Bounds Of Imagination: Lexa Gates Interviewed

Home to hip-hop royalty since its inception in ’70s, New York City is illuminating a path for its native newcomer, Lexa Gates. Evoking the cross-genre influence of SoundCloud-era rap, the Latinx artist navigates her early twenties with witty, nonchalant rhymes over old-skool beats. Across a string of projects, viral breakthroughs and noteworthy co-signs (Clairo and SZA, we see you), Gates continues to reveal the raw, unabashed truths that riddle her day-to-day life in Queens, flitting between moments of angst, introspection and ambition.

Her debut album, ‘Elite Vessel’, offers a selection of woozy R&B ballads and illustrative verses, marking a period of transition for the artist. Moving out of her mother’s house, confronted with the responsibilities presented by adulthood and an accelerating music career, ‘Elite Vessel’ comes from a place of maturing, personally and professionally. Between self-produced opener ‘Alone’ to the laugh-out-loud genius of ‘Stacy’s Chips’, Lexa comes of age on a project that strives for poetic justice.

Building up to the release of ‘Elite Vessel’, CLASH caught up with Lexa Gates to talk origin stories, future aspirations and how she gets that vamped-up eyeliner look. 

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How would you say that growing up in Queens shaped your sense of self and perspective of the world around you?

I mean, it’s pretty boring out here in Queens. It’s just regular people in T-shirts, smoking cigarettes and being with their families. So, I don’t really know where my creativity really came from. I guess New York is kind of overstimulating. I’m just thinking about riding my bike under the train station, it’s loud and there’s water dripping on my face and people screaming and fighting and cars beeping and ambulances passing by. I guess that does have something to do with it…inevitably.

What kind of music were you surrounded by during this period? Which artists, genres or scenes were you drawn towards?

I was really into Childish Gambino and Chance the Rapper when I was eleven and twelve, that’s what got me into rap really. My mom would listen to other things like Eminem, Nas and Wu-Tang. I don’t know, I’ve heard a lot.

What came first, singing or rapping?

The singing definitely came first. I actually used to not even like rap at all, it used to give me a headache and I didn’t like it at all. But growing up in New York, I started hearing music and talking over it. That is what rap is. It was kind of a happy accident.

And how did you start developing your flow? 

I think I just stumbled upon it. Verbal altercation is really where I got my flow, just fighting with my mom, with my boyfriend or whoever.

What was the turning point for you, when you realised you could carve your own space within music?

I felt a little directionless as a young adult, and the only thing I knew how to do was make music and art. My mom was into music. She wasn’t pursuing it professionally, it was just a dream for her, a hobby after work in her free time type of thing. There was a keyboard in my living room, and when I was about nine I would play because I thought it was so cool. I would see shapes and triangles, I would write scripts with my hands in the air. It was an escape from where I was, and it really distracted me in a positive way.

I wasn’t good in school and there was this assumption placed upon me, that I was going to just be a failure, or I was just gonna end up on drugs in the street, doing stupid shit. Music was a way for me to escape that and create my own destiny, in a way.

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What are three key albums that continue to influence your work?

I’m thinking about ‘MM..FOOD’ by MF DOOM and Tyler, The Creator’s ‘Cherry Bomb’ and ‘Wolf’.

Your verses are honest, punchy and introspective – have you always felt confident in your writing or is this something that you’ve developed over time? 

I always have. If anything, I was almost too honest before. I was just a little girl who was really high and didn’t care because I thought it didn’t matter anyway. Now I’m more careful with what I say, and I want more control over how I’m portrayed. I’ve never seen the consequences of my actions until now. It’s not necessarily bad.

Listening back to your first project ‘Order Of Events’, which version of yourself can you hear across these tracks?

That album, not to toot my own horn, but I was really a genius. It’s very timeless, very honest and still artistic and introspective. I think about that album all the time, it’s a lot for me to live up to in my own personal journey.

Would you say you’ve evolved since then?

Absolutely, I have evolved. I think the essence is still the same. There’s this line by DRAM, he says that when he’s on stage and working, he is perfect. I feel the same way about ‘Order Of Events’, ‘Universe Wrapped In Flesh‘ and my album now. That’s just who I was in the moment and that’s what art is supposed to be, you’re supposed to capture the time.

Tell us about your iconic dance. Dow did that come about?

I’ll just always dance like that. It wasn’t planned. When I was first making content, I didn’t know what to do. The first video that did pretty well. I’d just bought an ice cream, gave it to a homeless man, climbed up a scaffolding then started spinning around and I just danced. I still do it now by accident. I’ll be outside listening to music and I start doing it. I’m like, ‘oh, I can’t do that, because this is the dance.’

