Young Miko talks about her career journey as an artist so far with Billboard Latin senior editor Griselda Flores at Billboard’s Latin Music Week 2024.
Category
🎵
MusicTranscript
00:00What was to share with Carol, I opened some dates in the United States, I was with her in Medellín too, I have worked with her several times, she is a very incredible friend and she is one of the women that I admire the most too.
00:16When I was with her on tour, it kind of felt like she took me under her wing, you know, and she did a lot of things that she did not have to do.
00:31Hello, good afternoon.
00:39It is an honor for me to introduce our cover star and superstar, Young Meeko.
00:53Hello, good afternoon.
01:00Young Meeko, how are you?
01:09I am very well, thank God, and you?
01:11Very well.
01:13And you, how are you?
01:16Young Meeko, last year you were here in a panel of women, today you have your own Q&A, superstar Q&A, but apart you are one of our covers for the Latin Power Players.
01:27Joyce, can we see that striking cover of Young Meeko?
01:32There it is.
01:36That is a pose.
01:39Actually, my legs hurt to hold the voice like that, it gave me Matrix, but it was worth it.
01:47No, I love that.
01:48Young Meeko, I want to talk obviously about your career and everything that has happened since last year, a lot has happened,
01:57and sometimes I feel like we say it was very sudden, like it is so fast everything that is happening for your career,
02:04but at the same time I feel like it is incorrect because we minimize everything that you have gone through, all the years that you have put effort into this,
02:12I mean, it was not last year, it was not two years ago, but you already have a lot of years creating what you have created to be able to get here.
02:21Tell us a little bit about how that journey has been, and if you feel the same way when people say like,
02:27oh it was suddenly just everywhere, or it was overnight, but it is not.
02:31Honestly, I can also understand when you can feel like it was overnight,
02:36because if you think about it, what social media is, it is such an abrupt and fast growth, and so global,
02:45that it can definitely be an overnight thing social media wise, from that perspective of the networks,
02:52or from the perspective of the person who is watching it on their phone,
02:55but yes, we have been making music since 2018, 2019 more or less,
03:01and about three years ago now, it started to get a lot of momentum,
03:08the name of John Meekor, the name of 1K, and what was the movement of our music,
03:14and well, I can understand why maybe it does feel like an overnight thing,
03:19but even though so many years have passed, it also feels like it was not enough,
03:25especially since I have a lot of fun, I love what I do,
03:29and it is such a crazy life, like one day you can be in one place in the world,
03:34the next day you are in another, sometimes I don't know where I am standing,
03:38and well yes, definitely you can feel like everything is going very fast,
03:42but definitely there is a very long process, and a very big progress,
03:46that many times people don't know about.
03:49Can you talk a little bit about that process, and how you got to where you are now,
03:55the challenges, or how you remember those beginnings?
03:59I think that in 2018-19, I started to explore with SoundCloud,
04:04and I started to make music without thinking too much,
04:09I had a lot of fun making Spanish versions,
04:13like actually exploring, something that stays in my head a lot,
04:17is like when you start, you imitate a lot of things,
04:20when you want to learn to do a trick on the skateboard,
04:23you watch a video over and over and over, and you imitate it until the trick comes out,
04:26it was something that was very present in my mentality,
04:30and well, I made a lot of Spanish versions, I made a lot of music for fun,
04:34and around the end of 2019, I released a song called Quiero,
04:40and in my town of Mayagüez, Puerto Rico, which is the west of Puerto Rico,
04:44it kind of took off, and the song kind of got into Mayagüez,
04:52I had my first show in Mayagüez too,
04:54and then, among ourselves, my team, which is the same people from El Sol de Hoy,
04:59who have been there for years,
05:01they told me, I think we have to take it a little more seriously,
05:05I think there's something here, and without them, nothing would have happened,
05:09and it was a process of a lot of patience, of not getting desperate,
05:14of making a lot of music non-stop, also to understand what I wanted to talk about,
05:19understand what kind of music, what color, how I wanted to dress,
05:22or just what I wanted people to feel when they saw me,
05:26or what I wanted to represent as an artist,
05:29and well, it was a process in the shadows, very backstage, a lot of music,
05:35a lot of looking inside, talking to my friends too,
05:40and just having that process of understanding me,
05:44and it's something I always recommend to a lot of artists who are starting,
05:48I know that a lot of times we are so hungry that we can get desperate a lot,
05:53or we just have so much desire that it excites us to keep going,
05:57but sometimes it's important to stop and smell the roses,
06:01sometimes I say that, and understand if we are doing the right thing,
06:06if we like it, if we feel comfortable,
06:08and well, I think that was definitely a big part of the process.
