Lexa Gates refuses to stay in one lane. Between rap, performance art, and radical vulnerability, the Queens-born artist is turning endurance into her signature—and redefining what it means to be fearless.
Lexa by Austin Babbitt
Following her European Tour, we caught up with Queens-born rapper, singer and producer Lexa Gates to discuss her meteoric rise, her genre-defying sound and the creative vision behind her acclaimed new album I Am. Blending elements of alternative R&B, hip-hop, jazz and pop, Lexa has carved out a singular space in today’s music landscape with a fearless approach to experimentation.
At just 24 years old, Lexa has already built a devoted following through her deeply personal storytelling and boundary-pushing performances. From her viral 10-hour glass box endurance piece supporting her debut album Elite Vessel to her latest performance artwork celebrating I Am, where she walked on a wheel until the album’s midnight release, Lexa continues to explore themes of resilience, ambition and emotional endurance beyond the traditional boundaries of music. With acclaim from artists including SZA, Clairo and Aminé, Lexa Gates is emerging as a new voices of her generation while staying true to her own artistic path.
Lexa by Austin Babbitt
You grew up in Queens in a Colombian-Puerto Rican household. What are some of your earliest memories of music, and what was always playing around the house?
Just, like, early 2000s hits… house music. Not even that many things, actually, in Spanish. I mean, it was just my mom, and she’s Colombian.
How has New York shaped your identity?
That’s a good question. It has made me just a very… guarded person, but it’s all a facade, like, this hard exterior. It’s just inspiring to be here and there’s no place like it. I can’t live anywhere else, so that’s pretty, like, important to that.
The chaos of this place, it literally is a reflection of how I feel inside, and it’s the only state I’m comfortable. Which is, I don’t even know if that’s good.
You blend so many sounds naturally. Who were the first artists that made you think, «Wait, music doesn’t have to fit into one box»?
Childish Gambino and Chance the Rapper. I used to not really like rap, but it feels like the way that they did was more like fun and creative and less, like, mob deep, like Wu-Tang, heavy, it just felt fun and silly, and I thought that I could have a shot at doing that, too.
Performance Art Installation, “The Wheel” Held at Jeffrey Deitch Gallery NYC
New York is such a character in your music. What parts of Queens still live inside your work today?
Where I’m from, Astoria. And just all of the city. What parts live in me? There’s just too many things to even say. You know? It’s the people, the pee, the sound of the train, the water from the AC falling on my head, the ambulance fucking blaring. But then, people hugging each other and friends hanging out, and the duality of it, being just beautiful and unbearable at the same time.
You spent 10 hours walking on a wheel for “I Am”. What’s the weirdest thing you’ve ever done in the name of art that nobody knows about?
Whispering manifestations into pineapples and leaving them under the full moon.
You seem drawn to endurance, whether it’s the glass box or the wheel. Why are you interested in pushing yourself physically as part of your art?
I think that’s what we all have to do to achieve greatness. Like, we just have to kind of put ourselves in a position where we have no choice but to prevail through whatever circumstances we’re in.
Performance Art Installation, “The Wheel” Held at Jeffrey Deitch Gallery NYC
The wheel installation was about cycles and repetition. Tell us a bit more about the background and motivation around your album “I Am”.
It was just me being stuck in a vicious cycle, but trying to speak myself out of it with positive affirmations, and hopefully it worked.
You’ve become a style icon for a lot of fans. How would you describe the Lexa Gates uniform in three words?
Clean. Sexy. Professional.
You’ve built a very recognizable visual world around your music. How important is clothing in helping you tell a story before you’ve even said a word?
It’s really one of my favorite things. Like, just all of my stuff, I jokingly say this all the time- people say that money can’t buy you happiness and that it’s not everything, but we’re kind of just here to buy stuff as human beings and customize our characters, and our life, and our whole world. It’s not even about money, but it is true. Like the things that you bring into your realm of existence are decadent to your life. What I’m wearing turns me into a different person, you know? So it’s very empowering to just find the most fire shit wherever I am and put it on.
You’ve played everywhere from Village Underground to Boiler Room. Which city has surprised you the most with its energy? Any places you are excited to play for the first time or just visit?
I love Amsterdam. It’s really cool. It feels like you’re high being there. And there’s not even a way to describe how it is. It just, so different from everywhere I’ve been. And I want to go to Antarctica, but it’s not going to be for a show.
Touring can be romanticized from the outside. What’s the reality of life on the road that nobody talks about?
This makes me think about that video of Michael Jackson where he’s like, “I love the tour.”
It’s fun. Just travel in general is a lot on the body, and touring is stressful because you’re just constantly running out of time, and have these expectations to meet by all these people around you, and they’re here for you. But everything depends on you, and I still love it. I really do. But again, it’s kind of just like the New York and the endurance thing. It’s me pushing myself to do more than I even can or should do as a human being, but it’s all good. It still gets done, and seeing all the fans and the actual show is so worth it.
You’ve been called an artist to watch, but who’s on your own “artists to watch” list right now?
I love Steve Lacy and Trim so far.
Finally, what are you looking forward to this year?
I’m just looking forward to making more music and putting things out whenever they’re ready.
