- 4 minutes ago
Trueno, Slayyyter and Bella Kay sit down with Billboard for our Up & Coming issue cover interview to talk breakthrough moments, creative identity and what success actually feels like in real time. From Trueno calling 'TURR4ZO' a “biography” of his life, to Slayyyter unpacking the mindset behind breakout album 'Worst Girl in America,' to Bella Kay navigating debut-album pressure after her viral hit “I Love It, I Love It, I Love It,” this conversation goes deep on growth, honesty and staying grounded.
They also dig into the realities of internet-era fame, the push-pull of algorithms and oversaturation, and why AI music can’t replace the emotional core of real artists. Plus: cosigns, critical acclaim, touring milestones (including Bella heading out to open for Noah Kahan), and the most meaningful “acknowledgement” they’ve received so far.
They also dig into the realities of internet-era fame, the push-pull of algorithms and oversaturation, and why AI music can’t replace the emotional core of real artists. Plus: cosigns, critical acclaim, touring milestones (including Bella heading out to open for Noah Kahan), and the most meaningful “acknowledgement” they’ve received so far.
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MusicTranscript
00:00I don't know what I'm saying. I'm sorry. I feel like I'm having like a...
00:02I'm wearing two corsets, girl. I'm like...
00:04In 10, 15 años, quien me quiera conocer a Trueno y a Mateo como persona
00:09va a tener que volver a escuchar tu ras.
00:11I don't think I will ever hear an AI song where I'm like, wow, I really felt that.
00:14Like, that was just... You just understood me.
00:27Part of the reason we're all here today is because you guys have all enjoyed
00:32breakthrough moments in 2026.
00:35And I'm curious just how it's been dealing with the professional change
00:40and the personal change.
00:42Because obviously you have new opportunities in terms of professional opportunities,
00:46but you also have new realities of new...
00:48You know, your whole existences have changed to some degree.
00:51Let's start with you, Bella. What do you think?
00:53I mean, I don't think that that kind of thing is ever easy.
00:56It's definitely something where it's growing pains and you kind of learn
01:00and you make mistakes.
01:01But I also think when it comes to like personal versus professional,
01:05I think you really want to have a good like personal like circle
01:08that you can really trust and rely on because sometimes the professional gets
01:12crazy or gets hectic or it gets scary.
01:13You don't want to not have that personal circle there to help you out
01:17when it gets like that.
01:19What about you, Sarah?
01:20I've been kind of prepared for this for a while in a way where I feel,
01:26you know, I'm almost 30 and I've been doing this for a long time,
01:29but definitely the change of this year versus previous years is kind of overwhelming.
01:34But for me, it's always just about like the music and the visuals.
01:36And I think things get so hectic that it can kind of pull you out of what's important
01:41or like the core of it.
01:42But I try to just keep myself creative and keep myself, you know,
01:47locked into the music and everything like that.
01:50I imagine you kind of have to put the blinders on of like,
01:52okay, all of this noise is happening,
01:54but I just got to keep focusing on the next show
01:57and on the next project and on the next song.
01:59Yeah, definitely.
01:59I don't know what day it is.
02:00I don't, it could be any day right now.
02:02I don't know.
02:03I kind of just like keep it to a day at a time and, you know,
02:06take it, take it little by little.
02:08Yeah.
02:09What about you, man?
02:10Yo creo que lo personal y lo profesional van como en líneas paralelas
02:15y que es importante tener como una estabilidad personal también
02:19para poder vivir tu vida de tour, de estudio, de grabaciones,
02:23de exposición, de entrevistas,
02:26todo lo que conlleva una carrera para personas jóvenes como nosotros tres
02:29creo que necesita un balance.
02:31Entonces siento que estoy empezando a entender y a aportar ese balance en mi vida
02:36de retomar energía, estar con mi familia, estar en mi barrio,
02:40estar en Argentina para poder después salir a comerme el mundo cuando estoy de tour
02:44o grabar con muchísimas más ganas.
02:51Slater, I'm curious.
02:53You've talked about your relationship with fame and obviously your song,
02:57one of my favorites on the album is I'm actually kind of famous.
03:00But you've talked about not calling yourself famous.
03:02Like as your profile has grown over these past few months
03:07and like you said, you've been doing this for a while
03:10but this has been a pivotal moment for you.
03:13Has that been jarring at all?
03:14Like to see the new opportunities, to see like, oh wow,
03:17like more and more people know my name and my music now.
03:22Yeah, absolutely.
03:23Very jarring.
03:24I try not to let it throw me or let it like affect anything with my music or creative
03:31and I don't think fame is ever something I've like pined for.
