Music

Aht, aht, you not finna embarrass me!” Latto jokingly warns her pet shih-poo, Coca. The fluffy little pup — the first of several in her brood, soon, if Latto has her way — is deciding whether to use a grassy area outside a North Hollywood rehearsal studio as the bathroom. Fresh off a delayed flight and clad in a cheetah-print bonnet, matching maroon sweatsuit set and her trademark cheetah-print thong, Latto is living up to her latest alter ego’s name: Big Mama has arrived.

After a two-hour-long, energy-boosting IV drip treatment and a few vitamin C shots directly in her posterior (“It’s OK because I got a lot of cushion back there!”), the Atlanta rap superstar will head straight into hours of rehearsal for her upcoming performances at BET Experience Fan Fest on June 29 and the 2024 BET Awards the following evening, where she’s nominated for best female hip-hop artist — an honor she won last year — and best collaboration (“Don’t Play With It,” her Billboard Hot 100 hit with Lola Brooke and Yung Miami).

The 25-year-old rapper moves through the rehearsal space with a seasoned professional’s composure and a Gen Zer’s sardonic humor. At the BET Awards, she’s set to perform a medley of “Sunday Service,” “Big Mama” and “Shoutout to Me” — the latter two for the first time on TV. All appear on her upcoming album, Sugar Honey Iced Tea, due in August. Today, not a single detail gets past the artist born Alyssa Michelle Stephens — from the volume levels in her in-ears to the drums on her different live mixes to every last hair flip in her high-octane choreography.

“I’m not going to be rolling around on that stage forever. I even told them I don’t want to twerk onstage no more!” Latto says with a laugh. “I said, ‘I’m too grown for that now!’ ” Still, she’s hell-bent on flawlessly presenting her new material. You can almost see the gears turning in her head as she runs through her set, keeping track of her volume, breath control and overall stamina as she transitions from the soul-baring vulnerability of “Shoutout to Me” to the seductive purr of the first half of “Big Mama,” which dropped just days earlier.

Latto may be nearly a decade into her rap career, but she’s still hungry — and better positioned than ever to realize her dream of bringing authentic, female Southern rap to the top of the charts on her own terms. Throughout our time together during her whirlwind weekend in Los Angeles, she keeps returning to three words: “I want more.”

That same hunger helped fuel her crossover into the pop world following the release of her second album, 777, in spring 2022. A month after 777 dropped, its lead single, “Big Energy,” climbed to No. 3 on the Hot 100 and No. 1 on Pop Airplay, bolstered by a remix featuring Mariah Carey and DJ Khaled. Its success — as well as that of follow-up singles “Wheelie” (with 21 Savage) and “Sunshine” (with Lil Wayne and Childish Gambino) — led to a pair of 2023 Grammy Award nominations, including for best new artist. Then, in July 2023, Latto joined forces with BTS’ Jungkook for his single “Seven,” which became the first Hot 100 chart-topper for both artists.

But amid her newfound pop success, Latto has doubled down on her hip-hop bona fides, making culture-shifting records like her ­Cardi B-assisted “Put It on Da Floor Again.” She says it was that track, made with producers Pooh Beatz and Go Grizzly, that “sparked a whole new energy for me as an artist. It just felt Southern.” That new energy inspired Sugar Honey Iced Tea, where she seeks to champion her ATL roots — and, maybe, deliver a Southern hip-hop classic of her own.

Over a leisurely, rich dinner — complete with wagyu and caviar — a few days after the BET Awards, Latto reminisces frequently about her Clayton County upbringing, from American Deli runs to smashing trays of hot honey wings with friends and her younger sister, Brooklyn. And the love between Latto and Atlanta has long been reciprocal: She made history in 2024 as the first female headliner for the WHTA (Hot 107.9) Birthday Bash and unequivocally rocked the city’s State Farm Arena on June 22, bringing out special guests and hometown stars including Usher, 21 Savage and Summer Walker. “I done opened for T.I., 2 Chainz, Young Thug, 21 Savage,” Latto reflects. “These people know my story, and they really respect me.”

Now her city is watching as she eyes a new phase of stardom and aims to reiterate one thing above all else: that Latto is, in fact, the sh-t.

“The whole album is the single. It’s a story — it ain’t just hot records,” RCA Records president Mark Pitts stresses. “I haven’t loved a female rap album since Lil’ Kim. There’s songs I love, but an album? This album, from top to bottom, is that. She put in work and it’s curated.”

Though she’s keeping the album incredibly close to her chest — “Even my DJ, my brother, be like, ‘How you dropping an album and I ain’t heard it?’ ” she jokes — Latto’s confidence in the project is clear. When she speaks about Sugar Honey Iced Tea, her eyes light up, her shoulders roll back and her back straightens. She exudes pride — not quite cockiness, but a deep-seated reverence for how she has been able to translate her past few years of growth into a potentially career-shifting album.

