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Scorpios are associated with sex, death, and mystery. They’re wont to retreat, locking themselves away from the world until they’re ready to reappear with their charm turned all the way up. Young Miko, the November-born Puerto Rican rap phenom who has turned more than 20 million listeners “mikosexual,” knows a thing or two about embodying that energy. After taking a deep-dive into herself on sophomore album “Do Not Disturb,” she taps the purple moon on her screen away on the album’s deluxe edition “Late Checkout.”
After “DND”’s more introspective and largely solitary journey, one where she fucked around hidden away in motel rooms and famously asked us “WASSUP” to the tune of Lil Wayne’s “Lollipop,” “Late Checkout” is an offering crafted for a summer popping champagne at the club with your date. Miko brings together the cream of the crop from Puerto Rico’s trap scene, and also brings in fellow queer upstart Destin Conrad and megastar Rauw Alejandro —who has the same infectious sexual energy that Miko exudes, a parallelism they play with on the video for collab “Aquel diciembre”.
Playboy hopped on a video call with Young Miko, Zooming in from her house in Puerto Rico, to ask her 20 questions about getting back outside, not wanting to leave the world of “Do Not Disturb,” and how sometimes songs about sex are, in fact, that deep.
Have you noticed all the sequels happening in music right now? I’m thinking about the “Brat” remix album with the long name, “Born To Die: Paradise Edition,” “Eusexua Afterglow,” even Rauw Alejandro’s “Saturno” and “Playa Saturno…”
Sometimes you’ll release an album and then it’s like “okay, on to the next, time to leave it behind.” After finishing [“Do Not Disturb”], I knew I still had the tour and everything, but I was still really immersed in that world, and the truth is I didn’t want to leave.
That said, is “Late Checkout” a formal sequel to “Do Not Disturb” or more like an expansion of the original?
I think for me it’s an expansion. That’s why I liked “Late Checkout” for a name. Since I started the process of this album, I wanted to make a deluxe edition; this is the first time I did that. I knew when I finished, that I would be a completely different person at the end of the project, so I wanted to see how I would feel on the other side and put a bow on it, knowing that my goal at the end was to feel better and become a new version of myself. That was more or less my intention with the album. I was curious to see what I could add and from what other perspective I could look at the world of “Do Not Disturb.” This was the perfect way to collaborate within that world and give it closure.
Why aren’t you ready to leave that world?
It’s very internal, what I did on “Do Not Disturb.” When I started that project, I wasn’t feeling 100%. The point of closing myself away and making that album was with the intention of feeling better. I felt that I had lost my mojo and wanted to feel like myself again. It doesn’t have to be so literal with what I’m saying on the album; there’s obviously a lot of songs about sex, women, things that in the eyes of some people are “not that deep,” and where there are songs that feel that casual, there are others like “El intro” where it’s obvious I’m getting things off my chest. It’s more about what people don’t see. I was in this moment where it was hard to leave my house, to leave my bed, to be myself. The fact that I could make a project while I was fighting with that feeling at the same time….that was the growth that I keep talking about. I don’t think I want to leave this world yet because I really did fall in love with that feeling of evolving, of healing. I fell in love with myself again.
There’s obviously a lot of songs about sex, women, things that in the eyes of some people are “not that deep.”
The Scorpio death and rebirth cycle?
Exactly. My intention with this project was to make work and work on myself at the same time. I knew that on the other side would be the me that I was waiting for. It’s from that place, a higher and better one, that I wanted to make the deluxe.
“Do Not Disturb” has a black and white cover, and the “Late Checkout” cover takes place at sunrise, a silhouette in a red-lit hotel room against a light blue pre-sun dawn. That silhouette in the hotel room is you, no?
It is! There are sweet details like that all over this, like how “DND” had only one feature but “Late Checkout” has four. I felt like this time around I didn’t want to be alone. I was ready to go back to collaborating, sharing, and opening myself up to creating with another intention. I think there’s definitely an energy shift that’s really beautiful between those projects that makes them complement each other.
