Becky G reflects on multiculturalism using her collaboration with J-Hope (BTS) as an example

If you can boast of something Becky G is to succeed in the main hit lists with every great song he releases, both in English and Spanish (or directly in Spanglish). Understanding and embracing his Latin roots has helped him a lot to grow personally but also professionally, since this language has allowed him to get more involved in their song compositions and create from a place that is much more real, sincere and close to your feelings. Proof of this is his latest project, schemes, posted a few months ago.

In a recent interview published by teenvoguethe artist has reflected precisely on her figure as multicultural referentboth in the music industry and in other businesses, since after all she is a woman of Mexican descent who has grown up in the United States.

One of the most representative examples of his multiculturalism is, among other successes, Chicken Noodle Soup in 2019, his collaboration with J Hopemember of bts. And it is that this song is trilingual: verses appear in Korean, Spanish and English.

This 2022, both artists performed the song for the first time at Lolapalooza, a festival where the Korean debuted, in turn, solo as headliner. “We were one of the first to do [una canción en] Korean, Spanish and English. It’s really fantastic,” says Becky. “I’m really happy that everything turned out the way it did,” despite the language barrier. “To this day, it’s one of those relationships of, ‘ I see you, you see me, and even though we don’t necessarily have the deepest conversations, we understand each other,'” he says.

Another queen of incorporating three languages ​​into her work is Anittawho plays with Spanish, English and Portuguese in his latest album Versions of Me. The Brazilian does not hesitate to state that she loves that her friend “represents all the Latin people who live in the United States, because you feel that you belong to both places.” the singer of the lotto (feat. Tini and Becky G), adds, “There are so many people in the same position who want to be able to say, ‘I’m part of these two worlds,’ and I think she does it perfectly. I love her.”

Exist in the middle as a Latin woman

During this meeting, Becky has not only remembered key moments of her childhood and her career or her origins as a singer, but also has spoken loud and clear about the discrimination – racism – that exists in society in general and in the world of music in particular. “The industry has a way of being that is like, ‘We already have a [latina. No necesitamos otra]'” Becky says. “I grew up watching Selena’s movie, and there’s a scene where her dad says, ‘You’re either too Mexican for Americans or you’re too American for Mexicans.’ It is exhausting. It’s implicitly implied that you can’t exist in between,” she told the magazine.

Becky G belongs to the second and third generation immigrant community and that is why she defines herself, according to teenvogueWhat “Possessor of Pocha Power“. “It’s the term they use to refer to us. That’s what it’s all about: pocha power!” she exclaims. [Así llaman los mexicanos de habla hispana nativa a la población latina de EEUU que no domina completamente el idioma español].

The interpreter of so-and-so has been fighting and working for a more inclusive future during years. Tresluce, the line of cosmetics that he has founded, is one of the latest projects that show this effort. “We can break generational cycles,” he says. “Growing up, I didn’t have anyone to educate me on what the difference was between ethnicity and race. When George Floyd was murdered, when Breonna Taylor was murdered, I think that’s our problem too, but some in our community don’t see it that way. That was a big wake-up call for me,” he says.

Likewise, he talks about the importance of empathizing and educating about the privilegeswhite-passingbeing treated as a white person despite being Latino, due to the color of the skin) and discrimination (colorism and anti-black racism): “When I talk about educating, I talk about doing it with love. The mere fact of returning home to It’s a very different experience for me than my cousins, who are lighter than me, but it’s also very different than my friends, who are darker than me. recognize that privilege you may have, or try to understand what that discrimination might feel like. We need to spend a little bit of time getting informed, educated and asking all the stupid questions.”