03:35I feel like I want to have music that connects with people
03:37or to make things that like connect on a larger scale,
03:41which I think fame comes with that.
03:42But I think it's kind of weird to like strive for fame and only fame,
03:46you know, I want to make things that I'm proud of in that things that I love.
03:49So it's weird to kind of lose control of your own image
03:54and what you think you are as a person and how you feel as a person.
03:57I feel like the more people who find out about you or come across you,
04:03you start to have to give up like your identity a bit,
04:07which has been a very weird and interesting thing.
04:09Yeah, I mean, I'm sure you're like seeing like more memes
04:13than ever attached to your songs and more like interpretations of your songs.
04:18Yeah, certainly like things like that.
04:21And also I think just people's ideas of you as a person
04:24or putting like personality traits on you that you might not have
04:27or conversation around you or your name that isn't really like how you see yourself.
04:33But as soon as things start to grow, I feel like you kind of have to let go of,
04:38which is a good thing in a way too.
04:39Like I like not having control.
04:41No one should be able to like control every aspect of their image
04:43or the narrative around them, but it is, it's been very weird.
04:46Yeah, definitely.
04:59What about you, Bella?
05:00These past couple months since I Love It, I Love It, I Love It blew up.
05:04Has there been like a pinch me moment of like, oh shit, this is like really taking off.
05:08People are like, you know, friends from high school now are seeing me as like a superstar.
05:14And what has it been like for you?
05:16I mean, yeah, there's been like so many pinch me moments, but it's a lot of like,
05:20I always try to not look at that kind of stuff and not think about it because it is very
05:24like,
05:25it's hard to like get in your head and like people from high school, like seeing this version of me
05:29that I'm like, that's not exactly like who I am, like when I'm by myself.
05:33But it's also like hard because like the way I present myself online, I try to be very authentic
05:37and I try to be very true to me.
05:39But like, obviously I can't come across 100% me, but it's also like, how do I balance that
05:45with also like keeping a piece of me to myself and my personal life, but also making sure
05:49that people online feel like connected and really are enjoying the music and feeling
05:54like they're represented.
05:55Because I don't want to just like make a bunch of songs.
05:58I'm like, oh, I love these songs, but they don't like love them at all.
06:01But I also want to make songs that I love.
06:03So it's like a hard balance and a fine line.
06:05Yeah.
06:06It's got to be such like a whirlwind in terms of striking that right balance, right?
06:10Like keeping yourself and a piece of yourself removed from the whirlwind of social media
06:16and the spotlight and all that stuff.
06:24Transcending the scene in Buenos Aires and when you really started like, I'm moving beyond
06:29my home country and thinking more globally.
06:32Like, what was that like to kind of wrap your head around?
06:34For me, it's very important.
06:36I feel like a representative of Argentina in the world, to be able to go to a festival,
06:43to do a tour, to collaborate with artists from other countries.
06:47For me, it's not only Trueno, but Argentina and the rap argentino who comes to those places.
06:54So, for me, it's very important.
06:56And just after having my maximum boom commercial or my maximum exposition with my album, El Último
07:02Aile, I decided to make the most Argentine album of all of what I did, just to represent my
07:08culture, my national pride and my roots.
07:11So, it's something that I feel a bit like a need, a challenge and something that I like to
07:19carry on my back, to carry on a mission.
07:21Is that like a heavy thing to put on your shoulders though?
07:25No, I like it.
07:26I like it.
07:27It's a big responsibility, that big responsibility.
07:30But I like it.
07:33I mean, it's something that I take as pride, as something that I have to do.
07:41I mean, I don't feel pressure.
07:43It's not something that I pressure, but it's something that I know that it's serious,
07:46it's a serious topic, but that I love it.
07:49I love it.
07:49I love it to represent Argentina.
07:52I wanted to ask about honing your sound, and I want to start with you, Trueno.
07:56Like, you're four albums in.
07:58Does it feel like you have gotten to a point where you're at the sound that you've been
08:03working toward, and that really kind of expresses your mindset?
08:07And this has been a real pivotal album for you.
08:09Does it feel like special, like you've unlocked something?
08:14100%.
08:14I think that my fourth album, Tu Raz, the album that we released this year,
08:21has everything that represents my person.
08:24Tiene el rap, que es mi cultura.
08:27Argentina, que es mi país y es de donde yo vengo.
08:32Represento mi barrio, La Boca, my neighborhood.
08:35Es como que...
08:36Siento que en este disco está...
08:37It's like a biography to my life.
08:40Es como mi vida.
