Snow Tha Product is a phenomenal Mexican-American rapper and singer from San Jose, California who’s been killing it in entertainment for years now. Whether she’s going viral for her 24-hour challenge freestyle or lending her talents in an iconic collab with Bizarrap (the latter of which has now surpassed over 252 MILLION views, by the way), Snow always has something going on and today is no different. Latinitas Magazine caught up with Snow Tha Product as she embarked on her national Goodnights and Bad Mornings Tour, which is stopping in Austin on August 21st.
Snow is such an incredibly talented person, there was almost too much to talk about, but we had to start with the tour and her previous time living in Texas, “I lived in Texas for 5 or 6 years. I actually lived in the DFW, but I always was in Austin and in San Antonio, all that.” Austin is known as the Live Music Capital, and a big part of that is the South by Southwest festival that happens every spring. A two-week showcase of the newest talent, films, and entertainers in the industry, it always makes waves, “I always would go to SXSW back in the day, sell my mixtapes, do all the showcases and everything.” Though her time in the Lone Star State was brief, it held a special place in her heart, “[Texas has] always loved live music, and I’m very much a live music entertainer. I feel like if I didn’t live in California, I’m pretty sure I would live in Texas.”
When audiences think of a tour, we typically wonder what outfits the artist will wear, what music are they promoting. Rarely do we actually think about the name. Snow likes to use the titles of her tours as a way to set the tone for the show. Her previous tour, The Quince I Never Had, did just that, “I always wanted to do something like that because a lot of people never had quinces. I wanted a quince-themed tour. I thought it would be very fun.” With that context, I wanted to know what fans could expect from a tour titled Goodnights and Bad Mornings, “What they can expect is just a really good night,” Snow joked.
On a more serious note, she elaborated, “On this one, I dropped a mixtape called Goodnights and Bad Mornings, like, a decade ago. And funnyily enough, I was living in Texas at the time…It’s gonna be a little nostalgic going back to when I originally dropped Goodnights and Bad Mornings and the changes that have happened since then. The evolution, the growth.” Outside of performing iconic songs like the Bizarrap collab, Snow is also toying with playing some of her classic hits, “I think on this tour specifically, I’m bringing back some of my older songs that I never performed. I know people like ‘Doing Fine’ and certain songs that are just nostalgic to them, so I’m bringing that.”
The more I spoke to Snow, the more this one word came to my mind: authentic. Snow is nothing if not herself. She wore her identity on her sleeve, Snow is Mexican-American, first-gen, and queer, and she had no problem with bringing awareness to issues that matter to her. Specifically, the misconceptions that exist around immigration, and this notion that immigrants even want to be in the US in the first place, “My parents became legal, and then they went [back] to Mexico. Like they don’t they didn’t even want to stay here. They wanted to offer us a better life and they did and then they dipped.” Snow says pointedly, “Anyone who’s being racist against immigrants, trust me, they don’t wanna be here either. But we come for a better life. And I say we because even though I was born here, their struggle is my struggle, and if they can’t speak up I will.”
Finding a musician who’s so vocal about Latino issues is a rarity, “When I see something that is unjust I have to speak out about it,” Snow explained, but being so public about things also has its downsides, “It definitely has been detrimental to my career and mental health, but it just is what it is.” Another thing Snow is vocal about, in her music and her social media, is her queerness. When I asked what navigating that as a Latina artist has been like, her answer was disappointing but unsurprising, “It’s difficult.”
The difficulty comes from when those outside of her fanbase get a hold of her content, “Every time a song, a video or, a TikTok does well or something, all of a sudden people bleed into the comment section. And they are Latinos, and they don’t appreciate me being queer or they have a problem with me presenting or maybe dressing a little more masculine.” Out of nowhere, Snow is bombarded by all these stereotypical ideals, many of which are centered around cultural expectations, “There’s always more críticas than there should be, you know. Everybody wants to tell me how I should dress or how girly I should be or who I should date or maybe I’m hurt [and] that’s why I’m not with a man, all these things.”
This criticism on its own is frustrating, but there’s a layer of sexism that makes it absolutely infuriating, “I feel like men don’t have to go through that. Like, a man can be ugly and not in perfect shape and whatever, and people are still gonna hype him up because it’s all about the music. Oh, he’s hard, you know. But with a female, you have to look a certain way, you have to dress a certain way, you have to like certain people. Everything that you have to do has to be so much more.” Fortunately for those who look up to Snow, she’s unwavering in her identity, “I’m gonna be myself unapologetically because I wasn’t for so long that now it’s like, I’m not gonna live the rest of my days fitting somebody else’s narrative.”
Speaking with Snow really highlighted just how difficult this industry can be, for Latinas, for queer women, for women in general. When I asked Snow what advice she had for any young women looking to follow in her footsteps her response was surprising, “I would say if you’re doing this for fame or you’re doing this for money, there’s probably better things you can do.” It’s a thought I’d never had before, but she had a point. Pursuing a career in music, entertainment in general, should be fueled by passion, “I think if you’re doing this because you really love it and you really wanna express yourself… I’m more of a tough love person, so I’d rather tell people upfront and be like, this has broken my heart many times, I’ve cried over this career or things that have happened to me way more times, I’ve kept a lot of things quiet.”
Despite all the hardships, Snow still feels that passion to create and release music. In fact, Snow has been releasing a song a week for nearly two months now, and with the tour rapidly approaching she’s shown no signs of slowing down, “It’s important for me to keep on creating.” Snow explains, “I drop songs every week, whether that’s a Friday or a Monday or whatever. I love the relationship with my fans, that’s keeping them updated. I love creating. When I’m always creating, I’m never depressed.” Most of her songs are two minutes or less, and this shorter time limit is intentional on Snow’s part, “I’ll put it in the universe now, I guess, so that it can actually happen. All these little songs I’m dropping, I always wanted them to have a remix.”
By releasing shorter songs, Snow’s opening up the opportunity for collaborations with different artists, “We could do a remix or put it on an album or shoot music videos,” she explained. Even though I have no doubt Snow will have artists lining up to collaborate, she has plans whether someone hops on a track or not, “If not, then yeah, I’ll remix it myself.” She says earnestly. Snow’s defiant nature is what’s gotten her so far in the industry. A brute force determination to do things in her own way, on her own terms, representing all the communities she loves. It’s certainly what got her on The Hamilton Mixtape, in the standout track “Immigrants (We Get The Job Done)” no less.
Her verse stood out due to the intricate way she flipped from rapping in Spanish to English, a now trademark part of Snow’s lyricism. I wondered if writing in two languages was more difficult, but Snow was quick to set me straight, “For me, it just is how my brain works,” she explained. “I think in both languages. So sometimes I’ll even flip a word in conversation in English, but I’ll know it in Spanish or vice versa.” I was immediately reminded of my mother, and those in my family who switch between English and Spanish seamlessly. It’s a beautiful thing to see that type of brain represented in music and offered a bit of insight into some of my favorite Snow songs (“Nah”, I’m looking at you).
Throughout our whole conversation, Snow kept everything so real. She talked to me like we’d known each other for years, and was so open to sharing so much of her life story. I was a fan before we spoke, but learning more about her work ethic and how proud she is to represent her culture only made my appreciation grow. She is performing in Austin today and I have a feeling it’s gonna be a good night.
If you’re interested in attending the Goodnights Bad Mornings tour, click here.
And be sure to keep up with Snow Tha Product on YouTube and Social Media.
