As the most-streamed Argentine woman on Spotify, Nicki Nicole is at the top of her game. The rising pop star recently overcame one of the lowest points in her personal life, a high-profile breakup. Nicole lets her guard down and channels her ups and downs into a cathartic and ambitious album, Alma.
“I named my album Alma because I wanted to show 100 percent of who I am,” Nicole tells LATINA.
Before becoming one Argentina’s biggest stars, she was born Nicole Denise Cucco in Rosario, Santa Fe. Nicole rose up as part of the Latin trap wave, breaking into the genre’s boys club, which included artists like Bizarrap, Duki, and her ex-boyfriend Trueno. She scored countless hits like “Colocao” and “Wapo Traketero,” which positioned her as the female artist from Argentina with the most monthly listeners on Spotify. After Nicole’s split from Trueno exposed a crack in her tough exterior, she allowed herself to find beauty in her vulnerability with Alma.
“This album is healing for me,” Nicole says. “To make it and release it, it feels very good. Before making it, I was very turned off with a musical mental block. It healed me to make this album and give it to the people.”
Nicole understands that she isn’t the only person to go through a breakup and that she can help her listeners who might be going through similar experiences. Throughout the 10-track LP, she finds her footing amidst her feelings of heartbreak and learns to stand tall again. A past relationship is a distant memory in the soulful “Ya No” and the haunting “No Voy a Llorar.”
“To share my life with my fans gives me an incredible sense of peace,” Nicole says. “There are people out there with a lot of things to heal from. For my music to speak to people and be a source of healing is a pleasure.”
Nicole has set herself apart from her contemporaries by channeling a fierce swagger that can fit into any genre. That remains her best weapon in Alma where she shoots down naysayers with her lyrics in the hip-hop track “Dispara,” featuring Milo J. Nicole also plays with the idea of plenty more fish in the sea in the flirty “Se Va 1 Llegan 2.” “It’s a song that’s a bit playful and funny. When you end a relationship, you’re like, ‘Calm down, if one leaves, two more will come. If two leave, three will come,’” she says with a laugh. “You have to keep going forward.”
There’s a major girl power moment on Alma with “8 AM.” Nicole teamed up with rising Puerto Rican rapper Young Miko and in the Latin trap anthem, both women sing about not having time for anyone who cheats on them. Young Miko, who is openly queer, sweetly serenades women in her verses. Nicole dedicates this alluring banger to her fans in the LGBTQ+ community.
“Be yourself and be proud,” Nicole says to her queer fans. “Young Miko is representing the LGBTQ+ community. She’s a boss! Thank you so much for listening to my music and being a part of who I am. You can dedicate this to a girl you like. Dedicate it to who you want, but it’s a song to dance to and enjoy.”
Nicole was also recently featured on a song in the regional Mexican music genre. Mexican rapper and singer Peso Pluma enlisted her to feature on a remix of his song “Por Las Noches,” which has become a global hit. In the dreamy duet, Nicole and Peso Pluma beautifully sing the corrido about lovers who still linger on their minds.
“I love [Peso Pluma’s] music,” she says. “When he invited me to do the remix of that song, it was very crazy because it was one of his songs that I listened to the most. I jumped on the song with absolute pleasure. It was a bit difficult for me to get on a song with that kind of style, but he helped me there. He motivated me to jump on the track.”
Nicole has plans to take the Alma album on the road. She promises to “tour everywhere” with the empowering songs on her LP.
“There’s nothing I like more than to share my music and see how people at my concerts enjoy it, dance to it, and how they release their emotions,” Nicole says. “For all the people that are reading this, that’s what my music is here for and that’s what I’ll always be here for.”
Lucas Villa is a freelance music contributor for LATINA and his work is featured in Rolling Stone, Billboard, Teen Vogue, MTV News, and W Magazine.
