FEATURE:
Spotlight
Lexa Gates
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THE incredible Lexa Gates…
is about to start a tour of the U.S. The Queens-born artist is one who is getting a lot of hype in her native U.S. but might not be known to people to some people in the U.K. and other countries. I am going to come to some interviews with an artist that I hope is on your radar. Before that, here is some biography about an incredible talent:
“Born and raised in Queens, New York, Lexa Gates is a singer/songwriter, rapper, and producer. The multifaceted artist has been composing melodies and singing songs since the ripe age of 9. Lexa first took her talents to SoundCloud, dropping her debut tracks in 2019 which were followed by full bodies of work, her latest titled, ‘Universe Wrapped In Flesh’. The most recent song to date, ‘Angel’, began to pick up the most traction for the New York native - garnering a larger following and fan base. Lexa’s bold and ambitious style of expression keeps listeners constantly on their toes and excited for her bright future ahead!”.
I am going to start out with an interview from last year from Rolling Stone. They highlight a New Yorker whose L.P., Elite Vessel caught the energy and attention of the Internet (and SZA). Interviewed back in November, the New Yorker artist was excited and pumped for what was coming next. I think she has gained some new traction in 2025. Someone who is primed for a long career in the industry. Make sure you do not miss out on her music:
“Many 20-year-olds count down until they can flash an ID in exchange for a drink on their 21st birthday. For the artist Lexa Gates, turning 21 marked the first day of her sobriety.
“I just started feeling like, ‘That’s actually lame as fuck now that it’s legal,’” the cat-eyed rapper-singer-producer, now 23, tells Rolling Stone.
Growing up in Queens, she spent a lot of her early adolescence as a high-school dropout, smoking, drinking, and “fucking a bunch of people.” But on a 21st-birthday trip to Puerto Rico, a place she lived for a little bit of her childhood, she had an epiphany that brought her substance use to a halt: “I just realized that wasn’t doing anything for me — and all my music was like that, too,” she says. Her last hurrah? A stealthy swipe of a “big ass bottle of Henny” from the airport.
Gates started making music in her teens, putting her first releases all over SoundCloud. Her aesthetic matched her lifestyle back then: perfectly pearled joints held by manicured nails, abstract Tumblr art and memes, and creatively angled selfies edited with photo filters reminiscent of the late 2010s. On a playlist created six years ago called “og lexagates,” there are songs about toxic lovers, “D3VILDICK,” and soft reflections that feature Gates’ singing against simple piano melodies. She started venturing into music after she dropped out of high school at 15, due to feeling “very unimportant” in the NYC public school system.
While her peers were in class, she began recording at home — a place always filled with music because her mom wrote songs and spent time singing in cafes. Gates and her sister briefly lived with their father in Puerto Rico; Gates recalls an early childhood memory of her mom saving up money earned from packing cigarettes in the U.S. territory to move the family back to New York. “My mom kind of gaslit me into thinking like we were well off or something,” she remembers. She returned to the city and grew up in Queens, where she watched her mom’s explorations with music before beginning a journey of her own. “I started playing piano because [my mom] got a piano for singing classes for herself. But I was just drawn to it.”
Gates released her debut album, Order of Events, in 2020, followed by more EPs. In 2022, she dropped Universe Wrapped In Flesh, a project she describes as “the dead skin of everything from before.” Universe Wrapped In Flesh featured the songs “If I Die, I Die,” “The Person That I Was Before,” and the standout “Rotten to the Core,” where she bounces between promiscuity and “standing out the way” to achieve success. The album got pickup from small music publications as well as digital platforms like On the Radar Radio.
In 2023, with a growing internet presence, Gates posted her music to TikTok and shared several music videos on YouTube, world-building a vintage style to match the nostalgic and somber essence of her laidback music, often described as being reminiscent of artists she considers her influences: Mac Miller, Amy Winehouse, and Tyler, the Creator. Now she’s sailing off the success of her major label debut, Elite Vessel, which came out in October. On the album, she stays true to her mellow sound but with new confidence. (SZA recently noticed and shouted her out in an Instagram story this summer.)
“[The album] is just me conforming to the industry and being this character of value in my field,” she says, sneaking glances at her publicist and manager. “Because I am that girl who’s down and dirty from the fucking basement that didn’t go to school … But this is like, I don’t know, I’m just a baby. Like, I’m just squeaky clean and elite.”
Part of Gates’ newfound “squeaky clean” vibe comes with solitude, a theme she sings about on the 12-track album. Not only has she been unable to see her mom and sister much with the demands of her budding career, but a lot of the album holds the weight of a past relationship. “I’m ready to throw it out into the world so that I can focus on who I am now,” Gates says.
Before Elite Vessel came out, Gates promoted the album with some performance art. She sat in a glass box in Union Square for 10 hours ahead of the release, only listening to the album and gaining eyeballs from curious New Yorkers and social media purveyors on one of the city’s first jacket-weather days. The gesture was praised online and picked up by several blogs and TikTok fan pages, with people calling the fish-bowl isolation as a “genius” way to market an album that revolves around loneliness and solitude.
