Barcelona is a city famed for its artistic and creative spirit, an inspiration to 20th century greats Picasso, Dali and Miro. Today the Catalan capital boasts a burgeoning rap scene, of which the current dominant flavour is drill, led by rappers like Bobe, Ghetto Boy and Skinny Flex. In contrast to the aforementioned’s cold, hyper-masculine street tales, multi-talented artist Leïti Sène’s syrupy, warm, hybrid sound — ‘cute drill’, as he calls it — offers listeners something different. His new mixtape ‘JÖM’ sits at the nexus of trap, rap, drill, Afrobeats and pop, underpinned lyrically by a search for something deeper.
Leïti, known globally for his role as Malick in Netflix’s teen drama Elite, tells DJ Mag that cutting through Spanish rap’s machismo is one of his aims. “The problem is the industry is still controlled by men,” he says. “We’re too interested in ‘fucking bitches and getting money’. I’m trying to sound more feminine, you know? I’m trying to give feminine vibes because I think that’s the future. It’s our responsibility to stop trying to control everything now. We’ve got to let women lead.”
His father raised him on a nourishing diet of Black music, from funk, jazz and R&B to gangsta rap icons like 2Pac, 50 Cent and The Game. He was initially unmoved by trap, which forms the backbone of his own sound, until he discovered Young Thug. You can hear the Atlanta trap god’s influence in Leïti’s waved, woozy delivery. “He was just so different,” Leïti says. “He used his voice like an instrument and completely changed the sound. What he did gave opportunities to so many other artists. It was inspiring.” Despite the vocal comparisons, Leïti is determined to operate in his own lane; for him it’s a symbol of freedom.
“I try to sound different from everyone else. That’s my main goal,” he explains. “In art, freedom starts when you give yourself the credibility to create new sounds, instead of copying what other people are doing or trying to fit in with the industry. I think you have to search for what fits you, your voice and your lifestyle. That’s the key. Here we get a lot of sun, we go to the beach, we smoke a lot of weed. So the vibe has to be different. It has to reflect that.”