Latto kicked off 2024 collaborating with a pair of pop icons (Usher and Jennifer Lopez) while also remaining in conversation with her peers, tapping Megan Thee Stallion and Flo Milli for her “Sunday Service” remix — a preview of sorts for Sugar Honey Iced Tea, which will include guest appearances from both “respected” Southern hip-hop OGs (in the words of her manager, Kayla Jackson) and collaborations with peers that Latto arranged herself. That ability to find common ground with both veteran and new-school stars is also a reminder of Latto’s unique position among female rappers right now. The proverbial middle child (as J. Cole once described himself), she became known after winning a reality competition (the first season of Jermaine Dupri’s The Rap Game) but, by her own admission, has more in common with the pre-social media generation of women in hip-hop. She still butts heads with a few of her peers, namely Bronx rapper Ice Spice, with whom she has been trading subliminal shots for the past six months.

With 10 years — and, now, top 40 success — under her belt, Latto is ready to prove she can maintain her pop presence by injecting the mainstream with pure Southern hip-hop. Pitts notes that as RCA (a label historically known as an R&B powerhouse) works to fortify its hip-hop offering, Latto is “one of the leaders,” and he believes Sugar Honey Iced Tea is the album that will “bring [Latto’s] core sound to the pop world and educate them.”

“A true benchmark [of success] would be everyone talking about, ‘She has her Ready To Die,’ ” he continues. “Or comparing it to [any] classic album.”

Sugar Honey Iced Tea also represents a new personal era for Latto. Big Mama just closed on a house in Atlanta, and she has been wading further into acting. (She auditioned for the forthcoming sequel to horror hit Smile but was not cast.) Later this year, she will appear as a judge on season two of Netflix’s rap competition show, Rhythm + Flow, alongside Ludacris and Khaled, a full-circle moment, considering her own reality TV roots. And as her career continues to blossom, she says she’s focusing on meditation and prayer, using both practices to balance the energies of her different alter egos: Latto, the polished public figure; Alyssa, the private A-town girl who enjoys watching Nara Smith’s TikToks; and Big Mama, the boss.

At dinner post-BET Awards weekend, Latto basks in relative relaxation. She’s balancing celebrations — recently splurging on blue light glasses complete with factory diamonds, much to the chagrin of her mother and business manager — with nightly studio sessions wrapping up Sugar Honey Iced Tea.

“On my mama, this day has been a blur,” she confesses, nibbling a mini blini topped with smoked salmon mousse. “We was in the studio the day before yesterday, and I was like, ‘This sh-t fye, but it don’t fit this album.’ I’m already working on the next album. I’m ready to drop this off and keep going. I’m in a whole new bag right now. Promise you.”

So, who is Latto versus Alyssa? Who is Big Mama?

I’m really trying to be [better with] making them all one person, but I think they’re just very different. Big Mama is probably like my more bossy version of myself. I’m Big Mama when I’m telling [Coca] to sit the f–k down or when I’m on the phone with my business manager like, “I need to bring at least 60% of my motherf–king profit home! I ain’t going on tour for that much money!” That’s when I got my business hat on and I’m making money decisions.

Latto is like the personality — that’s the politician who kisses babies and shakes hands. Alyssa is right now at the dinner table; I be my little quirky self.

Producer 9th Wonder was on X gassing the “Shoutout to Me” part of your BET Awards performance. It’s a very magnetic and vulnerable track. What inspired it?

I had this song that I dropped within the first few months of being signed [to RCA] called “No Hook.” I was very vulnerable on it, so I wanted a song like that on the new album, but a more grown-up version. I got way more to talk about now. I wanted that texture of vulnerability.

What new things do you have to talk about?

Sh-t, from 21 to 25, I feel like I became a woman. Everybody used to tell me, “Oh, when you turn 25, something is going to change in your brain.” I really feel like it did. I’ve had new relationships, I bought my first house, signed deals, fell out with people. Every year that I’ve been in the industry, I feel like I’ve reached more success, so there’s just more sh-t to talk about.

You really are a girl’s girl by nature. How do you balance that with treating rap as a competitive sport?

As a Capricorn, I’m naturally competitive already. I always want to be better and better. I’m competitive not just with other people, but with myself, too. I’m like, “Well, last year, I was streaming this amount, and this year, it’s not doubling?” Growing up with a sister as my only sibling, it’s me, my mom and [her]. That’s my family. I grew up around women. I just like working with women. I think it’s more protective — I feel like as a girl, you have to have girls around that understand. I got men that work for me, and I can’t be like, “Bro, I just started my period.” They don’t understand doing shows on my period or doing a red carpet on my period. There’s so much more emotional elements to a female artist that men can’t understand.

