Snob & Answer: Lexa Gates
In our latest Snob & Answer, we chatted with rap's emerging agitator, Lexa Gates about growing up in Queens, the SoundCloud Era, and her new album, Elite Vessel.
It’s never been harder to stand out on the internet. Amid the maelstrom of memes and micro-trends, being the one to cut through and offer something genuinely refreshing is no small order. Yet, somehow, Lexa Gates has succeeded in what feels like an effortless fashion.
With her signature winged eyeliner and playfully apathetic persona, Gates has seemingly befriended the algorithm without compromising or contorting anything about her character. Oh, and it helps that her distinctive sound is unlike anything you’ve crossed on your timeline before, guaranteed. Born and raised in New York City, it’s clear that the 23-year-old lyricist is in her own lane musically.
Despite being a child of the SoundCloud Era, Gates’ composed cadence harkens back to hip-hop’s grimy boom-bap roots that sprouted just a few train stops away from where she grew up. Disguising impassioned love supplications within biting wordplay and an unbothered delivery, the budding artist pours out lyrical content that could easily put her over in a heated battle rap exchange or a fiery romantic quarrel (“I know you’re an angel…I’ll pass you an ice pack when I rip your wings off,” she positions on “Lover”).
It’s almost as if your favorite ‘90s New York street laureate reincarnated into the body of a cute Colombian girl from the block just to give industry execs something to scratch their heads at. She could have easily been a bedroom pop star— tinkering away at gentle guitar riffs and soft piano chords —but it just so happens she’s from Astoria, Queens, a breeding ground for some of hip-hop's most heralded wordsmiths.
Following a run of singles peppered throughout the last year (e.g., “Stacy’s Chips,” “Angel,” and “Provider”) paired with surging popularity on social media, Gates finally arrives with her major label debut, Elite Vessel. Continuing to break the mold of what new-age internet rap looks and sounds like, the new album (released on October 18) moves in a different direction from the scattered and, oftentimes, bloated projects put forth by some of Gates’ contemporaries.
A concise, 12-song body of work, Elite Vessel is a strong first step into the spotlight. With dreamy samples, fluttering melodies interspersed with emotional punchlines, and a slew of TikTok-able soundbites (of which Gates has already gotten the jump on), the latest LP showcases an artist coming into form, stretching herself to reach new heights while effectively building upon the formula that has garnered her acclaim thus far— mid-20s angst is undoubtedly a topic we can all relate to.
Lexa, What's happening? How are you?
I’m good. I'm a little nervous, and it's loud as fuck in my house right now! I have the AC on, the window open and the lady downstairs is playing Birds of a Feather. Do you hear that?
Are you one to make friends with your neighbors, or are you trying to be more to yourself?
My neighbors don't really give a shit about me, which is good. I'm nice, but I don't want to be saying hello to everybody when I'm on my way home or something. I feel like that's annoying. Especially in New York, we have to give each other psychological space.
It’s funny because I feel like in a lot of other places, people go out of their way to greet strangers. Do you feel like there's a misconception about the vibe New York people give off?
[Laughs] To me, it's more like a defense mechanism. Growing up here, you don't know if the person on the street who is smiling and waving at you is a fucking psycho, so you just have to look away and keep it pushing.
I’ve been visiting LA a lot more recently, though. I really like it out there.
New York and LA are two completely different energies. What about LA do you like so much?
There are fewer encounters with people. You feel more control over where you go and what you're doing. In New York, everything is just coming at you, and you have no choice.
The first time I went out to LA, I had a terrible time, I won’t lie. I was staying in a warehouse with a bunch of people on ketamine. They were all doing cuddle puddles. It’s completely different when I go there now.
What's a cuddle puddle?
It's pretty self-explanatory. I haven’t seen any cuddle puddles in New York, though.
[Laughs] That sounds like a crazy first LA experience. What brought you out there that time?
It was just to see the world. On some revenge shit, trying to find myself.
Now, I feel like anywhere I go, there are always parts that are the same because I'm in the same body, and I find the same things that attract me in every place. To me, the inside determines the outside. Even if I went to Columbus, Ohio, or something, I would probably see pieces of myself.
