It’s been a decade since Becky G‘s breakthrough, and all this time later, she’s come through with her most personal album yet.
After first embracing her Mexican roots in last year’s Esquinas, she is continuing to make her mark in música Mexicana with a follow-up, Encuentros. Though the introspective LP includes a few features from rising stars like Tito Doble P and Óscar Maydon, Becky is largely shining solo across the 16 tracks this time around.
“We’re in otro capítulo [another chapter],” Becky G tells Uproxx. “My hair is different. I feel like I’m different. Esquinas was the beginning of a very personal healing journey. Encuentros is literally me being so invested and committed to that journey of healing.”
Becky G first made a splash in 2014 with the bubbly pop of “Shower.” In the years that followed, she tapped into her Mexican-American identity to record smashes in Spanish, like the risqué reggaeton of “Mayores” featuring Bad Bunny, or the girl power anthem “Sin Pijama” with Natti Natasha. Becky G has since dabbled in genres like dembow with El Alfa in “Fulanito” and disco-pop with the shimmering “Bailé Con Mi Ex.” She later blended elements of música Mexicana into one of her biggest hits, the fiery “Mamiii” featuring Karol G.
After scoring hits in multiple genres, Becky G has since put her pop spin on música Mexicana in songs like the heartbreaking corrido “La Nena” featuring Peso Pluma, as well as “Por El Contrario,” which received a Latin Grammy nomination. With Encuentros, she is continuing to push the genre running through her veins to new places with songs that represent a wide range of emotions.
Over Zoom, Becky G caught up with Uproxx about the latest chapter in her life, her therapeutic LP, and her upcoming tour.
Throughout your career, you have always proudly represented the Mexican-American community. Why is that representation important to you?
Well, it’s interesting: Even coming off this Latin Grammy nomination [for “Por El Contrario”], which is so exciting and so crazy, I’m still processing it. I don’t think it’s by coincidence that I’ve been doing music for so many years and making Spanish music for so many years. Now to have that mythical nomination in a música Mexicana category, it’s because I’m really owning who I am, my roots, and where I come from.
I have always been a proud Chicana. You can see it, from me bringing my family everywhere that I go, to my style choices, to the music videos I created in the past. People had yet to really feel that in my music since I was younger. Now that it’s all coming together in such a beautiful way, in the weirdest way, it feels like I’ve come home to myself.
Why did you want to continue exploring música Mexicana with Encuentros?
Esquinas was me going back to my childhood and reliving things that sadly, but in a beautiful way, I’ll never have again. I’ll never be a baby in my dad’s arms again listening to Ramón Ayala, or dancing to Selena with my mom in the living room. There’s just so much there with Esquinas, which opened a door to this healing that I really needed. I didn’t even realize I needed it as an artist. Music for me growing up was such an escapism. It became a safe place because it was so disconnected from my personal life. Now, in the most beautiful way, Esquinas gave me the opportunity to bring them together.
Encuentros is me accepting that there’s all of these things that will never be again. Then there are some things that will never change, which are our emotions. There’s this quote that says, “In order to feel genuine and true happiness, you have to know what it’s been like to be so sad.” You have to know what it’s like to have been hurt to also know what it’s like to heal.
Encuentros is the parts of me that I found throughout that journey of Esquinas and digging even deeper and becoming even more vulnerable. You can hear that through all my offerings from this album. There’s my anger, my fears, my hopes, my tears, and my happiness. It’s all there. It just encompasses this journey of healing for me.
In the song “Como Diablos,” you’re cursing in a Mexican way with Mexican slang. What was that experience like for you, to just go off and release those emotions in that song?
“Cursing in a Mexican way” is hilarious [laughs]! It was liberating. It felt very right. In the music video, there’s this very artistic interpretation of what anger feels like for me. Growing up, being the first-born daughter, I came out of the womb naturally like a very composed and collected person. Everything needed to be perfect. Everyone needed to be taken care of first. Any emotion that was not a positive one in my head, I wouldn’t allow myself to feel it. I realized in order to experience real happiness, I also have to allow myself to feel anger. In the video, you can see that anger and attitude, and it’s very much internalized and composed. It’s so strong that it makes the ground shake, the glass break, and the boys run away. I love that so much. It felt so empowering to step into that.
How would you describe the experience of sharing your spotlight and also being supported by música Mexicana acts like Peso Pluma, Iván Cornejo, and the artists who have featured on Esquinas and Esquemas?
I look at Peso. He invited me to his Inglewood show at the Intuit Dome. To see the growth of the genre itself and the artists within the genres is amazing. Música Mexicana is an umbrella term. There are actually so many sub-genres within the genre itself. It’s so diverse. It’s so colorful in so many ways. I feel like I’ve really found my place in that world because I’ve created this 200 percent [100 percent Mexican and 100 percent American] sound where it’s the music that raised me with a different interpretation of what that sounds like today. You have artists like Peso and Iván, who are doing the same thing in their own way, and everyone who has been a part of these albums. That’s so cool to be a part of. It’s so cool to feel embraced and accepted somewhere.
That was my biggest fear before even pursuing Spanish music: Am I Latina enough? Am I Mexican enough? Am I going to be enough? You don’t have to be anything other than yourself.
What was the experience like to collaborate with Peso Pluma’s cousin and frequent co-writer Tito Doble P on the song “Crisis”?
So cool! It’s so funny because I was saying, “It’s the Doble P’s and the Doble B.” That’s because my first name is Rebbeca with two B’s.
