Villano Antillano has become a leading voice in the Latin queer and trans artists movement, which aims to spotlight LGBTQIA+ musicians who are often overlooked by the mainstream,.
The Puerto Rican artist recently teamed up with Argentine producer Bizarrap for a hard-hitting EDM-infused rap session, in which she spits lyrics after lyrics in her unique style.
Antillano released her highly-anticipated debut album La Sustancia X. The energetic project is a love letter that “focuses on the power of women, femme people, and the entire LGBTQIA+ community who, in the face of adversity, become super powerful.”
The album is a story of a woman who held back her power for a long time and finally changes and decides to showcase to the world her power.
“It is a deep journey into the innermost spaces of being, where we find the good, the bad, and the powerful.” – Villana said
La Sustancia X dropped in 2018, carved a lane for Villano in a male-dominated genre normalizing a queer perspective in a space that’s often dominated by masculinity.
“There is no tolerance for women like me in the genre I have forcibly inserted myself in,” –Said Villano. “To say there is would be a delusion and an attack on the works of queer people everywhere who consume said genre.”
“Nena Mala,” is another song in the artist’s debut album, in it there is a line inspired by a poem from fellow boricua Julia de Burgos:
“Corran las multitudes, contra ti, y contra todo lo injusto y lo inhumano, yo iré en medio de ellas con la tea en la mano” (“the multitudes run, against you, and against everything unjust and inhumane, I will go in the midst of them with the torch in hand”).
“Villano talks about this duality of how there’s a fake Julia and a real one. I’m very much moved by poetry, but I’m much more moved by women in poetry, specifically Julia de Burgos. Hurt and sufrida, she very much lived a tragic life. Sadly, that’s what happens to most of us bad bitches,”
Antillano’s presence in Latin rap is helping to move the culture forward. In July, the artist made a surprise appearance at Bad Bunny’s televised Un Verano Sin Ti concert in Puerto Rico, which was seen by a record-breaking numbers live and worldwide via streaming.
Antillano Stated:
There is no tolerance for women like me in the genre I have forcibly inserted myself in. To say there is would be a delusion and an attack on the works of queer people everywhere who consume said genre.I have helped make queer musicians and artists more visible perhaps; but tolerance, respect and equality are not things we have at the moment. That’s just the truth.
Also, I think it’s important to state that I personally am not striving for tolerance, nobody has the power to “tolerate” me, I yield that power myself and demand respect over all things.
