La Zowi: "I don't like that Nazi vibe that if you sing flamenco you have to have grown up in a tablao"

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Zoe Jeanneau Canto (1993) popularly known as La Zowi. Born in Paris and raised in Granada, she rose to fame a decade ago as one of the pioneers of trap in Spain. His explicit lyrics where he talks about sex, weapons and drugs paved the way for many of the artists who succeed today.

Her early motherhood – she became a mother at age 22 with fellow musician Yung Beef – changed her order of priorities and slowed down the growth of a project with which she now accelerates again. This Wednesday he publishes album, La Reina del Sur, and performs at the La Riviera hall in Madrid.

What is new about this album compared to the previous ones? The essence of La Zowi remains the same, but at the level of melodies and music everything is more elaborate and rounder. Also at the sound level there are more innovative things because I have left a lot of that trap that I used to do. How important is it to you to be behind each letter? For me it is a pride. When you bring up a topic and there are good comments about the bars [rhymes] you feel fulfilled. I like having this talent and I like to write. But I'm not closed to anything. In fact, on the record there is a song that I co-wrote. Now, it is true that I think that the lyrics characterize me a lot and you could not eliminate my collaboration completely because, otherwise, I would lose my essence. How much reality is there behind each letter? I understand that not everything because in the last single you threaten to pull out a gun. Does it bother you that everything is taken literally? It is clear that music is music and there is always a part that can be exaggerated as a way of conveying a reality metaphorically. I think my lyrics are real. Not in the literal sense, but they are very spontaneous. There's also the story part of the character. The important thing is to know how to distinguish reality from fiction without being completely alien. A balance has to be found. They can't be two different people, but neither can you believe that life is a video clip. If there always has to be a real part, what do you think of artists who are good boys or girls who sing trap hardships? I try not to judge him and everyone will know. But for me it's super important that the genre you make represents your life because otherwise it's going to be noticed. It is true that there are times when the artist works because in this industry it takes a lot to take one and do everything possible to go up, up and up and in the end you eat it with potatoes ... But I also don't like that Nazi vibe of "if you sing flamenco you have to have grown up in tablaos". I mean, chill, music is also there to experiment. You are one of the first artists who did trap in Spain and who launched into what is now considered urban and is so fashionable. Do you think the rise of this type of genre benefits or harms you? Man, it benefits me 100%. In the end, in Spain what works is pop. Neither trap nor reggaeton. As much as it is Latin music, it is not Spain. So, enough is that I don't make my own music from here so that it wasn't commercial. It would cost me more. It helps me that it is more and more fashionable and I can enter a store and listen to a song of mine. Even more so with how explicit I am with the lyrics. That an artist who is higher up does the same and plays on the radio opens doors for me. Does it force you to have more ambitious goals? Yes, well, it also gives a little anger sometimes. I have come to consider lowering the level a little in my lyrics or not saying certain words to reach more people. But in the end you realize that you have to do things from the heart and not thinking about whether you are going to sell or not. Yes, yes. But it's something that's going to go wrong. Whenever I force things or think too much, they don't go well. I've hit myself for being La Zowi whore and doing and saying what she wants. The moment I take that off I don't notice results. Don't you feel like doing other kinds of things to vindicate yourself and be able to say 'I am this too'? Yes, I want to keep making music, experimenter, and continue elsewhere. But not because of what people may say or thinking about what can reach the public. What do you think that sometimes you are reduced to the physical with the 'she is only beautiful and dances', but at the same time the industry and the public only buy beautiful artists who dance? I am clear that the physical aspect is something that you have to use in your art or in any field to feel comfortable and relate, but it will not give you points of more or less. I, for example, is not something that suffers but I do notice that sometimes I impose more. I can be grateful physically, but I notice that many times people have an image of me that is not the real one. And I, in my character, play with that. But there is the physique, the attitude, playing with the sexual part... But I could do that with another face and another body. Almost every time we talk about you, the term 'empowered' is mentioned, what does being empowered mean to you? Look, the other day I was reading my drafts of Twitter and there was an unposted tweet from a day that would be kind of crossed that said, "Women who work now are empowered, is it the power to get up in the morning?" I don't want to minimize the progress that has been