How have you been navigating your new pop stardom?

It’s so weird because that was never a goal of mine coming into this. For a little girl from Clayton County, I never really thought outside of Clayco. I was like, “Damn, OK. K-pop? What?” That sh-t just be falling in my lap. The opportunities, the production, the people that you have access to work with; it all grew as I grew. But I was never like, “Oh, I want to make a pop song.”

Speaking of K-pop, what was entering that world like?

Stepping into K-pop was very different for me. I was like, “Oh, these people running low-key cults! They do not play.” I’m posting regular pictures on Instagram, then I post the picture with JK — Jungkook — I’m seeing my comments, likes, everything tripling. They got a real cult following. That sh-t is crazy. And then performing with him in New York and seeing the fan base in person, that sh-t was different. I’m tryna get like that.

Did your recent cross-genre collaborations influence how you approached your new album?

I want to say yes because they broadened my horizons and made me start thinking outside the box. I’m trying new BPMs. Being from the South, I noticed I stay in certain slow bop, Southern BPMs, so [I’m] trying different sounds and experimenting.

When did you decide on Sugar Honey Iced Tea as the album title?

When I met Pooh and Grizz and locked in with them, everything just felt Southern. One day, shortly after we cut “Put It on Da Floor,” I just walked in the studio like, “Sugar Honey Iced Tea is the name of the album.” People be trying to be messy and thinking it’s a response to something. I promise you, this is before any of that sh-t. This is something that just felt Southern to me. Where I’m from, we be like, “I’m the sugar honey iced tea!”

Do you feel any pressure going into this new record?

I’ve proven myself. People like to hate, but I’d rather people be talking than not talking. People like to play with me a lot, but at the end of the day, baby, I turn 26 this year. Y’all met me when I was 16. I’ve been rapping since I was 8, but the whole country met me on TV on The Rap Game when I was 16. I paid my dues. I’m 10 years in. I got a whole wall of plaques at the crib. All the OGs love me. They show me love when I’m backstage at these awards shows, and I get my flowers [from] the motherf–kers that matter.

I love the music that I’m making right now. I’m not chasing achievements. I’m just doing me. This is the happiest I’ve been to the point where I even told the label [to] fall back. I’m in the studio — I don’t want y’all sending me no beats, no songs, nothing. I’m doing what I want to do. I really haven’t been this confident for a project yet.

Who was on the mood board for Sugar Honey Iced Tea?

I feel like what I’m doing has not been done before, so let’s start there. [Aesthetically], I’ve been pulling from Mariah Carey, Beyoncé and Lil’ Kim. [Musically], I’ve been pulling from Kelis, but obviously with a Southern hip-hop twist. They have very feminine energy, but masculine in the sense of confidence. I feel like they was boss b–ches. It just gave “I’m that girl.” When you hear and see them in that prime era, it gave “I’m here to stay.” In a world where everybody do music, I’m looking up to the GOATs at this sh-t. Ain’t no microwave artists here. I’m tryna be here for a minute… I am going to be here for a minute. I’ve been here for a minute already.

What about Lil’ Kim? Any connection between “Big Mama” and “Big Momma Thang”?

I swear to God, no! (Laughs.) [My producers] reminded me of that and I was like, “Oh, sh-t. I hope [she] don’t take that as offensive, like I’m tryna run off with her swag.” But I spell mine different. And Kim love me down. Me and Kim like this. (Crosses fingers.) That’s my b–ch. I don’t even think it’s like a Kim or Latto thing. It’s just a female’s bossed-up version of herself.

How have you felt yourself mature over the past two years?

I really had to start paying attention to myself because in this sh-t, you are treated like a number [or] you work for the world. I’m still figuring it out. You have to please your fans, you have to please the label, manager calling me with these to-do lists, and then I have a personal house that I have to come home to and my personal [romantic] relationship I have to attend to. I was giving too much of myself away. I was running myself into the ground. I needed to start taking care of myself or I was going to take a break.

Shortly after I turned 25, I just started looking at life as more limitless. I’ve been cussing [my team] out every day, like, “I need some more business stuff!”

What parts of your stage show are you proudest of, and what do you think you still need to work on?

I’m most proud of my comfort onstage. When I watch footage back, I’m like, “Oh, my gosh. Who is she? That’s not the same girl from rehearsal.” I feel like I’m looking at a star.

I definitely want to get more into choreography. I started off with [none], and now I’m hitting a little one, two here and there. I be telling them I need my “Roll on the floor, get back up” dramatic moment. Being more comfortable in heels, too. I should be able to give a good show in heels. It just looks more elevated. Beyoncé not going to be up there onstage in Air Force Ones!

