Bad Gyal gathers the girls for a new era of Big Femme Energy

After spending almost After a decade creating buzz with mixtapes and singles, Bad Gyal is ready for her next big move. Earlier this year, the Barcelona-based star released her debut album La Joya, which is Catalan for “The Jewel”. On the adventurous LP, she explored genres such as dancehall, reggaeton, Brazilian funk and house music, while subverting the male-dominated urban space with a strong female energy.

“I like the idea that a piece of jewelry comes from a dirty, hard place, but then you work it, you cut it, and it turns into something beautiful and shiny,” says Bad Gyal. Rolling rock. “That was the same with the process of making this album and trying to make the songs as perfect as they could be.”

Last year, Bad Gyal expanded her reach beyond Spain when Karol G featured her on the song “Kármika” with Jamaican icon Sean Paul. She also scored her first global hit with the seductive “Chulo”, where she turned the urban male gaze upside down. Puerto Rican rapper Young Miko and Dominican provocateur Tokischa teamed up on a remix of the song. Brazilian superstar Anitta also collaborated with her on the baddie anthem “Bota Niña”. Now Bad Gyal gets reggaeton pioneer Ivy Queen's blessing on the “Perdió Este Culo” remix.

“I feel like the more women there are, the better,” she says. “At the end of the day, every woman has her own identity and her own way of saying things. It's great to have this space. Every year, I feel like we're freer to do whatever we want.”

To bring her 2000s-inspired urbano fantasy to life, Bad Gyal enlisted the help of producers such as reggaeton pioneer Nely “El Arma Secreta,” hip-hip's Scott Storch and frequent collaborator Rosalía, El Guincho. This month, he will launch the album with concerts in New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles and the Sueños Music festival in Chicago. While speaking to rolling rock, Bad Gyal broke down six songs from La Joya and explained how he put together the daring project.

“Perdió”

Ivy is a very important artist to me and to be able to work with a legend like her on “Perdió” was incredible. This song is like a way to express the power you feel when you remove something from your life that wasn't working, that was taking up a lot of your energy, and that wasn't giving you happiness. He didn't give you peace. I feel her lyrics give the song even more power. It takes it to another level. It's always going hard. He was the only person who could make this song bigger. Ivy is an idol for my entire generation. I love seeing how my work is able to inspire artists as influential as her.

“Chulo Pt. 2”

“Chulo” was a song I left alone at first. I remember following Tokischa's Instagram and seeing her post a lot of stories with the song. Later, I met Young Miko in Las Vegas and she told me she was obsessed with the song, so I thought it would be perfect to put them both on the remix. The public reaction was amazing. The numbers say it all. It was one of my biggest songs of the past year. It entered the US charts, which is the first time in my career that has happened. I am very grateful to Miko and Tokischa because I feel that the three of us together made this possible.

“Bota Niña”

I made this song like three years ago. I remember being in the studio with El Guincho working on ideas and I was really obsessed with brega funk at the time. I heard the melodic loop and thought it was perfect to make a brega funk song. I recorded the whole song with this loop and later we talked to Gabriel do Borel, who is one of the most important funk producers in Brazil. We asked him to do the drums because we wanted the right sound. Gabriel talked to Anitta and showed her the songs I did with him and she liked “Bota Niña”. It was a big surprise. He was texting me and asking if he could jump on the song and I was like, “Of course! You are the queen of Brazil and no one could do this song better than you.”

“La Que No Se Mueva”

Tommy Lee Sparta is amazing. He is one of my favorite artists and I am very happy with the vibe of the song. I feel like he has a dance vibe and is 100 percent himself in the song. That's what I wanted to have on this album, its authenticity. I really like dancehall. I'm really inspired by this genre because I feel like it gives me an energy that I've never felt listening to other types of music. It puts me in the mood.

“Give me”

I had already worked separately with Nely “El Arma Secreta” and Scott Storch. I did a lot of work with Nely for years and then shortly after that I met Scott. I already had two songs with Scott. It was amazing to experience the fact that I put them together in the studio, a reggaeton legend and a hip-hop legend. It's an experience every songwriter wishes they could live.

“Lustful”

I always feel like I'm an artist for the gay community. I have a few songs that were big for the gay community like this one. I am very grateful to them. They are always super supportive. They are my biggest fans. They are the ones who celebrate me the most. Appreciate. I know the energy is high because they love me so much. They are my biggest supporters. I wouldn't be where I am right now without them.