Mexican queer rapper Snow Tha Product is bringing a blizzard of beats to the Windy City this fall on the Good Nights and Bad Mornings Tour.
Claudia Alexandra Madriz Meza grew up in San Jose and San Diego, and was raised in a musical environment. She began performing at a young age with her grandfather’s mariachi band.
Her debut studio album Unorthodox debuted in 2011. The current tour is based on her mixtape titled Good Nights & Bad Mornings 2: The Hangover, released in 2018.
The talented performer talked about her upcoming travels to Chicago on the phone before her arrival.
Windy City Times: Where in the world are you calling in from right now?
Snow Tha Product: I just got back to L.A. and I am in the middle of a billion things. I am happy to be back in California after being in Mexico for a couple of days. I am all traveled out, considering I am about to go on tour in two weeks.
WCT: Have you been to Chicago in the past?
STP: Yes. Chicago is actually one of the first places that booked me, other than where I was from. The first time I went to Chicago and there were fans to see me, I was shocked.
WCT: You have many fans here. The first time I heard about you was through Trino x Adam.
STP: Oh, wow.
WCT: With them being an out Chicano couple and you having such a special friendship with them has been so fun to watch.
STP: I love that and I love them very much. We always have fun, for sure.
WCT: What are your pronouns?
STP: With me, to be honest, she/they/whatever. I’m not too hung up on it. That’s a bigger conversation for later.
WCT: Does your moniker come from Snow White?
STP: Originally yes, but it didn’t start off as a rap name. It was a funny thing that my friend, who was a singer, and I did. We wanted to create a live fairytale with characters that we wanted to be. Eventually, Tha Product was added.
It’s funny to think about now because she is my assistant, but at the time she was the mom of a friend. I was told to be put out there in the world like a product and sell myself as a rapper.
The name stuck and at the end of the day, it wound up being a good way to differentiate between my personal and artist lives.
WCT: Describe your concerts to people who haven’t seen you perform before.
STP: I pride myself that every experience is very entertaining and specific to each place that I go to. No two shows are the same, and I am very interactive with the crowd. I check on them often, and we talk directly back and forth. There are sometimes emotional and human moments.
I don’t want to describe my shows as political but I may say things that come across as political to some people. It’s not a political stance, but really just covers humans. I might talk about immigration or Latinos or queer people. It’s more about representation and the identity that I have. I have to stand up for my people.
There’s also a lot of fun. I make my show run long on purpose, because I want to tap into all my emotions and every bit of my extensive catalog.
WCT: Is there a certain song that you really enjoy performing live?
STP: They are their own thing, but when I do “Waste of Time,” I notice fans love that song. It’s a blast to perform songs that they know the words to. Even if they are older songs, they are still requested that I play them by the audience.
This year I am excited because I am bringing back a lot of old songs for a little medley so allows me to touch on songs from back in the day. I can hardly wait to see people’s reactions!
WCT: Do you have backup dancers?
STP: I have dancers, my hype man and a DJ. There will be a bunch of effects such as LED and wall strobes. These are things I bring on as an artist because I want it to be a part of the show.
WCT: Is “El Lloron” the current single?
STP: Yes.
WCT: The song reminded me of how Peso Pluma uses traditional Mexican beats in a modern song.
STP: Yes, there’s a hint of Mexican sound as an ode to the culture, but it also has electronic in it, as well as dembow. It is all over the place.
I was just talking to someone who works in the music industry who said it’s hard to put me on a playlist because my music goes between genres. I explained that I used to do reggaeton music as a Mexican person, when there was no playlist like that, and now it’s one of the biggest waves in music.
I don’t think that the industry should punish artists for trying to push the envelope and try new things. It sucks that people are forced into a box to belong. On the contrary, artists should be pushing things along.
WCT: Artists like Ivy Queen were performing reggaeton music when it was considered as a male-dominated genre for years, so she pushed the movement along. What are your thoughts on Mexican music not having many out artists?
STP: There is not and it sucks. For queer women, it is especially frustrating and queerbaiting is so prevalent within pop music when it comes to women. It’s still a shocking thing in the media to make out with other women, and in the Spanish world they don’t understand that it’s queerbaiting when that happens. The reason that it’s wrong is because it affects our community.
We don’t see two Mariachi men make out for the sake of getting a cover on a magazine, but you definitely see that with women. Sometimes it’s hard to be Mexican American and dabble in Spanish music. Being American, I am more aware of certain topics. I try to explain it and then wind up looking like a hater. I’m not a hater and that expression is hurtful to the community, especially to masculine-presenting lesbians, because we don’t get the opportunities that a lot of these pop girlies get!
We get looked down on, especially within regional Mexican music. They don’t like to see women like me up there. They talk a lot of bad stuff about us because it’s not supported very much. People will choose one artist to make it, so it’s antiquated in my opinion, but as we know things change and grow. We will all keep pushing until we finally get in.
WCT: I have noticed things getting better like with Brazilian singer Anitta who is out and sings in Spanish or the gay band member of Grupo Firme, Johnny Caz.
STP: They are slightly getting better, but it’s a slow process.
WCT: Let’s switch gears, is your EVERYNIGHTNIGHTS PODCAST tons of work?
STP: No, luckily I made the compound to make the podcast at home. Even though it can still be work, I feel that if someone didn’t have all things on their property then it would be more, because of driving around.
It’s 30 steps from my bedroom, so I can make a podcast and then go into the studio to create content. I am doing what I love right now, and if I didn’t love it then I would stop.
WCT: Is there a hair color you still want to try but haven’t yet?
STP: Lately people have been enjoying the dark hair, which is funny because I haven’t done it like this for years. People want me to leave it this way, so I will for a bit.
I do like to play around with color though and clothes too. I am excited about the tour because every day I can do something different. I plan on posting a bunch of pictures to see what people like.
WCT: Do you have a favorite tattoo?
STP: No, they all have their own thing. I can’t wait to do a portrait of my son, but I am very nervous about that because I don’t want anyone to screw that up on me! [laughs]
WCT: Were you nervous about featuring your son and family on the podcast at first?
STP: I was nervous about having my family on it, because of people’s commentary. These days people feel like they have to comment on everything. I guess they weren’t raised on the expression, “If you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all.”
There are times I am wary of the whole situation, but it is what it is. I love my family and they are a part of me. They are entertaining and at the same time who wouldn’t like to work with their family?
WCT: Well, that depends on the family. You were with Steve Aoki recently. Did you throw any of the cakes that he usually tosses at his concert crowd?
STP: No, I thought about it and wanted to, but it was later in the show. I had already done two shows and had to get going. Next time I will.
WCT: Have you worked with Steve in the past?
STP: Yes, we have a song together with Santa Fe Klan called “Ultimate.”
WCT: Do you have new music to be released soon?
STP: I have been releasing singles and really focusing on that. I may possibly drop something big to add to my body of work.
WCT: Sometimes artists work in a bubble, but you should know that you have many fans in Chicago to meet soon.
STP: I get stuck in my own grind and sometimes I don’t feel like I am doing enough. This is a chance to talk to fans and hear what they are going through. This gives me perspective as an artist and I am grateful to them for all of their support.
See Snow at The Salt Shed, 1357 North Elston Avenue, on Sept. 5.For ticket information please visit snowthaproduct.com or saltshedchicago.com.