06:12When you were starting and experimenting, maybe it was trial and error,
06:17what was your intention then, in that time when you were just starting?
06:22Did you think about intentionality in your music?
06:25Honestly, I didn't think about intentionality that much,
06:30I was just so focused on myself and understanding,
06:36and at the same time I was so excited that I just wanted to make music,
06:39I wanted to release music,
06:41so I was mostly thinking about what I wanted to do,
06:44and what areas I wanted to explore,
06:47and everything was from such a genuine place,
06:51actually, and so innocent to a certain point,
06:54that it ended up being what it was, and what it still is today, thank God,
06:58and well, it turned out that a lot of people identified with music,
07:02I feel that it reflected, before and after, definitely in my life and in my career,
07:07and something that that definitely taught me was that,
07:12the more you are from a genuine place, where whatever your career is,
07:18and whatever you have decided to do with your life,
07:20that's where people find humanity in a project,
07:23and that's where, without realizing it, you start to make an impact,
07:27and you start to see a before and an after.
07:29When was that before and after for you?
07:32I think that when I felt it the most was when Rirri came out,
07:38and Rirri started to get audiences outside of Puerto Rico,
07:42he had a very special moment in Puerto Rico,
07:45in the concerts of Un Verano Sin Ti,
07:47and I think it was that summer,
07:49the summer that my team and I looked at each other and said,
07:52I think this is our last summer with a normal person, so to speak,
07:56but from that point on, I felt that everything was so fast,
08:02and everything moved so fast,
08:04and that we went up many steps,
08:07at the same time that, although it felt fast,
08:09it was a process that we always tried to respect the steps,
08:14and the process, and respect the steps where we were,
08:17and try not to jump steps too,
08:19and I think that Rirri definitely, what was Trap Kitty,
08:23is a moment that I look back and it makes me sentimental,
08:28because I had no idea what was coming,
08:31and what was going to happen, and I'm very happy.
08:34I'm sure everyone knows, because everyone knows Young Migo,
08:37but you were a tattoo artist before,
08:40and you were using that to finance your time in the studio.
08:44Can you talk a little bit about,
08:47I met your team, and your team is very special,
08:50because they are many of your friends,
08:51in fact, your manager is your best friend, Mariana,
08:55your producer is also a very good friend.
08:58How was it to create that team,
09:00which I know is fundamental in your career,
09:03and you have created, I would say that I spent time with you,
09:07a very sacred space, and 1K,
09:10and I also want us to talk about that.
09:12Well, actually, the team was forming little by little,
09:16and without realizing it, life put them in my path,
09:18like, I've known Mariana and Mauro since I was 11 years old,
09:23then at the university I met Joshua,
09:26I met Shotaro, I met Bonarotti,
09:28and I started to keep meeting people that,
09:31when, the story was like,
09:34we were going to make a camp to make music,
09:37it was the first time that we were all together in the same space,
09:40and Mariana was the one who asked me,
09:42who do you want here, like, choose your weapon,
09:45it was more or less what she told me,
09:46and I said, well, I know this person who writes incredible,
09:49I know this other person who is a tremendous photographer,
09:52and Mauro was starting to produce,
09:55I was starting to make music,
09:57so in reality it was all very much at the same time,
09:59and we all got together in a house in Rincón, also in Puerto Rico,
10:04and it was like, that weekend we were together,
10:081K was born, it solidified,
10:10and we knew that we were cooking something,
10:13so to speak, and it felt very special from day one,
10:17it was an incredible chemistry,
10:19it was a very genuine connection too,
10:22and to this day, 1K is still what it was,
10:26and it will continue to be that, and much more,
10:29we have many intentions and many desires for it to grow,
10:32we want to be able to offer help also to many other people,
10:35as we also had a lot of luck that we ran into people
10:39who helped us along the way,
10:40and they were a great blessing,
10:43so it is a favor that we would like to give back to life,
10:48and to those who need it.
