Nuevo Culture

Here’s What We Learned From Rauw Alejandro’s Rolling Stone Cover Story

The Puerto Rican entertainer — dancer, singer, producer — Rauw Alejandro is on the cover of Rolling Stone’s February issue. We all know he’s a recent top-charting pop artist with his hit “Todo De Ti,” as well as how his sensual dance moves get his audience going, but there’s way more to his rise to fame than that. Here’s what we learned about him from the detailed cover interview, released on Jan. 20, 2022.

Fueled by a combination of career field mishaps (he was aiming to be a semi-pro soccer player in the U.S.!) and the Puerto Rican government failing to help its people after Hurricane María in 2017, Rauw became the pop star that he is today. Once “Todo De Ti” was released, everything he had hoped and hustled for started to pay off — especially now that his debut studio album Afrodisíaco is nominated for this year’s Grammy Awards in the category of Best Música Urbana Album, alongside Bad Bunny, J Balvin, KAROL G, and Kali Uchis.

But not everything has been a smooth and polished ride, though. We’ve recently heard of his diss-track feud with Jhay Cortez, who he decided to not even name in this interview. “I’m a cool guy, but I’m from Puerto Rico. If you fuck with me, yo soy un gallito de pelea,” he told Rolling Stone. 

And wasn’t the only shaky topic addressed. When asked about his relationship with Rosalía, he still didn’t give any backdate to when the romance started. He did, however, share the story of coming out to the paparazzi at a West Hollywood restaurant and emphasized the fact that they respect each other, their musical talents, and have been together for “a while.” “There’s people that love drama, and we’re not like that. There’s a bunch of pop stars where it’s like the whole telenovela, and I hate that sh-t. I really hate that sh-t. We’re real stuff,” he said. 

When asked about her anticipated upcoming album Motomami, he praises it saying, “It’s amazing. When I heard the whole album, phewww. She’s a GOAT. She’s innovative. She’s creating new sounds.” Now, would there ever be a collaboration between the two? He mentions that he’s open to it, but for now, they’re “not focused” on making tracks together. And as far as what the lovebirds like to do in their free time, the two are all about motorbikes, boats, and jetskis. 

Rauw Alejandro also tiptoes around controversial issues such as collaborating and noting Chris Brown as one of his influences. When asked about Brown’s domestic violence in the past, he says, “That’s a really delicate subject. I grew up with women. Women are my inspiration. I respect women. Everything against women, I’m like, ‘No.’ At the same time, my mom taught me to forgive people, to be sensitive, to try to listen, and not to live with resentment. Living with hard feelings is bad, it’s like a poison. I don’t defend anyone. I’m not a lawyer. But I also don’t judge people,” he explained.

Furthermore, when asked about politics, he said: “I don’t know a lot about politics. I probably could be a little bit ignorant, but it’s just not in me.” Unlike his pop peers Bad Bunny and Residente, he rather not use his platform to take a stand. He simply says he’s in the industry to make music for his people and that he’s “not that type of artist.”

Coming up in April, he is to release a project Trap Cake Vol. 2, which is sonically catered to his day one fans who knew him from his heavier trap and R&B-influenced days. To think that his craft has only been fully focused on since 2019 — when he was finally able to prioritize music over his multiple retail gigs — seems like such a small time for all the milestones he has already achieved. 

We are excited to see what’s next as he continues his tour and records his next album that is due later this year.