Niña Dioz: The Mexican Rapper Who’s Giving You A Piece Of Her Mind In ‘Tambalea’ [INTERVIEW]

You’d think that her background, her skin color, her gender, and her sexual preference would work against her in the music industry, but think again. Despite the challenges in the biz, she’s one of the most admired hip-hop artists with a over a 10-year trajectory.

Yes, she’s queer. Yes, she’s a woman. Yes, she’s Mexican. Yes, she’s a rapper. And yes, she’s the fucking bomb.

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Carla Reyna is a Monterrey-born, L.A.-based artist who has been making the rounds with her eclectic sound since as early as 2007. Her love for hip-hop, however, began in the late ’90s when she would escape her house in Mexico to go watch her favorite band, Control Machete, in concert.

“I was really hooked in music that incorporated hip hop, rock, and funk,” she told PulsoPOP via phone. “My family is super conservative, from a small town. Even though we come from a large family, there’s no musical background.” She admitted that hip-hop was an unknown world to her parents yet they still supported her “craziness and creativeness.”

In mid-2000 she dipped her toes in the music industry and dropped her music on the internet. It was then that the world was blessed with Niña Dioz—as she’s artistically known.

Despite being a queer Mexican woman, Nina received great support from her colleagues in the hip-hop/urban field. “When I started to make music, I had a lot of support from men,” she said, stating that she was usually the only girl at hip-hop shows. “I was afraid of being bullied for being a queer woman, but people were very supportive.”

Nina also got real about ~the other side of la moneda~ and opened up about the challenges she’s faced. “Then you had people who thought my music wasn’t good enough,” she said. “I had to deal with a lot of criticism for my physical appearance or my sexual preference. When you’re a woman using your voice and your platform, people criticize you. A lot of people have the mentality that women belong only in the kitchen, and no. Aqui estamos haciendo ruido.”

Come 2018 and Nina dropped a new single in collaboration with Lido Pimienta and Ceci Bastida that can serve as an anthem of empowerment for every person on Earth: Tambalea.

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“This is a very personal song,” she said. “Who cares about your skin color, your religion, your sexual preference? Despite rejection, there is always a reason to go on. This song is to inspire everyone who has been rejected.”

For Nina, a record like Tambalea is a song to feel brave and confident. “Fuck what everyone thinks.”

Niña Dioz’s new album, Reyna (in honor of her last name and all the queens out there), drops on May 11 via Nacional Records.