08:41Quien quiera conocerme, como que siento que tiene que escuchar esto.
08:44Entonces, siendo como una carta de presentación al mundo, siento que en diez, quince años, quien me quiera conocer a
08:52Trueno y a Mateo como persona, va a tener que volver a escuchar tu Raz.
08:56Yeah, it's so interesting.
08:58And then Bella, you're in a situation where you are about to release a debut album.
09:02I'm curious how much the success of I Love It, I Love It, I Love It informed the rest of
09:09the project.
09:09Did that song start taking off and you were close to being done?
09:13Were you halfway done?
09:14Did that success seep into the rest of the project?
09:17Like, oh, this is my sound and this is taking off, so let me kind of spread it across?
09:22What was that like for you?
09:24Yeah, I think most of the album was, like half of it was done when I had put out I
09:30Love It and I was kind of like, a little bit like, oh no.
09:35Because I was like, wait, I don't know if that's exactly what I thought was going to happen.
09:39And it also was kind of in part, I was like, really, I had kind of like been discovered with
09:45this like kind of acoustic guitar sound.
09:47And I love those kind of songs and I think I'll always do those, but I am such a big
09:52lover of music.
09:52And like I have such a varied range that I love.
09:56And that was really what I wanted to do on the album.
09:58I really wanted to be able to have like kind of rock elements and R&B elements and kind of
10:02just like really express myself and go into different like genres and not be afraid to do that.
10:09And that's what I really want to do on the album.
10:11And when I Love It kind of did its thing, I was like, okay, I hope this doesn't like take
10:16that away from me.
10:16Because it is, I will say that I Love It when I put it out was the most like kind
10:20of pop thing that I had done at the time.
10:21So I was excited about that because I love pop, it's my favorite thing ever.
10:25But yeah, so I was just trying to kind of stay in between both lanes.
10:29And I honestly feel like with the album, it's like kind of like a snake between.
10:32I think I still got to do what I wanted to do, but I still stayed true to kind of
10:36what I think people like about me.
10:37Yeah, I can imagine that just being a little bit of a pressure pack thing where you're like, I want
10:42to keep doing this, but this is taking off.
10:44Should I do more? Yeah.
10:46For you, Slater, like I'm curious in terms of your approach for Worst Girl in America.
10:51And you've talked a lot about how you've kind of changed things and you feel like this is more authentic
10:57in some degree.
10:59Like I'm curious in terms of your process of working toward this sound.
11:03And it's a sound like I have blasted in my car nonstop over the past couple months.
11:09And if there was like a eureka moment of like, oh, this is the kind of the template I want
11:15to work toward for my third album.
11:17I got off of my tour for my album before this one and was just so depressed and felt, you
11:26know, kind of like lost with my career.
11:29I think this album was kind of born out of like making purely just what like reflects my taste and
11:35what I like to listen to.
11:36I kind of went into the studio every day being like, I don't care if this does well.
11:41I don't care if people like this, like this is probably my last musical efforts and then I'm going to
11:45like go to school or do something else.
11:47So I think everything in this sound like it's come from years of trying to do the pop star thing,
11:55not really feeling like I fit into that box and also just like touring and strengthening my voice.
12:00I feel like it took a long time for me to kind of hone in the way that I sing,
12:04learning that I like to scream on stage and things like that and wanting to implement that in the studio.
12:08This album kind of came just after many years of feeling like I, you know, I had tried all these
12:16different things and I feel like there's little pieces of my past music in a lot of this album, but
12:21it feels like something totally new.
12:22But I just kind of felt, you know, it came from out of like frustration.
12:25I feel like that's why it's such aggressive music.
12:28It came out of a lot of bitterness and frustration just about where my career was at the time and
12:32feeling a little bit lost and like I wanted to kind of create a sound that feels like me and
12:39not trying to like, you know, work with top line writers and do the pop star thing.
12:43Cause I don't think I really embody that very well, you know?
12:47Yeah. Do you remember the first song that kind of, that, that unlocked it?
12:52I think beat up Chanel's and that, yeah, that was the first song.
12:56The first session I ever did with, uh, Austin Corona and white Bernard, who produced a lot of songs on
13:01the album.
13:01We like made, that was like the first song we made for session we ever met.
13:05So I feel like that day I was kind of like, Oh, like this is, it's like parts aggressive, part
13:11really soft, euphoric kind of pop chorus.
13:13But it just felt so like me. And like, I was like, loved how just sort of the vocals were.
13:17And I loved how I'm perfect and crunchy it sounded.
13:19And I felt like that's where I wanted to kind of dive in later on.