With more support and promotion around her music, Gates says she’s still learning and adjusting to the change in pace from being an independent artist. (She’s now signed with Capitol and GoodTalk.) “It’s crazy because with the label now it takes so long — I didn’t know,” she says. “But now I kind of feel like I have to make the music more timeless,” she says. When asked about the music she’s working on now that Elite Vessel is finished, she gets excited. “That’s the stuff that’s really gonna be life-changing for me on a huge scale”.
I am moving on to an interview from F Word Magazine. Conducted last year, they spoke with an artist who was blending Rap, Alt-R&B and Hip-Hop. Someone whose New York shows were getting so much acclaim and love. Someone who has some American dates coming. I know that Lexa Gates will be over in the U.K. in August and is playing at Burgess Park for the Jazz Café Festival. This is someone who is getting started but is already proving she can go a very long way:
“Rachel Edwards: Hey Lexa! Let’s talk about your new single ‘Stacy’s Chips’! The lyrics ‘there’s never any time to cook, I’m eating Stacy’s chips’ are very relatable for someone like me who lives off crisps and hummus. What was the story behind it?
L.G: Well I don’t know if you know but Stacy’s Chips is not a person, it’s a brand of pitta chips in America!
R.E: No way!
L.G: Yeah! Someone else thought it was my friend Stacy but it’s some half decent chips that you find everywhere. At the time I was just going to the studio every day and by the time I got out all of the restaurants were closed so I just had what was on set which was always Stacy’s chips.
R.E: [Laughs] Wow, I wonder how many people in the UK also think it’s a person! Do you find it difficult to juggle working with other parts of your life, like seeing friends?
L.G: Yeah it’s all to the wayside cos’ I don’t have friends.
R.E: So Stacy’s 100% not a friend then!
L.G: Yeah, she doesn’t exist!
R.E: There’s a real realness to your lyrics. I feel like you’re singing candidly about experiences that others might cover up. How honest would you say you are outside of your music?
L.G: A hundred percent honest all the time, I don’t believe in lying or anything like that. Being authentic is very important.
R.E: I don’t think a lot of people live by that! I think a lot of people are sugar coating things! You grew up with some strong feminine energy with your mum and sister. What was young Lexa like?
L.G: She was wild! She was being bad and doing things she shouldn’t do. But it all worked out!
R.E: What were you like at school?
L.G: I didn’t go to school! I would just be stealing, smoking weed, drinking Henny, having sex with strangers… But I’m totally reformed and proper.
R.E: Wow okay tell me what the turning point was?
L.G: On my 21st birthday I went completely sober, broke up with the person I was with and started taking everything very seriously, made Universe Wrapped in Flesh and it actually ended up being very fruitful for me”.
I am going to end with a recent interview from Billboard. The twenty-three-year-old is only getting started. Someone who has some serious ambitions. I am quite new to her music but I am going to follow her career. If you have not heard Lexa Gates then make sure you follow her on social media:
“Billboard: When you look back at your musical upbringing, what are some moments that stand out in changing your life?
Lexa Gates: I was dating a white rapper from Harlem who was enrolled in SUNY Purchase. He taught me that you can record yourself at home and put it on SoundCloud. Something could happen with that. [This was] when I was like 17.
Is that when you started to take music seriously?
Yeah, that’s when I started learning how to engineer myself and create a product.
How long did it take to reach the level where you felt, “I can kinda do this?”
Well, not that long. Nowadays, you can download Garageband on your phone and just make a song with a pair of headphones.
Is “I Can Fly” from around that time?
Yes, exactly — and everyone really loved that song. That boyfriend ended up being a hater about it. It happens.
Would you say that was a breakthrough moment for you?
Yeah, it really was. It would’ve had like 10,000 plays on SoundCloud, and I was like, “Whoa, who would’ve thought that people would actually like it?” It was fully organic. That’s how it was back then with SoundCloud. It wasn’t about any marketing or any schemes. No TikTok; Instagram was just your friends on there.
How would you summarize this last year for yourself? It’s been quite the elevation.
It’s been a lot, but I still feel like it’s nothing yet. I’m just getting started.
How has been dealing with fame for you?
Some girl just recognized me outside. No makeup, on my way to get my eyebrows done. She like, “Are you Lexi?” I’m outside my house, so that’s a little scary.
So you’re starting to get recognized outside a bit? At least in New York.
Yeah, that’s a good thing, and it’s what I want. Eventually, I just want to be constrained to the back of a car or a private jet and never get to live a normal life again.
How’s performing been? I went to your show in Brooklyn last June.
Oh, the Elsewhere show? That one was pretty a–. The shows are great. I’m a lot more comfortable now. I remember in that concert, I was super nervous, and my mom was there and I barely moved on stage. I was just standing there with my arms crossed.