You know how important family is to me. This is such a full-circle moment. At an event I did recently with Patrón, Tito was also performing. That was my idea. I also asked them to invite Gabito [Ballesteros]. I threw out so many names there because we got to help each other out. You have to speak other people’s names in rooms that they can’t be in, so that we can keep pushing the movement. We also announced there that Tito would be on my album. “Crisis” was a really special collaboration.
The only woman who features on the album is Delilah. How did the song “Todo” come together with her?
She is just a little baby girl. I love her so much! She’s so freaking talented. I think her voice is absolutely incredible. I’m such a fan of Delilah and she’s barely getting started. She’s barely scratching the surface of what’s ahead of her.
There’s such a fusion in this song in particular. There’s a modern twist. It’s not typical música Mexicana. There’s an alternative flair to it, which is nice. I found that to be perfect.
She told me, “You know why my parents named me Delilah?” I was like, “No, I’m so curious.” She then started singing “Hey There Delilah” by the Plain White T’s. That’s such an alternative rock song. It has nothing to do with música Mexicana. I was like, “We need to bring some of that inspiration into our song.” We are what makes it Mexican. Our roots are what makes it Mexican. Our sound is so much bigger. I think that our voices mirror each other so beautifully. I feel like a big sister to her.
The song “Otro Capítulo” is very reminiscent of Selena’s sound. How would you describe the experience of exploring those “Bidi Bidi Bom Bom”-like rhythms?
Incredible! It felt so good. If there’s anyone who I’ve always wanted to give all my thanks and respect to in this time of being an artist and understanding what it means to be here, it’s Selena, for the path that she’s made and the bridge that she started. Unfortunately, she couldn’t finish that, but there’s so many of us that feel such a responsibility and a calling to continue building upon that foundation.
I wouldn’t be where I am today if I didn’t see someone like myself reflected in music and in film. This album and leaning into my roots and who we are as 200 percenters, you can’t do that without honoring someone like Selena.
I noticed there’s an interesting interpolation of “Perdóname” by La Factoria in that song.
That’s a little hint. In “Mamiii,” there was an alternative intro that was very música Mexicana and mariachi. Then the song started and it’s like a pop and reggaeton song, but it has a Mexican feel. With “Otro Capítulo,” I was like, “How cool would it be if we brought a bit of reggaeton vibes to a cumbia song?” That was a little nod saying, “Maybe Becky is going to start making reggaeton music again”? [Flips her hair] Who knows.
Compared to Esquinas, in Encuentros, there are way fewer features and more of you. What was that an intentional decision?
You read into everything. I love it! That was super intentional. I love feedback from my fans. I stopped looking into the comments section a long time ago for wanting to please people and make everyone happy, which is impossible. Real feedback I got from Esquinas was, “I didn’t know you could sing like that. I can actually hear your voice.”
The genre itself is very live, raw, and simple. The way we mixed the songs, I feel like you can hear me. It’s like I’m talking to you. When I got that feedback from Esquinas, I was like, “I still have so much more to say and I want to keep this line of communication with everybody through my artistry.” Encuentros is definitely that telephone line straight to you guys.
What can we expect from your Casa Gomez: Otro Capítulo Tour?
It’s going to be so much fun. We released Esquinas the day of the first show of the Mi Casa, Tu Casa Tour. It’s terrifying to release an album and have to perform it when people haven’t had a chance to digest it and listen to it. I made it work. I was like, “We’re going to make the most of it.” It was incredible because by the end of the tour, everybody knew every song from Esquinas.
Now the same thing is happening this year with Casa Gomez: Otro Capítulo. The day before the first show, we are releasing Encuentros. I wanted to continue Casa Gomez. The concept of Casa Gomez debuted on the Coachella stage. Casa Gomez is me letting people in and inviting them to my house. In my house, we sing together, cry together, drink together, and dance together. To have that experience continue with my fans and only become stronger and more meaningful is going to be so fun. We have all the songs. Casa Gomez is going to get some renovations. Maybe she’ll have a little upgrade or something.
It’s been 10 years since you released “Shower.” What have you learned and taken from that decade-long experience in the music industry?
So much! I feel so lucky that I can sing that song today in a whole new way. In a way that feels like, “This is my song.” When I was younger, I got signed as a rapper. I got signed while doing songs like “Becky From The Block” and “Otis.” The song was my first hit song. For that, I will forever be grateful. The song was bigger than me. It was a song that really anybody could have sang. I think people loved it so much because literally everyone sings in the shower.
The lesson that I learned from that song was the power of my voice and my identity as an artist. Now “Shower” is having this resurgence of importance and going viral on TikTok again with people being like, “The Becky G that we know today sang that song?” It was like I was able to reclaim my power again as an artist and a young woman who had to grow up in this industry, and sometimes be a lot of other things that always didn’t align with me or who I wanted to be in this world. It’s not the destination, it’s the journey that teaches you. That’s how I feel about “Shower.” I love that song. I’m so thankful for that song.
You appeared as a guest judge on RuPaul’s Drag Race earlier this year and the drag queens performed “Shower.” What does the connection you have with the LGBTQ+ community mean to you?
They’re also another reason why I’m here. That’s the truth. There’s so many chapters in my career where the community that I have always wanted to show so much love to, so much respect to, and fight for, has given me so much.
What do you want to accomplish next with your music career?
I’m just trying to enjoy the process. I feel like there’s something really beautiful in the unknown and surrendering to not knowing what’s going to happen. Now, if you asked me before if I saw myself here, I was definitely hoping to be successful. I don’t think that looked anything like what today looks like. I think the magic of it all is not knowing. I don’t know what’s next. I just know that I’m enjoying it all. I’m having a lot of fun. This is the most me I’ve ever felt.