beats as you went along?
Harry: When I know I’m working with somebody, I go through all the recent things that I’ve made — they might not be finished beats — and then the ones that I know or I feel will have the opportunity to fit that artist, I’ll go refine the beat, and then when they pull up, I’ll have a playlist. It might be 10 to 20, and then I’ll sit down with with the artist and key in on what they like.
Once I see what they’re keying in on for the project, that allows me to then go deeper and put more beats in that zone. That’s the linchpin for me, I’m off to the races. He’ll tell you — the first couple beats might have been more geared to what he had been doing with, say, Al [The Alchemist], because I’m such a fan and I’ve been listening to them.
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That would influence you a bit subconsciously.
Harry: Exactly, but then once I saw him keying into certain beats, I knew where he was going. It don’t even have to be spoken.
And Boldy’s style comes across so effortless.
Harry: Well, you know, it’s funny, because there’s been a lot of great MCs through time that are able to pull off a delivery that some would say is, quote, unquote monotone, but take it into these different pockets — like, say, a Guru from Gang Starr. That’s a perfect example of that back then, but he’s a new realization of what it is to give you that delivery where he’s not doing circus tricks with his voice.
It’s the ability to do that in such away that now you’re locking in on what he’s saying. And then when, like you said, on the third or fourth or fifth listen you’re catching s–t where you’re like, “Whoa, I didn’t even hear that the first three times.” That’s what the greats do.
Some of the songs reminded me of ’80s police procedurals like Miami Vice, but then you mentioned the cokewave s—t, you could kind of hear that style.
Harry: Yeah, that’s it, bro. If you go listen to Bo’s earlier s—t too, you know what I mean? That thread is in there too. It had a very like street gritty feel to it, and it was like bringing those two things together to create the vibe that we have now. It’s like all those sounds, but refined a little bit. When I was really approaching this is I wanted to hear him with a lot of bass in the track.
Boldy: There we go.
Harry: And I feel like the low end of this album, is unlike anything that Boldy has done, where, like, it’s a very full, round low end. When you put it in the car, that sh—t is gonna slam. It’s a motion picture. It’s The Bricktionary, it’s the manual. There’s not a lot of artists left that can tell you a story without it being a, quote unquote, story rap.
He raps like you’re sitting passenger side with him, rolling through the hood.
Boldy: That’s all that s—t is [Laughs.] We in the car all day, bro. Our kids have to literally drag us out the car and in the house. Give me a hug, sit down and have a bite to eat with me or something. We always ripping and running. I can’t sit still.
So, what’s the soundtrack for you when you’re on the road ripping and running?
Boldy: I’m a silly guy. I listen to RxKNephew being silly. I listen to a lot of drill music. I listen to Lil Durk more than probably anything. I was burnt off the Pop Smoke. I might listen to a little Nav. I listen to a lot of Lil Baby. I listen to a lot of Future. I listen to a lot of s—t that I don’t rap nothing like.
Future has a had a great year. What is it about his music that grabs your attention?
Boldy: Future is one of the most talented artists from our generation. I don’t even know how he come up with the s—t he come up. The same questions somebody asks me are the same questions I would ask an artist like Future and Jay-Z. Like, what the f—k was you thinking when you said that crazy ass s—t?
When you met Jay, you didn’t get a chance to ask him anything like that?
Boldy: He’s not a guy I would ask a lot of questions. I would more sit back and soak the game up. What the f—k can I tell him, other than something that he probably was already inquiring about, and I probably can’t really put him up on game. I can just give him some reassurance or something he probably was already thinking, or sorting out in his head anyway. That’s the OG. You don’t ever talk a n—a like that to death.
Harry: I swear I wanted to get him on the song we got Benny on, but when I reached out, my contact said he wasn’t recording. You gotta catch him when he’s in rapper mode.
You said that you ride around and raps pop up in your head as you take in your environment.
Boldy: I ride around in a million dollar Rolls Royce with the top down. It’s easy to write the raps like that. I’m coming through my ghetto with the top down, just reflecting on how I used to be walking around that b—ch with pop bottles. I used be around this b—ch selling crack rocks, robbing, stealing cars, all types of hot-boy-ass s—t. God spared me. I got a family now, I’m rich, I got a career. It’s like my goods are finally outweighing my bads.
Is it surreal sometimes when you think about that?
Boldy: I just always been driven. You get what you put into the s—t. I put a lot into this s—t, so I knew I was gonna get something out of it eventually.