10:50And what would, if we could, you know,
10:53be a fly on the wall in that songwriting camp,
10:55which was during the pandemic?
10:57It was a, yes, in fact, yes, pandemic.
11:00What would we see if we were in there,
11:03young Mico, who was just starting out,
11:06what was that vibe like?
11:08Like, it's as simple as a bunch of kids having fun,
11:13we were in Airbnb, which seemed incredible to us,
11:16we were close to the coast, we went down to the beach,
11:20we walked for a while along the shore,
11:22and we thought, what do we want to do now?
11:24What do we want to explore?
11:26And it was a creativity,
11:28from the moment we got up until we went to bed,
11:31we ate together, we did absolutely everything together,
11:34and we still do,
11:35and that love is still definitely in the air.
11:38But it was actually really fun,
11:40there's content from those moments,
11:42like, someday, I hope the world sees it,
11:44because it's really funny, and it's super wholesome.
11:47And what did you tell them?
11:49Like, this is my vision for us, to grow.
11:53Did you have that type of conversation?
11:55And also, like, the business side of what you guys were doing?
12:00I think so, like, we were always people who,
12:03from the beginning, we were very clear
12:05about where we wanted to go,
12:07where we wanted to go,
12:09and what things we wanted to do in terms of music.
12:13And, well, at least on the creative side,
12:16I sat down with Mauro,
12:18and it was, I want to do something like this,
12:21or I want to do something like that, I want to talk about this,
12:23or even Mauro himself, like,
12:25can we do something like this color,
12:27or look at this, I think it's really fun,
12:29and everything came out so organic,
12:32and everything came out so easy,
12:33and everything came out so easy,
12:35that, like I mentioned,
12:37we knew that there was something very special
12:40that they were doing at that moment,
12:42and also, we all knew that we were people
12:46who were very dedicated to what we do,
12:48like, very passionate about what we do,
12:50and 1K started to grow on its own,
12:53and started to create a name.
12:56When we started to have shows,
12:58we saw people in the audience saying,
13:001K, 1K, and that wasn't something
13:01that we talked about so much to the audience,
13:05and, like I mentioned,
13:07people started to understand it,
13:09they started to have a love for the movement,
13:11and I hope I'm here until they can't anymore.
13:15And 1K means?
13:17So, 1K, for those who don't know,
13:19is the collective to which I belong,
13:22we are a group of people that I love a lot,
13:25very passionate people and very talented,
13:27so, there is a saying that is sometimes said,
13:29well, in Puerto Rico it's said,
13:32like, keep everything at 100,
13:34you can keep things at 100,
13:36it's common to say,
13:38so we try to keep it at 1000,
13:40and that's 1K,
13:42and that's where all that meaning comes from,
13:45and that's what invites you to be yourself,
13:51to embrace your surroundings,
13:53and to always try to be genuine,
13:56to always keep it 1K.
13:58I want to talk about,
14:00because I think one of the most important decisions
14:02for an artist is choosing a manager,
14:05and Mariana,
14:07who played soccer together
14:09in the national team of Puerto Rico,
14:11she told me that you were the one who told her,
14:15I want you to be my manager,
14:17why her?
14:19Well, besides the fact that Mariana
14:21is my best friend of my life,
14:23she is my sister, she knows me like no one else,
14:25she is a person that I admire a lot,
14:27she is an incredible woman,
14:29and very hardworking, very dedicated,
14:31I don't know anyone who has the ovaries
14:33that Mariana has,
14:35and she was definitely someone
14:37that I wanted to have by my side
14:39in what is an industry
14:41that can sometimes be very noisy
14:43and chaotic,
14:45and I said, well,
14:47if there's someone I want to have by my side,
14:49it's going to be Mari,
14:51and I remember that,
14:53as I told you,
14:55I made music for fun,
14:57and she stopped me in the middle
14:59and said, no,
15:01you have to take this seriously,
15:03and I said, well,
15:05if you manage me,
15:07and we both worked,
15:09and we both eventually left the job,
15:11and we made the decision
15:13that we were going to give it some time,
15:15let's see what happens in these months
15:17that we're going to be making music
15:19and that we're not going to be working,
15:21let's see what happens,
15:23and that's how Vendetta was born,
15:25Puerto Rico Mami came out,
15:27let's see how it continues to evolve,
15:29and we looked at each other like,
15:31I think this is where we have to stay,
15:34until we eventually realized
15:36that this was our job,
15:38and I didn't have to tattoo again,
15:40she didn't have to go back to her job either,
15:42and here we are still.
