Latin rapper Nicki Nicole bares soul on vulnerable new album 'Alma': 'Inspiration was to heal'

Latin rapper and singer Nicki Nicole is using music as a mirror instead of armor.

The Argentina-born songstress, who became known for exuding strength and swaggering bravado on hits like "Wapo Traketero" and "Colocao," excavates her heart on her third album "Alma" (out now). The album's title, which translates to "soul," reflects the honesty the 23-year-old has arrived at after weathering heartbreak and the growing pains of emotional maturity.

"People would ask me how I was doing when I started making the album, and I would tell them I was doing well. Then I would go to the studio, and I noticed I would say a lot of things that were very different than what I’d tell people," Nicole tells USA TODAY in Spanish. "The inspiration was to heal myself, and from there, the concept came."

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Who is Nicki Nicole?

Born Nicole Denise Cucco in Rosario, Argentina, Nicole cut her teeth as an emerging emcee in her teen years, performing at freestyle rap competitions across her hometown. Nicole was also captivated by the festive rhythms of cumbia, a wide-ranging Latin American genre, which she would listen to growing up.

Despite her Latin music and hip-hop roots, Nicole's first musical love was the emotive neo-soul of British singer Amy Winehouse. "I connected a lot with how she sang and what she conveyed, and from then on, I decided I wanted to do music," she says.

Nicole made a splash with her 2019 debut single "Wapo Traketero" and followed this up with "BZRP Music Sessions #13," a viral collaboration with Argentinian producer and DJ Bizarrap. The latter has amassed over 200 million views on YouTube to date.

Nicole released her full-length debut album "Recuredos" ("Memories") in November 2019. With her sophomore effort, 2021's "Parte De Mí" ("Part of Me"), the singer scored a pair of RIAA-certified singles: "Colocao," certified gold, and the platinum Rauw Alejandro collaboration "Sabe."

Nicki Nicole gets vulnerable, finds healing on 'Alma'

"NO voy a llorar" ("I'm Not Going to Cry"), a jazzy R&B midtempo, serves as the lead single on "Alma" with uplifting lyrics about moving on from toxic love. "I'm not going to cry when you go away / I won't suffer if you leave me," Nicole sings in Spanish.

But before Nicole could wax poetic about the beauty of healing, she had to face her own demons. "The hardest part of this album was confronting that I was broken and that I had to do that in order to heal and give this vulnerable part of myself to people," she says.

Beyond a defiant breakup anthem, Nicole says the song acts as an affirmation of self-sufficiency on the emotional record.

"It’s the first (single) from the album because it was the initial message in which I said … I’m not going to cry anymore. I’m not going to stay in one place waiting for things to happen," Nicole says. "I'm not going to wait for what I need (and instead) go out and find (it) myself."

Nicole deftly explores the fluctuations of love throughout "Alma," from cheeky reggaeton bop "qué le pasa conmigo?" ("What's Your Deal with Me?") with Rels B, to the heady longing of the trap-infused "Llamame" ("Call Me").

"On this record, I learned that love is the most important thing," Nicole says. "If you can’t be good with yourself, you can’t be good with anyone else."

Nicki Nicole bares soul on 'Alma' with help of genre-bending sound

Despite her hip-hop pedigree, Nicole embraces an experimental mix of jazz-tinged R&B, electropop and reggaeton on "Alma." The eclectic sound reflects the musical versatility Nicole wanted to show and captures a new level of her authenticity.

"I am made up of many distinct styles and things. None of us are just one thing," Nicole says. "That’s why the songs are so different from each other and so ever-changing."

"Alma" also features a tender ode to Nicole's beginnings with the song "Tuyo" ("Yours"), a cover of the bolero, a Cuban romance genre, by Brazilian singer-songwriter Rodrigo Amarante.

"(The song) brings back a lot of memories from those times when I wanted to be a singer and dreamed of playing on a stage," Nicole says. "I felt like it had to be part of my soul and what I represent."

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Nicole harnesses girl power on "Alma" on the track "8 AM," a sensual rap banger and collaboration with Young Miko, 26, a female Latin trap artist making waves with her unapologetic queerness.

Nicole was itching to link up with the Puerto Rican rapper. "It’s one of my favorite songs on the album," Nicole says.

Another woman Nicole has shared the mic with is pop icon Christina Aguilera. Nicole was featured on Aguilera's 2021 Latin pop hit “Pa Mis Muchachas" ("For My Girls") alongside Becky G and Nathy Peluso. They performed the song together at the Latin Grammys that same year.

Meeting Aguilera, whom Nicole cites as a musical crush of hers, was surreal. "But at the same time very human," Nicole adds, calling Aguilera "such a kind person."

"It was my first time singing at the Latin Grammys, and I'm the smallest of the four and the only one who doesn’t speak English," Nicole says. "She came over all the time to tell me to relax and that I was going to be incredible."

Nicki Nicole talks Latin pop explosion in Argentina, supporting the genre

A native Argentine, Nicole is part of a wave of artists from the South American country who are taking Latin pop by storm, including Bizarrap, María Becerra, Tini and Peluso. Nicole chalks up this success, in part, to the die-hard loyalty of her homeland.

"A lot of incredible (Argentine) artists are coming out, and I think it's due to this great moment of unity and support that we’re in, but also due to the people of Argentina who champion their artists till death."

Nicole herself has become a champion for Latin music – and the genre's cultural diversity – with her role on the Netflix reality competition series "La Firma" (now streaming). Nicole serves as a judge alongside Rauw Alejandro, Yandel, Tainy and Lex Borrero in a search for the next Latin superstar.

"Every artist brings a message from their country, and it's very important to defend these artists," Nicole says. "Historic things have happened in Latin music in the last 20 years, and it’s key to be present for those moments."

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Who is Nicki Nicole? Argentinian pop singer releases new album 'Alma'