It sounds like you’re starting to branch out a bit, but I’m curious: what is your favorite memory as a kid growing up in Queens?
I just remember one time I was on my way to school, and I saw a fat-ass gray cat dead in front of the deli. That's it. Then I went to school, and all day, I was thinking about that cat. I tried to convince myself it was just sleeping. Once I went back home, it was gone.
That does sound like a true New York memory. If somebody was planning on raising a family in the city, what's one piece of advice you would give to them?
I think that’s a great thing to do. For one, your kids will grow up around a lot of different things and see a bunch of different cultures. They might be over-simulated, though. Actually, maybe it's a bad thing. I don't know.
All I’ll say is move somewhere nice, like Uptown or Brooklyn. Put the kids in a big house.
So, when did you first get into rapping? Do you remember who put you on as a kid?
I actually used to date this guy, and he was trying to be a rapper. He showed me that all you had to do was just buy a microphone and record yourself at home. I didn't know you could do that. I stole my mom's laptop, and I started writing to beats. But I was always into music. I used to play piano and sing.
Who were some of your favorite artists coming up then?
Honestly, it was all rappers. I used to love Trippie Redd, Chance the Rapper, Childish Gambino. MF DOOM and Biggie are classics. That was all aroud the time when I was first recording myself.
Sounds like you were big on artists from the Soundcloud Era.
Absolutely. There are so many songs that, at the time, I thought were famous and huge, but it turns out they were just some random dudes I was listening to on SoundCloud. My mom was never home, so my little sister and I would just get high with a speaker on the kitchen table. I remember we used to look each other in the eyes and recite every lyric to “Caroline” by Aminé.
So, when did you start taking the music thing seriously?
Growing up, I was a bad little kid. When I turned 21, I realized I didn't want to be some old person at a party, OD'ing off percs on a couch or something. I couldn’t let my life go to shit. Since this is the only thing I know how to do, I just decided to go all the way with it, sober up, and start taking everything very seriously.
Was this always the goal, or did you have another far-out dream when you were young?
Honestly, it probably was music. My mom really wanted to do music. We used to do shows in bars when I was like 9 or 10 years old. I would play piano and sing Alicia Keys. My mom is from Columbia, so she came here to give us a better life. I guess I just had the “American Dream” instilled in me. All I knew was that I could not fail. I didn't know what I was going to do, but it had to be something grand that could change everything for everybody that I love.
I'm sure you get this question a lot, but did it feel like all the recognition came quickly, or did you expect this to happen?
It’s weird because I don't really feel it. Even when you say that, I'm like, “Are you just trying to gas me up?” I'm just doing my thing. I don't really care. Not in a bad way. I'm super grateful. But I just feel indifferent about all the extras. You really never know what could happen.
Have you taken any time to be like, “Damn, I'm here?”
Sometimes. I wake up in my own apartment, and I'm just surprised. I just look around and I'm like, “Oh, I'm a fucking adult. I pay bills. I can't believe that I'm doing this stuff.” But then I snap out of it and just think something like, “I want coffee.”
What inspires you to make your music?
A lot of visual things. Aesthetics, colors, shapes. Language and hearing people talk. I think that I pull inspiration from life just walking around and just feeling shit. It's a flow state. It’s an expression that incidentally turned out to be music.
What do you feel your music represents?
Real-life shit. I'm trying to paint the image of being a crazy bitch walking down the block in a nice fit with a juicy pear dripping down your chin. It's an auditory version of life’s beauty. The little things.
How has life changed since things took off? What's different?
I have more resources to make myself more myself if that makes sense. I like being more of an alchemist in my own life. I always felt like I could just have whatever I wanted.
What does the next level look like for you, then?
Probably just a fucking upgraded version of this. All of this. I also want a bigger shower. I want a Dalmatian, too. I want a Dalmatian and a big shower, that’s it.
I'm sure that's coming very soon. Last question: what's one thing you want people to know about you that they don't already know?
That I'm a virgin, I think that’s a really good ending.
Stream Elite Vessel everywhere now.