made, but what happens, if you work you are already empowered? Or if I function well in a masculine environment it is already like "you are empowered". So you have to be dumb not to be empowered? I like it in concept, but there was a time when it was empowerment on all sides. How has being a mother marked you in your work? I think especially in going slower in the professional field. I have wanted to live my motherhood in a present way and caring for a child takes time. But I think everything has flowed as it should. If I am at this point it is because I have had other priorities and I do not regret anything. Having a young child is a responsibility and takes up your time, but it has also motivated me a lot and brought me super positive things. And as for creating? Do you cut yourself more? No, I separate my alter egos quite a bit. It is true that suddenly you are no longer just "the daughter of" but also "the mother of" and you think about things more. But really making music doesn't hurt anyone and has never been a bad thing. If I changed now, it could be interpreted that what I did before was something bad. Just being a mother makes me question things more in music and everything. Are you as confident as you project? Yes, the truth is that I am safe. I don't care what people think because my worst judge is myself. I'm the one who has me in line the most. What do you judge yourself with now? With things that I think we all consider a little. Will I be making good use of my time? Will it be worth all this? For me life is a game, a game that you have to have the best time possible. Of course, there are times when you rethink things a lot, but as anyone else is an artist or not. What was your goal when you started in music and how has it changed? I had no goal. But none. It was all super organic and I wasn't aware of anything. My first songs had even more views than now in the sense that it was a new phenomenon that went viral. And I had no idea. The intention was created over time. Now I have already assumed that this is going forward. I start to have goals, pressure, and I don't enjoy it as much anymore because it's become a job. At what pointOr did you realize that it was already something professional? The moment I started making money, which was at the beginning, I realized it was a responsibility. People aren't going to give me their money just because, yes, I'll have to do it right. But for two or three years I already have an awareness that this is the opportunity of my life and I have to reach the top. There you already realize that you will be able to regret or not certain things. Did realizing it change the way you make music? Not in terms of content or message because I have never made an empty topic. Well, I'll have some, but I've always been very conceptual. But on a musical level, yes, both for what my fans deserve and for the level there is in music. Now I have to put out good music and not just anything. Before I didn't care, I made a song and published it. In 2018 you told El Periódico: "A ratchet is someone like me, who combines Bershka clothes with imitations of expensive brands and who, since she feels excluded from the system, cares more about having her nails well made than about voting in elections." Do you still think the same? Yes, the truth is. They are the typical things that come out spontaneously. It's a very summarized way of putting it, especially the election thing that I wouldn't take 100% literally. But I still go from Bershka with an expensive bag. I can't help it and my friends are too. It's something punk and out of the system, but everything has a reason and can be deepened is not that a ratchet is delayed. But do you still care more about the superficial than the political? I think that our generation, unfortunately, is very detached from politics because of all the fuss there is. I think we are very disappointed and I say that with a lot of respect to the previous generations who have struggled. There's a lot of lying, a lot of show, so it's not surprising that we pass a little bit of that world because we don't feel it. With that feeling, young people can pay more attention to what an artist or a streamer says than to a politician. Sure, you get more. I care much more about what an artist I follow or an intellectual says than a politician. Politics is such a pocha thing that, indeed, it is often more real what a streamer or people like that say organically. There's less paraphernalia, less showmanship, and you see something you identify with more. Do you as an artist feel that pressure when it comes to influencing? I have the same pressure as a normal person. I mean, nobody likes to talk nonsense whether you say it to one person or a thousand. Of course, maybe I have more impact, but I try to work in my head and not spout nonsense. Where I most notice the influence is when maybe something happens and I want to be a normal person and not give an opinion, but my fans claim it. What is your ambition, your ultimate goal? Be happy. The truth is, it's about being as happy as possible. Of course I have goals, but I try to make them realistic and short-term. I always try to maintain a balance between personal and professional life. I'm ambitious, but it's not all about success. At least I am filled with other things and I try to remember them daily. I go from being a bitter artist that there are, and many.

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