Do I need to start putting money aside for the Big Mama World Tour?

Yes, I am going on tour later this year. I’m taking a loss on my touring because I told them I don’t want my tickets no higher than $40. I was like, “If you really want to make me happy, make it $39.99.” I don’t want it to be this overpriced thing. I want it to be an experience, but also affordable. I don’t want people to be like, “Damn, this or buy my mom a birthday gift.”

You’ve called yourself “Queen of Da Souf,” and with that comes some influence to help dictate where the sound of hip-hop is headed. Are you interested in trying other new styles? Could we hear you on some Cash Cobain, sexy drill-type music?

I don’t like to venture too far out to where it gets confusing. I feel like drill is just too far from an Atlanta sound. So honestly, no. Unless it was like a feature or a remix. I don’t see me hopping on no drill beat. I just think it’s not authentic to an Atlanta girl.

Where do you want to see hip-hop go?

This whole female wave right now, we’re going to look back and be like, “2024, it was 10 female rappers performing!” The female rap category went from three names to like nine. I love that. Beat switches too, like the “Big Mama” beat switch. That’s the thing right now for hip-hop. I think a lot more storytelling and substance is going to start coming back because it’s been so much, “Pop your sh-t. What you wearing? What drugs you doing? What you sipping? How you looking? What you pulling up in?” I think it’s been so much of that for such a long time that storytelling is putting people’s antennas up now.

You’re deep in your storytelling bag with “Shoutout to Me.” How do you get into the right headspace to open up emotionally on a track like that?

I like to write those kinds of songs at home and then bring them to the studio to record. I cried writing that song. I have to go through my emotions and be in an “alone” type of space where I can be that vulnerable. I’m so tough. I be thinking I’m a whole-ass mafia n—a in the ’70s. In my past life, I had to be one of them Italian mob bosses. (Laughs.) But I’m really one of those little hard-shell chocolates that’s milk in the middle. I’m not going to sit in the studio and cry. Even some of those lyrics, I would not say that sh-t in front of nobody. I have to be at home, write that on my own and take it to the studio.

As a rapper who respects bars, what did you think of the Kendrick Lamar-Drake battle?

I ain’t going to lie: I liked it! I liked the back-and-forth. I thought it was healthy for the culture. It just felt nostalgic. I don’t think our generation has even seen a rivalry like that. I f–ked with it. I also think people get too in it. I feel like it’s two n—as that’s killing this sh-t, and they both so talented and they both on they high horse flexing their talent and capabilities. They both still that n—a, they both still the GOAT. That shit fye for the culture, bruh.

What was your favorite track out of all of them?

Probably “Family Matters.” We was leaving from a Mariah the Scientist concert and they said Drake dropped another one. I played that sh-t the whole ride home, and then sitting in front of the house, I’m like, “Hold on, just play it again!” That was the one.

Would you battle like that with, say, Ice Spice?

I mean this in the most understanding [way]: I’m a fan of music. I’m not one of them “lyrical only, anything else is bullsh-t” people. There’s so many subgenres that I’m a fan of — like mosh pit-type music; when Drake is in his melodic bag, I like that type sh-t — and all of it is still hip-hop.

If I was to do [a battle], it would have to be with somebody I feel like Imma go tit for tat with. I really don’t mean it as shade. Would she even want to do that? I feel like she’s doing her in her lane. It’s two different types of vibes. I don’t even think she gives me like, “Oh, she wants to engage in an actual rap beef.” Everybody gon’ take their lil jabs in the music, and it’s not even that serious to me; I feel like you should do that. Continue to! But as far as actual whole dis records to each other, I don’t think she would even want to do that. I feel like… would it even make sense? It wouldn’t.

Outside of hip-hop, what’s been catching your ear recently?

Country music. My mom, her mom and dad listen to country, so it reminds me of being in Ohio as a kid. As I got older, I realized I really like country music, so I been playing Cowboy Carter. And this might not be technically country, but it reminds of it — that Sabrina Carpenter song “Please Please Please.”

You mentioned that you keep track of streams. Do you consider yourself a numbers watcher?

To a certain extent. When I first got signed, I didn’t give a f–k about none of that sh-t. I feel like fans and blogs have made me care more about it. Then, being a Capricorn, once I learned about it, now I’m like, “OK, what you said ‘Sunday Service’ was streaming the first day? OK, so this one doing better.” I try not to let it consume me because I don’t ever want that to interfere with the art of it. I came into this because I genuinely wanted to rap. At the end of the day, I make music for me. As long as I like it, I don’t give a f–k how much it streams.

This story will appear in the July 20, 2024, issue of Billboard.