13:23I see Bella nodding and like, are you a fan of beat up Chanel's?
13:26Yes. Oh, thank you.
13:28There you go.
13:31I mean, that's just, I mean the second song on the album and it's just sort of to your point.
13:34Like, is that something that kind of you think about of like, Oh, where is this going to fit?
13:39Well, I feel like I don't think of a pressure.
13:44I don't feel that pressure.
13:46This is hip hop.
13:47This is not.
13:48This is rap.
13:48This is not.
13:49This is not.
13:49This is not.
13:49This is my ADN.
13:51It's like running through my blood and it doesn't need to think if it's rap or not.
13:55It's rap.
13:56Sino que haga el género que haga.
13:58Como nací haciendo rap y crecí haciendo rap.
14:01Puedo hacer el estilo de música que sea que va a contener rap dentro de mis letras,
14:06de mi manera de cantarlo, de rapear.
14:08Pero sí, es algo que no puedo evitar.
14:11Que es algo que no puedo no hacer.
14:13Haga lo que haga me va a salir con ese sabor, con ese sonido del hip hop.
14:19Que es algo un poco que tengo ya impregnado en la sangre, por así decirlo.
14:23Entonces no siento esa presión de tener que pertenecer o no pertenecer.
14:27Pero sí, siento representado y siento la responsabilidad de decir,
14:31me ponen un beat de un instrumental del género que sea, de cumbia, de reggaeton,
14:36de música country, de lo que sea.
14:38Y voy a, va a ver un rapero ahí.
14:40Haga lo que haga.
14:41¿Qué les da?
14:42¿Qué les da?
14:42¿Qué les da?
14:42¿Amén, do you guys think about this stuff a lot?
14:45Yeah, I think I think about it a lot.
14:47It's kind of probably the biggest thing when it comes to my art,
14:51that I honestly struggle with.
14:54Because it's so...
14:56I try not to like, think too much about it.
14:59Because obviously, I always want to stay true to myself.
15:00And like, that's what got me here in the first place.
15:02And kind of like, do my own thing.
15:03But it's also like, I don't want to let people down ever.
15:05And I also want to make sure that I'm feeling good about my music.
15:09and other people are feeling good about my music but at the end of the day i always kind of
15:13try
15:13to put myself first because i know that i got here by making music that i loved and putting out
15:17songs
15:18that i love and that that matters yeah and for you slater i mean you've always had like the kind
15:22of pop core but it's a very different type of pop approach now yeah for sure i've always loved
15:27putting things in a blender you know i think having to stick to one set genre or a set of
15:33rules that
15:35are known to be what makes a genre sound a specific way i just can't i can't be bothered i
15:41feel like i
15:42really i really push against that i think electronic music is kind of the through line through everything
15:46that i do but i listen to a lot of rap i listen to a lot of like indie music
15:50i listen to a lot of pop
15:50music i love pop stars like you know i love everything i grew up on it would be so many
15:56different things i love bands i love punk music i love electro clash i feel like the music i make
16:03is like tiny little pieces of of everything and yeah i don't ever want to kind of have to stick
16:09to
16:09a certain box or stick to a certain like only one singular genre i feel like that's kind of i
16:15don't
16:15know a very limiting way to make music as an artist it's nice to kind of use you know every
16:22like every
16:23every different tool that you have do you guys have different kind of north star artists that you
16:28idolize and have helped inform you know your approach to things you mentioned a couple in
16:33terms of different influences in terms of sounds but are there artists that are like oh they did
16:38things in a strikingly original way that i want to embody i feel like the producer like sebastian i think
16:47total and the album thirst were so life-changing and the choices he would make and the things he would
16:53sample there's a song on total called dog and it samples this like hardcore song like walls of jericho
16:58but it like makes it this crazy electronic song and it's just so like the mixing is so like loud
17:06and
17:07abrasive and i feel like his style of production and even production he's done for like other artists or
17:12production he's done for movies and things like that it's just i feel like it never sticks to one thing
17:18there will be very soft tender songs on his albums that feel very you know just instrumental but then
17:23he'll have a featured artist and make something that's super crazy and like grating and gritty and
17:28i love that his albums kind of take a journey that way um same with justice i love justice and
17:35i feel like it's just kind of music that doesn't stick to one particular
17:40vibe or sonic direction yeah what about you bella my north star is probably rihanna i think
17:47she's so interesting just in the way from how she maintained her image to how she like uses her
17:53vocals and her tone in so many different genres and kind of like weaves between them and i just
17:58think growing up she was a huge like i idolized her for sure i think she's insane that's so interesting
18:03because especially she you know you're you're 20 in the past 10 years she has not released a lot of
18:09music and yet you still really kind of clicked with her whole approach and her whole aesthetic yeah