15:44And what has it been to navigate
15:46this industry with your best friend?
15:48It has probably been
15:50the greatest blessing I've had in my life,
15:52because it's a job
15:54that can be super supportive,
15:55and it's a job where I'm sure
15:57that in many other careers
15:59I work too,
16:01it's very difficult to trust
16:03the people around you,
16:05because you don't really know them,
16:07and I think I would never have done this
16:09without her,
16:11and without my team,
16:13because now,
16:15sometimes with them by my side,
16:17and you can feel lonely,
16:19I can't imagine what it would be
16:21not having someone like Mari
16:23by my side,
16:25and I'm extremely blessed
16:27that they're still here with me,
16:29and that they've been with me
16:31since day one,
16:33and a lot of people sometimes ask me
16:35what's the recipe,
16:37or what was your biggest weapon,
16:39and I say it was them 100%,
16:41I don't have any other answer.
16:43Thank you for coming,
16:45because you're on tour actually,
16:47so you did a little detour
16:49in Latin America
16:51with your XOX tour.
16:53Side quest.
16:55It's been tiring,
16:57but also I got to see you
16:59at your last show in Miami
17:01where you wrapped the US tour,
17:03and it was a blast,
17:05as I was telling you.
17:07It was a whole experience.
17:09What I see from your fan base
17:11in that concert,
17:13they were hungry for an artist
17:15like you,
17:17and your artistry,
17:19and I saw people being free,
17:21and feeling like a safe space,
17:22and you didn't want your shows
17:24to be like that.
17:26Why was that so special for you?
17:28And when you were growing up,
17:30did you have something like that?
17:32Well, the truth is
17:34I had the blessing
17:36of growing up with friends
17:38who offered me that space,
17:40and my parents too,
17:42my family,
17:44maybe at first
17:46it was all pink,
17:48but it worked,
17:50and I got to a safe space
17:52and I think it's very special
17:54that that was brought
17:56to my relationship with the audience.
17:58It's funny that you mention it
18:00because it's very true.
18:02I hope one day
18:04everyone can be here
18:06at a concert,
18:08because it's definitely an experience.
18:10And beyond the fact
18:12that the show is special,
18:14the audience makes it so special,
18:16and it's impossible
18:18that I don't have fun on stage,
18:20it's impossible that I'm not happy
18:22and it's like
18:24I'm proud about it,
18:26and it makes me very happy
18:28to be able to feel so much love
18:30in a place that came from music.
18:33But I really do think
18:35you are the artist
18:37of this generation,
18:39and people were waiting
18:41for an artist like yourself.
18:43Do you feel that as well?
18:46Yeah, I think
18:49I get nervous
18:50when you say something like that,
18:52but I think
18:54I was also waiting
18:56for an artist
18:58who could speak without hair
19:00and who wasn't ashamed
19:02of who she was or where she came from.
19:04And as I mentioned,
19:06everything was so innocent
19:08from the beginning
19:10that I didn't realize,
19:12and I think it's very special.
19:14Like I said,
19:16it gives me a little something.
19:18It's strong sometimes
19:20and it's like an icon.
19:22I don't do that,
19:24but it's very special
19:26to hear those words
19:28because they excite you a lot,
19:30they motivate you a lot,
19:32and there are many artists
19:34around me who are also artists
19:36that I was waiting for.
19:38And I think
19:40it's a very nice moment
19:42to be alive.
19:44Can you mention one of those artists?
19:46Yes, of course.
19:47I can't believe what La Cruz
19:49of Venezuela is.
19:51It's incredible what Villano
19:53of Puerto Rico is.
19:55There are many artists
19:57that I think are incredible
19:59and I love that I'm
20:01in the same generation as them.
