Updated August 17, 2026 at 1:26 PM EDT
At 29 years old, Becky G has spent nearly two decades in the entertainment business. On her fifth studio album, Baraja Bendita, Spanish for "Blessed Deck of Cards," she is returning to one of the sounds that first drew her to music: rap.
"My urban roots are, like, a part of me," the singer, songwriter and actress told Morning Edition. "It is how I got signed. It is how I got discovered. It is one of my first loves."
That creative enthusiasm runs through the album's track "Epa" and the song's music video — that was filmed at the famed El Mercadito in Los Angeles. In one scene in the visual, Becky G smashes a large block of ice before the scene erupts into dancing.
Asked why that image was important to her at a time when U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids are at the center of national politics, Becky G said the song began with chords that sounded urgent to her, almost like alarms. As she worked on the song, she found herself thinking about how fortunate she was to have a safe space to express herself.
"We need to keep creating," she said. "That's also part of our resistance."
That idea shaped the ice-breaking scene, too. Once the block breaks, she said, "there's this really beautiful, almost like euphoric joy that comes through," with everyone dancing together.
In her conversation with NPR's A Martínez, she expanded more on the inspirations behind her latest project and how she is evolving as an artist.
Listen to the full conversation by clicking the play button above.
This interview was adapted for the web by Majd Al-Waheidi.
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