This summer you performed in the UK for the first time. How did you find that experience of travelling and touring?

Oh, it was so beautiful, I loved it. I love London. It’s a lot like New York, I think. It was just really beautiful to know that some girl like me walks down those blocks and listens to my voice in their headphones, and I’d never even been there before.

And if you could perform to a crowd anywhere in the world, where would it be and why?

Probably just LA. I feel very clueless about a lot of things. So even going to London and having anybody show up was surprising to me.

It was sold out!

Yeah, but I live in my head, so I don’t know. I would say LA because they have good produce. I would want to perform in LA so I could go to Erewhon.

To those who may be unfamiliar, what’s Erewhon?

It’s some organic supermarket that is super hyped and expensive in LA, and they have those Erewhon smoothies. I just want to go to the supermarket all the time.

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Talk to us about your upcoming album ‘Elite Vessel’. What’s the significance of the title?

‘Elite Vessel’ is who I am right now. I feel that I’ve been moulding myself into the perfect artist, period. I’m just doing everything I have to do, and I’ve never had to do anything before. So it’s a lot of contradiction in the album. 

What do those contradictions look like? 

It’s just a contradiction of being an Elite Vessel; being a perfect thing on camera, in interviews, and on stage. Really I’m just some lady, and everybody who has done something amazing is just a regular person.

Which themes are you looking to explore on this project?

I’m exploring evolution, luxury, pressure, and expectations from others. I don’t want to let my team down, I feel a sense of responsibility that I’ve never felt before, and I’m getting into that character for this album.

And how are you getting into that character, apart from the music. Have you made any changes?

I moved out of my mom’s crib, I’m on my own now. I do everything different. I eat different. I try to speak different. I have a schedule and a calendar. I have to plan for the future. I have things that are coming, and I always show up. I’m always on time, I wear a watch. I’m being a professional, because really, being an artist is a job. Sometimes when you’re starting out it doesn’t feel like that because you’re just having fun and struggling but I’m not struggling anymore. At least not the way I used to.

Do you have any other hobbies or forms of release?

No, I don’t do anything. That’s another thing too with ‘Elite Vessel’: I don’t drink, I don’t smoke, I don’t party, I don’t eat bread. I don’t do anything that’s enjoyable at all except for art. I’m just strictly committed to this occupation. Every day.

You teamed up with Zeelooperz on ‘Sweet Time’. How did that collaboration come about and what made them the right voice for the track?

When I found out about Zee, I was obsessed with his with his project, ‘Microphone Fiend’. Coincidentally, he was friends with some of my friends, and I just met him. I was starstruck. He’s tall as fuck! He’s very open and honest, and you can tell, even being in the studio with him, that he is non-stop. He literally made ten songs in thirty minutes.

Is collaboration something that you’ve intentionally held off on, or something you’re willing to explore further?

I usually don’t do features because I don’t fuck with everybody like that. I think that the music is very sacred.

What about the track ‘Stupid’. How did that track come about and what significance does it have to you? 

I made that song before I moved out here to my own place. I was still in my mom’s basement, and I was doing shrooms, which I don’t do anymore. Connie sent me that beat, he was super close with Zee. If you listen to ‘Microphone Fiend’, there’s a song that was produced by Connie, so I was happy to have that on my project too. I don’t know… that song is just crazy.

Is there a specific line on the project that stands out to you? 

I want to say “careful what you wish for” because I always wanted this life, but it’s hard. It’s a lot but it’s worth it.

What would you like your listener to take away from ‘Elite Vessel’ experience? What’s the core message?

I guess the message is that you can do anything you set your mind to and nothing is impossible. That’s it.

What does success look like to Lexa Gates?

Being able to go to an Erewhon and get some organic dates without worrying about anything; how much it costs, how I got there or how I’m going to have somewhere to stay.

And finally, what are your top tips for achieving a killer eyeliner look?

Ooof. Probably just keep putting more on. Just pile it on. If it’ not even, just go to the other eye and make it bigger until it’s all the way into your hairline. Sometimes that’s okay. I think practice makes perfect. I do it so much, it’s fun.

And we need a matching pair of kitten heels!

That’s a new thing! I think that’s a part of the ‘Elite Vessel’ vibe. I’m in pain, but I look good. All of this work is hard, but if you can get it done, if you can stand in those fucking heels and mess up your toes, it’ll look so good in the picture later.

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‘Elite Vessel’ is out today.

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Words: Ana Lamond

Photo Credit: Andrew Angel