It was cool to see your fans bringing your flowers. Where did that relationship start to become a thing?
That’s just from begging a bum-a– dude to buy me flowers, to just having so much fruition in my career. People bringing me flowers that I don’t even know — but they love me. And I don’t have to be like, “Why didn’t you get me this?” Also, I heard that flowers raise a woman’s vibration. It’s like a natural thing. You can smell ’em.
How did your signature winged eyeliner come to be?
It was just like, me not going to school. I’m doing my makeup and trying to make the liner even on one side and the other side until it just became a giant Black block on my eyes. It gets to the point where you just get tired of washing it off and trying again, so you kinda just work with what you got. Now it’s more intentional. I get it perfect almost every single time.
What’s next on the music front? What are our plans this year?
I have a whole album done that we are in the process of clearing. I have like 20 songs done. I want to drop another album.
Did you do any work with Conductor Williams?
No, I didn’t, but I’m in conversation with him. We just haven’t gotten together. It’s crazy because I want to make pop music.
Is this something that feels natural to you, or you wanted to change it up and keep it fresh?
It was still natural for me. I had to be in L.A., of course. It’s still true to me, it’s just what I like now.
Yeah, you gotta pull up [to the office] and play that… You got some fans over here.
I’m really happy to hear that. I never even knew about all this ranking and status within the artist community until I got signed and spoke to [a media trainer], and she pulled up the Billboard [Hot] 100 and I realized, “This is like a sport.” [It’s a] pro athlete vibe. That’s also something I took with me into my new work. That’s why it has to be more structured and intentional.
How has being signed to a label influenced your creativity? Is it different being at a studio than at home?
They put a positive pressure on me. It’s still very personal. I work usually work one-on-one, just me and the producer so it’s not a whole organization in the studio yet, but I’m not closed out to the idea if I find the right people.
How was linking up with Jadakiss and Fabolous for “New York to the World”?
Brought me back to my roots. Just like the energy they bring — intimidating, smoking, but still down to earth and true to themselves. I had to be the girl with the hair did and my legs crossed, and just spit some s–t. They’re mad cool and super loving. Especially the producer, Scott Storch. Yeah, he’s a legend, so inspirational. He seems a little bit like an insane guy.
When did you start doing your dances across the city?
It was just an accident. I had to make content, so I was like, “Record me.” Then I just dance. It was never like supposed to be what it is. People just made it a thing. They love anything. They f–king told me. I was spinning around in circles and trying different things, but the dance is what stuck with me. They be calling it the Lexa jig. It’s actually kind of embarrassing now because that’s just how I dance in general so when I do it, it’s not the same anymore. I hear some music and I start dancing and I gotta stop myself.
I feel like on records you touch on romance, relationships and love. What do you think makes a perfect record for that kind of song?
I guess just capturing the moment of time that you’re in. Whatever is going on you just gotta get the last drop from it.
Do you hold certain things back on it or let it rip?
I don’t hold back, I let it rip. Sometimes it be just about even anybody in the room. I don’t really care. If I have to say it, I have to.
How was the experience of staying in the box for 10 hours? I feel like that broke through and saw it everywhere. It was kind of refreshing. For lack of a better term, I feel like we see a lot of bulls–t promo tactics that artists go through.
It was never supposed to be like a promotional thing. I think the label showed me that was the case when they were telling me, “Oh, we should do a halal truck outside and sell food to them.” I’m like, “What? No, it’s supposed to be art.”
How was it getting the SZA co-sign?
That was really surreal. All these things you feel like you want, then you get it — and then you’re still a human being in a body that’s rotting and digesting food and bleeding and breathing. You never float through the air and explode into sparkles. It’s all the same. She’s the GOAT. Very talented and beautiful woman.
How do you look at this next generation of New York City? We had Laila! up here and she showed you love.
I don’t know a lot of [artists]. I know a lot of people coming up, like Sailorrr. I know she got this [Rookie of the Month] spot last month. There’s so many people. Every day, something’s breaking. I like Molly [Santana] too.
Do you have any brand partnerships or business endeavors outside of music that you think would be dope for you?
Yeah, I want an Erewhon smoothie. I want to work with Puma. I love Margiela and Acne. Something fire. I really love coffee, too. It would be cool to a coffee-related thing. I like Blue Bottle Coffee.
Where’s Lexa Gates in 10 years?
Hopefully, in the best shape of my life. Financially free. I want a house and I want to own a bunch of houses. Is that a good answer? Where should I be? I want to be on Billboard. No. 1, I don’t see why not”.
I am very keen to see where Lexa Gates head next. After a remarkable album, Elite Vessel, there is this new momentum and backing. With her live shows celebrated and a lot of eyes trained her way, the future looks very bright. Even though I am a fairly new convert, it only takes a minute before you are…
TRULY invested.
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