18:14that's so cool impact yeah her impact generational yeah what about you uh surena in terms of um
18:21kind of like artists you idolize i grew up with the 2000 hip-hop the i'm a big fan to
18:28dr re eminem
18:30exhibit 50 cent in latino america hay otros idolos como vico c from puerto rico control machete from
18:40mexico la banda de mi padre my father band como una cuatro from argentina tengo diferentes soy fan
18:49de de diferentes hilos de diferentes países pero pero creo que mi estilo y lo que yo hago es como
18:57el
18:57style 2000 del hip-hop so man yeah i'm right there with you i'm right there yeah i missed those
19:03days
19:03uh great time and you guys have all gotten artists to kind of co-sign what you're doing in different
19:08ways in terms of uh touring act or a shout out or a playlist or anything like that or even
19:15a social
19:16media mention like how important is that now is that something you guys think about a lot and and
19:21have there been times that were that's been like incredibly meaningful to you for me lo esto for me
19:27the respect is everything tener respeto de gente como deimo larvarm o cypress hill o argentina singers
19:36like víctor heredia andres calamaro fito paez para mí es como lo más alto que se puede llegar y lo
19:44que
19:44lo que yo más más valoro el respeto de los maestros de los gurús de la música me sigo considerando
19:53un alumno
19:53somos creo que somos una generación que viene a proponer pero que también viene a aprender de los
19:59que estaban antes así que para mí que que la vieja escuela por así decirlo te respete te enseñe se
20:04hacer que es lo más importante slater what what about you in terms of i mean you've been on tour
20:09with kesha been on tour with charlie charlie obviously gave you um shout outs in the past like
20:14what what is it like having other other pop stars like say like oh you got to be put on
20:18to slater over
20:19the years it's really cool i feel like at different moments of my career whether it was
20:25like when i'm more underground or like in recent years it's always nice when someone appreciates
20:30your music but i i think like i kind of like as i've gotten older i feel like i don't
20:36look for like
20:37it's it's always really nice like i appreciate it but i feel like i don't look for approval as much
20:40i was going to ask you kind of speaking along those lines about like critical acclaim because it's a
20:45little bit of a similar thing where it's like you know worst girl in america gets best new music on
20:50pitchfork it gets named the number one album of the year so far by stereo gum like does that stuff
20:55cross your radar and it's you're just like whoa what does it make you blink a little once i feel
21:00like
21:00i sound like such a bitter old lady but i feel like a lot of the album was written about
21:05frustrations
21:06of like you know i have a lyric in old technology where i'm like fuck your critique like i feel
21:10like i
21:10never have been critically acclaimed i feel like this album was born out of feeling kind of seen
21:16as some kind of corny internet niche soundcloud artist that's how i felt for a really long time
21:20even though i felt like i had more to offer i feel like i felt had more vocal talent than
21:24people gave
21:25me credit for so i feel like critical claim i got very used to not having it so now that
21:30people have
21:31really liked this album i'm always just like whoa what okay like you know i don't i it's it's cool
21:36but
21:36i don't um yeah i i never want to make anything for like a pat on the back i feel
21:42like if i'm happy
21:43with it that's all that matters yeah it is that i mean that's the the deep irony of this moment
21:49for
21:49you you're singing fuck your critique and it's like best new music yeah i know it's weird i feel bad
21:55it's
22:06so ballet you're going on tour in a couple months from now you're going to be opening for noah khan
22:12in
22:12stadiums right yeah that's which is pretty wild yeah i'm i'm very taken with noah and and what really
22:19strikes me is and why i think that it's such a great pairing you opening for him is like his
22:24vulnerability and his authentic self is always on display uh in his music i'm curious like what him an
22:32artist like him becoming like a stadium headliner means to you especially as you you approach like
22:37these in a few months opening for him for sure i mean i think it means everything noah is so
22:42insanely
22:42talented his album is crazy i grew up like hearing his songs and being a fan and so it's super
22:48cool to
22:49see him doing stadiums i'm so proud of him i think he deserves it for sure because i think it's
22:53really
22:53scary to be an artist and like put yourself out there on the line like that and kind of be
22:58able to um
22:59just write what you feel and not care that thousands and thousands and thousands people
23:05are going to like hear and see and have feelings and opinions well speaking of which i mean you have
23:09two songs on your album which is out in a couple weeks one is a father's lament which is about
23:15you
23:16know growing up as a biracial kid in texas yeah and then one is sleep for dinner which is just
23:22like
23:22this devastating song about um you know uh your relationship with food and like what was it like
23:28writing those songs and being like okay this is this is part of myself that i'm going to share with