20:03When I interviewed you
20:05for La Revista,
20:07I did ask you
20:09because we were kind of
20:11on the fence about the question
20:13of what it is to feel like a woman
20:15in an industry,
20:17one of the many women
20:19that are leading.
20:21It feels like a new era
20:23for urban music.
20:25What does that mean for you
20:27to be part of this
20:29new generation of women?
20:31It's incredible
20:33how I mentioned
20:35how nice it is to be alive.
20:37Sometimes
20:39I can look around me
20:41and see so many powerful women
20:43from my work team
20:45to my family
20:47that are making music.
20:49It's like
20:51they all look like superheroes
20:53and I think it's really cool
20:55that you can feel the support
20:57from women too.
20:59Because we're our biggest enemy
21:01at the end of the day
21:03and we're also going to be
21:05our biggest ally.
21:07I think that
21:09we talked about this
21:11backstage a little bit
21:13that it was like
21:15the lesbian renaissance
21:17and we said it as a joke
21:19but that phrase
21:21has a lot of strength.
21:23It's the girl's time
21:25and I think it shows
21:27and I think it's wonderful
21:29and I think we're in
21:31a much more receptive generation
21:33and I also wanted
21:35everything to be included
21:37and you also mentioned this
21:39the first time we talked together
21:41that there will come a time
21:43in history
21:45when that question
21:47will be asked
21:49and I think it was also
21:51very special to live it
21:53with Carol G.
21:55Obviously Young Meeko
21:57was part of her
21:59Mañana Será Bonito stadium tour.
22:01If you can just
22:03share that experience
22:05as well with her.
22:07Yes, what I shared with Carol
22:09I opened some dates
22:11in the United States.
22:13I was with her in Medellín
22:15I've worked with her
22:17and when I was with her
22:19on tour
22:21it kind of felt like
22:23she took me under her wing
22:25and there were a lot of things
22:27she didn't have to do
22:29before we were on a show.
22:31She would teach me
22:33how to set up the stage
22:35how to prepare myself
22:37I like to stretch like this
22:39I like to eat this
22:41and her team was very welcome
22:43and it's definitely
22:45a motivation that
22:47I will never forget.
22:49It was an incredible experience
22:51I love her with all my heart
22:53I hope I can continue
22:55collaborating with her
22:57inside and outside of music
22:59and she is a person
23:01that I admire a lot
23:03and my work team as well.
23:05I want to listen to
23:07some of your songs
23:09that have had an impact
23:11on your career.
23:13Joyce if we can listen
23:15to Lisa.
23:18Where does that song
23:20take you to
23:22when you listen to it?
23:24It takes me back
23:26to a fun moment
23:28in my career.
23:30I think that was
23:32the first song
23:34that I released
23:36with white hair
23:38that was like
23:40a reflection of
23:42this new era
23:44that was coming from
23:45Lisa.
23:47I doubted that song
23:49because I was
23:51doubting myself.
23:53I was not sure
23:55if what I was doing
23:57was correct
23:59or what I wanted to do
24:01and I remember
24:03that I had a time span
24:05of several months
24:07that I felt
24:09that I was
24:11in a creative block
24:13and I remember
24:15that the song
24:17was incredible
24:19and I cried.
24:21I didn't know
24:23if people would
24:25understand it.
24:27I doubted.
24:29Even the most
24:31confident people
24:33doubt themselves
24:35and that's good.
24:37Sometimes we have
24:39to trust
24:41and I know
24:43that they
24:45trust me.
24:47Lisa was one of those
24:49songs that changed my life.
24:51Can you share
24:53a little bit
24:55why you were
24:57feeling that way?
24:59I don't know.
25:01Things were happening
25:03pretty fast.
25:05There were a lot
25:07of things happening
25:09in my life.
25:11I wasn't used
25:13to how fast
25:15things happen.
25:17You doubt
25:19and that's normal.
25:21It's important
25:23not to let it
25:25affect you.
25:27Or to steer you
25:29away from what you
25:31want to do
25:33or why you started.
25:35After a time
25:37when I felt
25:39that I wasn't
25:41doing things
25:43that I loved
25:45and I was like
25:47I think we have one.
25:49I think there's something here.
25:51We made the video
25:53and it was fun.
