Latto has made a conscious decision to extend the same support she has gotten from women in the music business to the next wave of female rappers.
The ClayCo, Georgia native, who has been named Billboard’s 2023 Women In Music Powerhouse, spoke with the publication to discuss her transformation into one of the brightest young stars in Hip Hop.
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During the interview, Latto noted that after being embraced by the likes of Queen Latifah, Trina, City Girls, Cardi B, SZA, Remy Ma and Lizzo, she is determined to extend the same amount of love to up-and-comers like Flo Milli, Lola Brooke and GloRilla.
“My No. 1 thing has been being a girl’s girl,” she said. “I utilize my power in uplifting others on my way up. When you see Latto do a feature with an upcoming female rapper, I don’t charge them. The label got to cover the glam, but I don’t profit off that.”
While she’s focused on cultivating and spreading love, Latto did not ignore the fact that all of her interactions with her peers and predecessors in the game haven’t necessarily been positive.
She specifically addressed how “disappointing” it was to find herself in the midst of a Twitter beef with Nicki Minaj late last year.
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The feud began when Nicki’s Rick James-sampling “Super Freaky Girl” was denied eligibility in the rap categories at the 2023 Grammy Awards and instead put forward for Best Pop Solo Performance by the Recording Academy.
Nicki voiced her displeasure with the decision on social media and argued Latto’s “Big Energy,” which also leans heavily on an ’80s pop sample, should compete in the pop categories as well.
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The “FTCU” rapper responded with a tweet about not being able to properly celebrate her Grammy nods as well as multiple nominations for the 2022 American Music Awards, which were announced around the same time.
That’s when things escalated into a messy — and more direct — back-and-forth laced with insults, accusations and below-the-belt shots, as well as DMs and phone conversations broadcast on social media.
“It’s difficult navigating through situations like that because there’s a disconnect,” Latto told Billboard. “I will look at myself as a fan of someone and they will view [me] in a whole different light. It’s disappointing. You just got to take it to the chin and keep pushing.”
Despite having yet to announce plans for a follow-up to her sophomore album 777, which was released last March, Latto recently tapped into her pop bag for her first single of 2023.
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On January 31, she took to Twitter with a clip of her in the studio twerking and making it rain dollar bills with a couple of friends while her next single boomed through the speakers. “Pop Latto loading,” she captioned the video.
The result of the session was the new single “Lottery” featuring Congolese singer LU KALA, which has garnered nearly three million views on YouTube in just over a week.