23:32the masses yeah i mean i think it's funny you say those two because both of those two i wrote
23:36kind
23:37of just alone in my room but yeah i think when it comes to my music and my art i
23:44just really like to
23:45say the truth i don't think it's like fair to me or to anybody else to put on a persona
23:52and pretend
23:52to be somebody i'm not and it was really important to me on the album to not just kind of
23:56like talk
23:57about like oh i'm in love or oh i hate you because it's like life is so much more than
24:02that and i think
24:03there's more things to say they're important and i think a lot about how my fans are the people that
24:10are going to be listening and tuning in will take those songs and i think when i was growing up
24:14i would
24:15have loved to like be heard like that and know that somebody else felt like i was feeling yeah i
24:20i mean
24:20i'm sure um all three of you have experienced that to some degree of young fans connecting with
24:27different songs and being like oh i feel seen because of that i'm curious to kind of along those
24:32lines trying to like you have you have a song on your album rain for the fourth uh that is
24:37incredibly
24:38emotional and it's a it's it's a message to first your father and then your mother that's not like
24:44necessarily like a cool thing to to rap about and you pull it off so well like how where did
24:49that come
24:50from to raso en general es un album muy personal es sobre about my life es sobre mi vida mi
24:58barrio
24:59mi país todo entonces hacerle una canción a mi padre a mi madre para mira era muy importante rain
25:08es una saga it's a saga existe the rain one two three and four and the other drains i'm talking
25:16about
25:17it's like a catarsis is like a psychology therapy but this rain rainfall have a special thing
25:26para mi padre para mi madre que son quienes quienes les debo mi vida y teniendo también fans más chicos
25:34que yo o generaciones que que nos siguen que son menores a nuestra que ya somos jóvenes me parece lindo
25:42como dar un mensaje de de orgullo más allá de de lo que sea de que si es cool o
25:47no school me
25:48parece lo más cool del mundo ser agradecido con con tus padres e inculcarles eso a los niños me
25:54parece algo algo lindo it's really moving and um you know along those lines like the the last song on
25:59worst girl in america britney murphy is like you know it's it's it's partly triumphant in in the sense of
26:06just kind of the the tempo and the the spirit of it but it's also like it's pretty emotionally
26:11harrowing and like you're talking about like how you want to be remembered and um you've talked
26:15about if this album didn't take off you you were seriously considering leaving music when you were
26:20putting that song together and putting it as the last song on the album were you just thinking about
26:24your musical legacy and what you were leaving behind i mean sort of i think i i was pretty depressed
26:30during that time so i feel like it kind of came from like a you know i felt so uncomfortable
26:35in the
26:35studio even making that song just because it kind of reads like a suicide note almost i think that
26:40as an artist the the lows you can get into feel so devastating because everything especially you
26:47know i feel like music artists like we're all very dramatic and so it's easy to be like it's it's
26:52so do
26:52or die when you make art and you're a creative person like it really feels that way to me sometimes
26:57so it was a bit about kind of both like my musical legacy but i also just felt so over
27:02everything
27:02it was very therapeutic to kind of get that off my chest and yeah everyone in the studio was like
27:07are you okay what the you know which yes i am but you know well i i kind of see
27:12that as a common thread
27:13between the three of you guys which is like in a world that is very often detached and kind of
27:20like
27:20poisoned by irony to me you guys aren't afraid in very kind of big mainstream friendly songs and albums to
27:29be like pretty emotional and pretty straightforward in terms of laying things on the line
27:45i wanted to ask you guys a couple questions about the music industry first of all you guys are like
27:52i said are all kind of experiencing a breakthrough now and i'm curious if you guys think it's like the
27:56easiest time or the hardest time for an artist to break through like do you guys look back at earlier
28:03eras of the music industry and you're like i wish i'd broken through then i wish i'd come up in
28:08the mtv
28:08era i wish i'd come up you know with cds selling more prominently like do you guys think about this
28:14stuff i'm we'll start with you treino what do you what do you think about this
28:16i'm very grateful to be a contemporary to 2026 to the 2000s i love it
28:23i don't know if it would have been easier but it would have been easier to live in the 90's
28:29the hip hop of the 80's of the 70's or when this culture was born
28:33i'm aware that it would have been easier to live in the streamings, the internet, the arrival, the facilitation of
28:40your music
28:41export to everyone but if i had the opportunity to live in that time i would love to be able
28:46to live in that time
28:49you could have been rapping with dr dre and m&m
28:53what about you guys you guys think about this at all yeah for sure i think though i wouldn't ever