25:55We released Lisa
25:57and every time I hear her
25:59I think of her.
26:01It's a friendly reminder
26:03that sometimes I doubt
26:05and sometimes I have
26:07creative blocks
26:09but I can't give up.
26:11I have to keep going
26:13and at some point
26:15I will be on any
26:17Billboard chart.
26:19I want to listen to
26:21another one.
26:23Fina.
26:25Joyce, can we play that one?
26:30Can you talk a little bit
26:32about the creation
26:34of that song
26:36and the collaboration?
26:38Of course.
26:40That collaboration
26:42was super special.
26:43I was in the studio
26:45with Benito
26:47and that man
26:49is so creative.
26:51He knows what he wants
26:53as an artist and as a person.
26:55We got to the studio
26:57and I remember I had
26:59a Powerpuff Girls shirt
27:01so I felt I could do
27:03anything that day.
27:05I was ready to battle
27:07and he showed me the song
27:09and he already had the idea
27:10and I thought it was amazing
27:12that you said it.
27:14He wrote everything
27:16to the letter.
27:18I told him
27:20that was amazing
27:22and I loved it.
27:24He recorded it
27:26and showed me
27:28the intention.
27:30I thought it was cool
27:32that he said that.
27:34I felt he was talking
27:36from the perspective
27:38of what a fan wants.
27:40How to find the perfect words
27:42to say
27:44that people will eat it up
27:46and love it.
27:48I loved it when I heard it.
27:50I was eating it up.
27:52We recorded the song
27:54and wrote the lyrics together
27:56and it was a great experience.
27:59I have to confess
28:01I sometimes forget that
28:03that's his song
28:05because you totally made it
28:07your song.
28:08This is the last song
28:10that we'll listen to
28:12and we're running out of time
28:14but I think this is such
28:16an important song
28:18because it really captures
28:20who you are
28:22and what you represent
28:24and the people you work with.
28:26I think it's a great team
28:28and it really shows
28:30that you have a great team
28:32behind you.
28:34Joyce, can we listen
28:36to Pino Grillo?
28:39What does that song
28:41represent to you?
28:43That song was like
28:45a love letter to 1K
28:47and to my team.
28:49Within the concept
28:51of ATT,
28:53I wrote these letters
28:55and I felt
28:57that I was letting people
28:59read my diary
29:01and that's why
29:03I signed it
29:05carefully.
29:06If you listen to the album
29:08in order,
29:10I can start
29:12with the attitude
29:14in Rookie of the Year
29:16and what I hear the most
29:18and when the album
29:20is transitioning
29:22there's a moment
29:24where you're like
29:26I don't want to fight
29:28with La Pichi Interlude
29:30and you can feel
29:32this transition
29:33and we're like
29:35I don't want to cry anymore
29:37let's have a good time
29:39and Pino Grillo
29:41at the end of the album
29:43was like
29:45even if all these emotions
29:47happen,
29:49even if I doubt
29:51or I feel good or not
29:53these are the people
29:55that will always be around
29:57no matter what
29:59and after I had that
30:01in mind
30:03I was like
30:05no matter how many things happen
30:07you guys are the best thing
30:09that I have in life
30:11and Pino Grillo
30:13talks about that
30:15no matter what happens
30:17they don't turn away
30:19no matter what happens
30:21they take care of me
30:23they're the best people
30:25that exist in my life
30:27and that was the intention
30:29many people identified
30:31with that song
30:33and I liked it too
30:35it's a moment where the audience
30:37hugs and kisses
30:39they let each other know
30:41how much they love each other
30:43I didn't know it was going to be
30:45such a beautiful moment
30:47and it became one of my favorite moments
30:49and it was because of that
30:51it was a song for my friends
30:53it was very personal
31:03we talked a little bit
31:05you have to be patient
31:07you have to be disciplined
31:09and we can't get desperate
31:11sometimes we're hungry
31:13and there's a lot of music
31:15and a lot of things we want to do
31:17but don't forget that
31:19the best thing God gave us
31:21was one day after the other
31:23and everything is written in destiny
31:25everything will come when it has to
31:27so after you have that in mind
31:29don't take it away
31:31and have a lot of discipline
31:33thank you young Miko
31:35thank you so much for your time
31:37thank you