Harry: He’s a perfect example of that, because no matter what Boldy is doing in life, he’s always working. He was in L.A. last week, then he goes to Detroit, then he drove to my spot in the Hamptons. I don’t take that lightly that he gets in a car for 12 hours to come do this. That’s not lost on me. It’s not just at his convenience, it’s an inconvenience, actually. And that’s when you see if motherf—kers are really about it; when they have to inconvenience themselves to do something.
You two have known each other for a minute, so why is this the only project you’ve put out?
Harry: Because we never pressed it. It’s all natural. Everything comes when it’s supposed to come, happens when it’s supposed to happen, and that’s the best genesis of something like this.
It’s organic.
Harry: Yeah, and one thing I’ve realized through working with him is that I’m a tool for him. He’s not fitting into my atmosphere. I’m coming into his and I have to figure out how to exist within that atmosphere without creating friction, tension, drag, if you will, on a plane flying, like letting him fly through his atmosphere in his perfect harmony. A lot of things with Bo I’ve had to not allow myself to get bent out of shape with his process or this or that. This goes for me too.
My process is, “Cool, come out to my house that’s three hours outside of the city so we can f—king lock the f—k in. We don’t got anything else to do but rap, smoke weed, watch TV, whatever we’re doing, eat, boom, boom, boom.” Our supreme focus is on the music. I think it’s really important for producers to become producers again. If producers want to achieve longevity, they gotta to figure out how to continue to update their process and tailor it to the artist that you’re working with.
What do you use to write? A notepad, your phone? What’s your process like.
Boldy: Here’s my process. I ride around, I think of pretty much what I want to say, right? And then sis will say something to me, or we might be on the freeway, I look up see a billboard, or a street sign, and then, when Isee the right place, person or thing, it might write my whole rap for me just off the course of my day. I can’t explain it. It’s like my brain just get to unlock and then I take it to my phone. But I’m just trying to take note of all the s—t that I really thinking in my head and now I’m trying to catch lightning in the bottle. Then, when I know I got it, I go to the studio and drop it.
You guys remember that golden era, but also grew up with the Internet and watched the industry shift as you were coming up.
Harry: Those walls are tearing down. They don’t exist in the same way anymore. In terms of the scalability of the business. We control all our sh—t. The rappers back then had boundaries and ceilings put on them by corporate entities.
Boldy: And they wasn’t as privy to the Internet where they make a mockery of people that’s getting finessed in their deals. Seeing that on the Internet makes you want to have more business sense when you approach these deals and these companies.
Harry: Yeah, because we’ve seen the horror stories.
Boldy: This the scary part: 20 people getting paid before you, but you paying them out of your pocket, but they count your money before you do, and pay you out of your own hard work and labor. When you see a whole bunch of trial and error of that it makes you want to reevaluate your situation, or it makes you go into a situation being more informed.
Harry: You can’t trick us with $100,000. No disrespect to anybody from any era, but you can’t trick us. You can’t shake $100,000 in front of us and make us sign over our life. We touch that in our sleep by putting the music out by ourselves.
Boldy: Don’t do that, H.
Harry: I’m sorry. It just hurts my feelings. It insults me. I can’t remember the last project I took up front money for. I don’t want it. I’m comfortable waiting for mine. I love delayed gratification.
Boldy: I have the patience of a sniper.
Harry: 100 percent, because I know what’s on the other side. If you’re giving me this up front, you’re not doing that out of the kindness of your heart. You’re doing that because you know on the backend, you’re gonna make like three times more. It’s like a sleight of hand from a magician. To get the card out of your ear, I got to get your eyes over here, and then I’m reaching over here.
I peeped it so clear from the inside that I told myself, I’ll never go for that again. My first deal was a stupid deal, but I was so hungry. You give me 180 grand for whatever, I’m like, “S—t.” Yeah, that was a bad deal, but I learned the best lesson. Now we’re so fortified, man, we control our destiny in so many ways.
And you want to stay as independent as possible now.
Harry: I’ll never go back to that life. I’ll never change this tune. I only want ownership. The story of what I do in business hasn’t really been told on the front line yet because I’m really in my artist bag right now. But 10 years from now, people are going to look at what I’ve been doing for the past decade plus, and understand what I’m really doing in business and how much s—t I really have my fingers in that no one knows about musically, they’ll realize that I figured this s—t out and then I’ll quietly set up the next chapter. This is what all of this has been a catalyst for.
The mainstream is definitely paying attention, they’re absorbing it all, getting inspired, maybe biting a little bit.
Harry: The sauce that these independent guys are bringing? They’re all absorbing it. The production, the style of dress, to the way they’re rapping, everything.
A lot of times the mainstream stuff on streaming services are 20-30, songs long and it sounds like they weren’t in the studio with the producers sometimes. Some of those albums don’t feel cohesive, they sound like they just threw something together.