29:02want to
29:02kind of come up in any other era of fame i feel like there was a lot of mistreatment in
29:06the industry
29:07and kind of like i don't know it just doesn't seem like that would be ideal for me but i
29:13think it can
29:14be kind of like annoying to have to post on tiktok and do the instagram and make sure that everything's
29:21good on there it lends itself to letting a lot of talented people be seen and found that wouldn't
29:28otherwise be seen and found and for that i think it's really cool it's just sometimes i think a lot
29:33of artists as they do get seen and found and are discovered they're kind of like oh i have to
29:38post
29:38to tiktok but i also think if that's your biggest problem it's kind of like you're kind of you're
29:42doing okay yeah you know i mean slater you you've lived through different eras of you know the tiktok
29:49world and different era like social media over the course of your career what what is it like now
29:54versus you know five years ago i mean i i really love what the internet has done to the music
30:02industry i feel like you know there's pros and cons to every era or every like whatever but i think
30:09now
30:10it feels like it's kind of like open the lottery and there's like more chances for artists to
30:14come across your algorithm i feel like every day i find someone who will have like 4 000 followers and
30:19i'll be like this is the best thing i've ever heard and like you know what i mean i think
30:23it kind of opens opens it up to everyone to have their music seen or heard and if you're you
30:30know
30:31you kind of need to like brand yourself and market yourself online but i think i was i was like
30:37an
30:37internet artist at the at the start of it and i used twitter i was like more of like the
30:40twitter era
30:41like i was like pre-tiktok uh but i i love what the internet's done i also think though you
30:47know that
30:47it does lead to like over saturation i think there's like so much music now i think it makes it
30:52maybe a
30:52little harder for people to poke through when there's just such a crazy volume every day being
30:56uploaded and put out but i also just kind of love that the people decide yeah i'm i'm curious like
31:02also kind of along those lines speaking of algorithms like how much you guys think about
31:07new technology obviously we're at billboard we're always talking about ai and how we haven't had any like
31:13generated ai music hits yet but also we have a lot of generative ai music flooding streaming services
31:21like is that something you guys think about is it does it cross your radar at all what do you
31:25what
31:25do you guys think yeah 100 i think on the train of like authenticity when you listen to ai music
31:30i
31:31don't think i will ever hear an ai song where i'm like wow i really felt that every like that
31:35was just
31:35you just understood me you can always kind of tell yeah i'm like what i can always talk about it
31:40the other day and i was like is she playing this is not a lady i'm like this is crazy
31:45yeah
31:46it was so bad this is not a lady you can always tell because the lyrics you really listen the
31:51lyrics
31:51will be something about so random it'll be like and we fall down and you'll be like what what is
31:56she
31:56saying why are we falling and we're in love gonna fall again and you're like oh yeah yeah there's like
32:02five courses yeah is it is it same for you is it yeah i don't like the the music i'm
32:10saying
32:11if you want to be a artist you kind of be a crazy people so the the robots don't have
32:18this this
32:20mentality puede ser una copia puede ser parecido a lo que nosotros hacemos pero nunca los robots o la
32:27o la ia van a ser artistas y van a poder hacer artistas y creo que eso se nota eso
32:32se se siente
32:33and you guys are all a testament to that because you guys are all have all broken through very different
32:38sounds and personalities and perspectives
32:50one of the things i wanted to ask about is i think i'm just saying this i think you guys
32:54are all going
32:54to be grammy contenders this year you guys are all going to be acknowledged in some way i wanted to
32:59ask about like acknowledgement you guys all work really really hard you guys have non-stop schedules
33:05what's the most meaningful acknowledgement it you know is it like somebody like a comment about from
33:12a fan that's like you really understand me is it you know obviously it's awards is it just like the
33:18sound from like a huge audience like what's the most meaningful thing that you can all the effort that
33:24you put into something like a song album tour that you can get back i think 100 it's probably the
33:31fan
33:31connection i think there's nothing kind of like being in front of a crowd or like just talking one
33:37on one with the fan and having them tell you like you changed my life and like you did all
33:41you did this
33:42for me you did that and it just feels so like amazing in the sense that you feel like you
33:49were in a hard
33:49place and that happening helped somebody else kind of get out of that it's amazing for sure yeah i mean
33:56for you slater like you've talked about um like you like you just said in terms of working through
34:02depression while creating this album to some degree and now you see this response like what is that
