It was early in the morning, with the unusual coincidence of sun shining and heat blazing in both Puerto Rico and London when iLe appears on my screen. Born Ileana Cobra Joglar and initially dubbed “PG-13” by a cousin, because she was underage for the clubs where she was pulled in to perform with her brothers Residente and Visitante, after ten years with Calle 13, iLe and now has released her third solo album. And what an album it is, taking her on a much anticipated world tour.
Understandably, it took a while for iLe to grab the spotlight herself, with a brother whose just been named (rather controversially) the best Latin rapper of all time by Billboard Magazine. But it’s been worth the (perhaps necessary) wait. Like her older brother, she uses her music and creativity to spotlight political and social issues in the most enlightening manner, but in a more understated, sensitive and less ego-driven way.
Collaborating with Latin music’s most heavy-weight female artists, 'Nacarile' includes searing feminist protest songs, condemnations of colonization, and reflections on the scars of patriarchal love. In "Traguito" featuring Mon Laferte, iLe flips the script on the usually romantic bolero style, singing: “He says I’m not easy / And it would be so boring / It is not that I was difficult/It is that I was like I wanted to be.”
In "Algo Bonito" featuring reggaeton pioneer Ivy Queen, she sings: “Everybody who attacks me I devour / Like a lioness hunting / I’m fed up / If I protest, they call me subversive / And I know that my anger makes you uncomfortable / Because I know that you prefer me compassionate.”
And the accolades are coming fast: "En Cantos," with Natalia Lafourcade, garnered 12 million streams and won iLe a Latin GRAMMY. Meanwhile, iLe performed "Mentiras Con Cariño" with Black Pumas' Adrian Quesada on PBS.
It is clear from iLe's actions (she lent her voice to protests in 2021 that led to the resignation of Puerto Rico’s governor) and her songs that, while she may be a little sister to a star, her voice, both in content and style, has already acquired the maturity of a big sister to many young women in Latin America and the Spanish speaking world who feel silenced, misunderstood and lost in a patriarchal world.
LatinoLife: Tell us the inspiration behind your album Nacarille?
iLe: The name of the album 'Nacarille' comes from a Puerto Rican dicho 'Nacarille del oriente" which means a strong ‘no’: a no with attitude; a no meaning I'm not going there! It was post pandemic when I started working on my album, it was a stressful time in my life, I felt lost and even though I didn't know where I was going or what to do, I kept writing. So, for me, it was my motivation, it was like no, Nacarille, I am not staying in this abyss of feeling lost.
Having my family helped as we look out for one another and look after each other, the pandemic just made a lot of things difficult. But I know a lot of people were really suffering and still suffer. Every day we struggle, it's apart of life to have those kind of moments and when I have those moments composing helps me with my mental health, it's so important to heal whatever pain, confusion or anguish you feel rather than ignoring it because you will eventually explode.
LL: You incorporate many social and political issues so beautifully. What motivates you to use your music as a liberating tool ?
iLe: In all honesty, I feel like coming from a colonised country and also being colonised as woman, seeing the abuse of power is what fuels me. When you spotlight the smaller picture, the abuses happening every day, it helps understand the bigger picture. As a society we minimise a lot of issues and the consequence of this is that those issues get out of control which then prevent us as society to live in happiness.
I also think it is important to understand other people’s realities, we get so lost in our own world and only see and think from our own reality but we need to think about others. There is never just one perspective. Coming from Puerto Rico we are mostly associated with North America when in reality we are not, and I think in recent years, Latin Americans are becoming more united and more aware of what is going within each other’s countries which is so important, we need to be united as a community.
LL: What was is it like working on Algo Bonito with the Ivy Queen ?
iLe: Uy, fue muy chevere! It really was a privilege for me to work with Ivy Queen, it was something that I never thought would ever happen, I grew up listening to Ivy Queen. I remember first hearing her music, entering such a macho genre of reggaeton, she just came and added femininity to the genre and no one had done it like she did. We are both different, in terms of our style of music but I knew we would connect in the spirit of being women.
LL: Listening to algo bonito you get a strong sense on women empowerment, what does it mean to be a woman to you?
iLe: I love being a woman, being a woman means everything, not just me all of us. Being a woman is about learning to value and appreciate how powerful we are when we connect to our intuition and our vulnerability. Unfortunately society has created this notion that being vulnerable is weak, therefore suggesting that women are weak but on the contrary, vulnerability is being powerful, through vulnerability we learn to appreciate our emotions which is something as a society we don't do. This is also why there is a rise in mental health issues globally, we need to learnt to connect to our traumas so that we can heal from them instead of exploding from them. It's important to have people to talk to, family you can rely on, friends who listen and to also know that you are not alone, ever. For me music heals me, that's why I love what I do.
LL: What does feminism mean to you?
iLe: Feminism is like a life line, it's a movement for respect that invites everyone, and is all about understanding and uniting people more. If we had more understanding of one another we probably wouldn't need feminism, but women are programmed to be afraid from a young age. Patriarchy doesn't want us to exist as an empowered species; it doesn't want us to have balance or understanding of our emotions. It's important to speak out, using whatever voice you have. My voice is music but every woman should find their voice in their own way. And if we are in a position to be a voice for others who don’t have a voice because it’s been denied them, then we should.
LL: What advice would you give to women embarking on a musical career ?
iLe: Don't imitate your inspirations be authentic and most importantly to be honest and produce honest work and it will be transmitted.
@iLevitable