Harry: Totally, and I started to realize that I was happy to be a mercenary for people for a long time. You hire me to come kill, I kill and leave. You know, but it might be one song, it might be two songs. It might on your project, right? I’m happy to do that, but like I’m confident in my ability to do that. But what I realized is that I’m more satisfied artistically and as a human being with building these worlds with people like you said, when you listen to it, it sounds like a movie. That makes me feel more satisfied.
You were going for that anyway. You came up really working closely with French, and most of Boldy’s projects are with one producer.
Boldy: You can miss big both ways. He can leave an element out of the project that maybe you would get working with multiple producers. But, you know, it also could be super cohesive with everything you want out the project, because there’s one producer producing, especially when you’re working with the pros. They know that there’s an X amount of taste palettes that want this and that and this and this on the album. So they try to satisfy all those appetites.
Harry: He’s very nonchalant about it, but when you really step back and think about the people that gravitate towards his nucleus, there’s got to be something special there. We all gravitate to his talent, and that’s what inspires the producer to be great. And if you look at the guys that are around Boldy, I mean, it’s like, insane. It’s the real snipers, it’s the real ones. The guys that really do this on a higher level.
Looking at that from afar, you realize there’s got to be something really special about this guy. It’s a je ne sais quoi; you can’t out your finger on it necessarily. We can point out all the kind of nerd s—t aspects of the rapping, but at the end of the day, it’s passed all that. It’s a special thing to work with artists like Bo.
Boldy: I appreciate that, champ.
He’s been on a run — this is your third project this year.
Boldy: I got a lot of music. A day in the life with the mafia will write your whole album, so that’s my problem. I’m privy to something that a lot of people gotta pay to experience. Most people got to pay to go to the hood and hang. They be getting extorted and pressed by n—as in the neighborhood for them to even be able to come around. With me, we are the neighborhood. If you really like trying to get inspired or you can’t think of another way to be creative, musically, come hang out with us. It’ll open your eyes and broaden your horizons, so you’ll be able to scribble some s—t that another person will have to read a book to know something about this type of s—t. That’s my advantage, but it’s a curse too, you know?
Harry: He’s insanely prolific. And if you notice, for me, I always gravitate towards artists that are very prolific, because I like to make a lot of music. I have to make music whether I was successful with it or not. It’s my therapy, it’s my way I work out what’s going on inside my mind. It’s everything for me. If I’m not doing projects with people, you might only get to hear 10 Harry Fraud beats a year. That’s not enough for me, I need more. I need to get it out of me.
What’s the strategy for next year? How you plan on attacking 2025?
Boldy: I want to drop an album with my sister Double D. I want me and Double to do a crazy ass full length. Just me and her and whoever she want on the album, because she got a better ear for knowing artists outside of hip-hop, outside of street rapping, all this drill rap s—t, she listens to a little bit of everything.
Harry: I have a lot. Me and Benny are probably about three quarters away done with The Plugs I Met 3. Me and Spitta got a new album coming.
Y’all gotta put that tape out already.
Boldy: Me and Butch? I can’t rap better than Butch. I’ma do the album with Benny and get Conway to write my raps [Laughs.] Those my real guys, bro. I love West, I love ‘way, I love Benny, man. It’s love forever with them, guys. I don’t never see us having no bad blood or falling out, having no strain on the relationship, I mean, but H will tell you, we pretty much got a good judge of character. Our circle, overall, is a lot of the same players involved. But like he said, it’s really like a brotherhood there. It’s not a falsified relationship, just for, the purposes of music and making money off each other. Them n—as got money. H ain’t got to work with me.
Harry: This is the new class of the independent guys that are touching real paper, and that makes us respect each other so much more, because it’s like, yes, we’re all good at music, but we’re also really good at business.
Boldy: We are the star childs of our families. We’re wiz kids and these fake thugs and s—t out here in the streets, they don’t give enough credit to the guys that are smart. They try to make being smart nerdy, and nerdy not cool. I embrace the nerd in me. You feel me. That’s what make my world spin. That’s what you will pay my bills.
What are you a nerd about?
Boldy: A lot of things. I’m an evil genius on a lot of things. That’s nerdy in a sense.
What’s good with that Dilla tape? You had said that the record is done, paperwork is done, you were just waiting for the right time.
Boldy: Shout out RJ Rice, and Young RJ — Slum Village, Detroit s—t. Big RJ and me prayed over the album, and when it’s time, I know he gonna put it out because I’ve been catching a lot of steam. I think he just waited until I got back hot to put it out for real because he didn’t want it to fall on deaf ears. It’s a good project.