34:08type of acknowledgement like to kind of soak in it feels really special it feels really special and i
34:14i i am glad this music has resonated with people and with fans and i think um you know fully
34:21agree
34:21with what you said i think the the fan connection is such a beautiful thing i every day get tagged
34:29in
34:29someone like someone's like oh i bedazzled a fish like in your video and and like people coming to shows
34:34and wearing bunny ears and like making tricking out like a shirt with spray paint it i feel like everyone
34:39has kind of adapted this this kind of like world of this album and it's and it's been really beautiful
34:45to see and also just like reading what fans say about how they relate to gas station or they have
34:49a bad relationship with their father or they're from kind of a random town in the midwest and they
34:54feel like they appreciate it more now because of my visuals or music or whatever and yeah it's really nice
35:01there you go what about you treyna what's the most meaningful like type of acknowledgement that you can get
35:06from me yo creo que que el orgullo que la gente sienta orgullo y también representar siento la
35:14responsabilidad de que estoy representando algo que que ya está inventado el hip hop ya existe la
35:19música argentina ya existe simplemente soy la voz de muchos chicos de mi generación y de mi edad que se
35:26comunican mediante este medio comunicación que es trueno entonces sé que no es solamente por mí sino que
35:32hay mucha gente atrás y eso lo que me hace como seguir vivo y es como mi gasolina para para
35:38hacer
35:38lo que hago sentir que estoy hablando por por más gente que estoy marcando mi huella pero también la
35:43huella de de de un momento una generación de movimiento looking back the past year or so what's the biggest
35:48lesson you've taken away from this kind of breakthrough moment uh trust your instincts as an artist
35:54don't ever let anyone tell you that they think something else should be the should be this should
36:00be that or you know what kind of music to make or if a visual is okay trust your instincts
36:05and and
36:07i feel like that's kind of something that led me to make this album and yeah that's my biggest takeaway
36:14is just to trust your instincts yeah yeah probably following the things that you love i think making
36:20music that you love hanging around people that you love it all just kind of creates a safe space
36:25for yourself and to create and to be the best version of yourself yeah it's super important
36:31and what about you what's the what's the biggest lesson you've learned over the past year
36:36creo que hacer lo que a mí me gusta siendo que los últimos años tuve demasiada exposición y eso
36:42quizá te puede marear un poco en querer complacer a todo el mundo y me di cuenta que lo auténtico
36:49y la manera
36:49de ser uno mismo y de llegarle al mundo de una manera genuina es siendo uno mismo y no pensando
36:55en
36:55agradarla a nadie así que creo que un poco la moraleja fue se vos mismo hacer lo que te gusta
37:00representar
37:01lo tuyo y así es más fácil que todo se dé también that's awesome last thing i'm curious what you
37:07would
37:07tell your younger selves like in terms of you know if you could time travel back to when you were
37:13just
37:13starting to think about music que sea el mismo que confíe que se inspire en otros artistas pero que no
37:20intente ser otra persona sino que que que siga su instinto y sea su historia sea quien sea y siempre
37:27digo algo muy importante que hoy en día el internet todo nos dio muchísimas más herramientas para
37:33hacer un video para hacer una canción para hacer lo que queramos hacer así que que aprovechen esas
37:38herramientas y que sean autónomos que se puede what about you bella i'd probably tell myself my
37:43younger self to kind of care less what other people think and i'd just be like it's gonna be okay
37:49you're gonna be fine chill out chill out chill out i think when i was younger i had a lot
37:52of anxiety
37:53and i still do but it was really bad when i was young i would just kind of be like
37:56it's gonna be
37:57fine be chill it doesn't matter what they think about you you'll be fine rock and roll what about you
38:03slayer probably would tell my younger self not to or to really focus on honing in your crafts and
38:15your your craft and your skills and maybe not to like people please so much within like when you
38:22step into music i feel like at the very beginning when i was like 22 if i you know sometimes
38:29things
38:29would like maybe not be exactly what i wanted but i wouldn't i would feel like it was such a
38:33blessing
38:33to even be there be on a set or be in the studio that i would kind of just be
38:36like yeah it's fine
38:38sure i like it and then the output would kind of suffer so just not to people please and to
38:44yeah i guess go your own way yeah this was awesome thank you guys so much thank you thank you
38:51guys uh
38:51all three of you i really do appreciate your time and thoughts and congrats on like like i said like
38:56you guys have all had huge years in a very singular paths and um should be really proud so thank
39:03you
39:03guys for doing this and um i hope you guys enjoyed it as much as i did so thank you
39:06guys
39:06you
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