The shot is super Gaspar Noé, Tokyo-at-night vibes, which didn’t surprise me since you’re an anime head. What are you watching right now?
I’m watching “Tokyo Ghoul” right now. I had started watching [Tokyo Ghoul] when it came out, and then I don’t know what happened but I didn’t finish so I had to restart.
Hell yeah. I’ve been rewatching “Devilman Crybaby.” Wondering if there was any anime or Asian cinema inspo for the cover?
I think it was more about bringing color back into my world than anything.
Right, because the cover of “Do Not Disturb”was black and white, no?
Exactly, and on “Late Checkout” I wasn’t feeling so grey anymore. I love that each project I make reflects where I am emotionally, mentally, and creatively. Making “Do Not Disturb,” it really was hard for me to even get to the studio and do what I love doing more than anything in the world. It was like, “this can’t be me.” I don’t know why I went for the red. You know when they ask you to locate the source of a feeling in your body? That choice definitely came from my stomach. I felt really drawn to the color, and seeing it against the blue made the most stunning contrast.
It’s so loud, right on time for summer. It feels like “we outside…”
[Laughs] Literal. For me it was also feeling loud again…it’s like “I’m ready to be annoying again.” I’m ready to just let it all out and be out there. I’m ready to be intense. I feel like red best expresses that emotion, so I started there and I’m happy with how it came out. I also loved the detail of me still being inside the room; “Do Not Disturb” is photographed inside the room, and “Late Checkout” is photographed from the outside, but I’m still in there under the red light.
Going back to you not wanting to leave this world, one where you grew up so much, what’s a tangible way that you feel you grew as an artist making this album?
The world we live in is so loud, especially on social media, and we’ve normalized consuming things 24/7…all those two second videos, and you’re swiping and swiping, and all of this information contaminates you without you noticing. Suddenly your brain feels like spaghetti and you can’t form a thought! I think that’s where my choice to call the first album “Do Not Disturb” came from, that desire to hear myself again, to have my own opinion and not give so much power to outside things. That was crucial to me, locking myself away with just my closest friends who have known me for a long time, who love me, and who I can’t lie around because they know me so well. You have to remember to pause when you need to pause, and go hard when you feel ready. It was a real exercise of believing in my craft again.
What is something that defines the era you’re currently immersed in?
No longer doubting my creative process. Patience. Having fun. I feel like this era has been about finding that happy medium. Sometimes you have to go to that deep place and touch rock bottom before you can go back to a place of fun. Darkness also has beauty in it. We all have those dark corners, and it’s important that we explore them. Light can’t exist without darkness, and if you don’t touch that darkness you take for granted how good it feels to feel good and lose the ability to recognize and feel grateful for that.
This record comes from the “fun place,” but the song that most caught my attention is “no debo 🙁,”which shows up near the end. I love when you get emotional and slow, thinking about how that song is like a bolero, and comes at the end of such a fun album. It’s that feeling of “I went hard last night and I don’t regret it, but I’m still sad about what I was trying to dance away.” Do you know what I mean?
Yes, exactly, and that’s what it’s about. That sentimentality will always be there. I love that you read it that way, because that’s kind of the approach I took making it.
I don’t think I want to leave this world yet because I really did fall in love with that feeling of evolving, of healing. I fell in love with myself again.
Did all of the songs flow pretty easily as you were making the album?
They all came out pretty easily, if I’m real. I felt really in tune with everything, walking to the studio and killing it every time we had to write something. I felt really inspired and connected while making “Late Checkout.” I felt clear about what I wanted to do and was very conscious of what we had just talked about, where sometimes it’s “not that deep.” Sometimes, it’s just you and the microphone, saying what you have to say, having fun, not thinking about it too hard. If you want to change it later, you can. That’s the real fun.
Do you have a favorite?
I think “no debo :(“ was one of my favorites to record. I also love when I get slow and emotional, especially because that moment came after all of these fun songs that are so high-energy and have so many sonic layers where there’s a lot happening at once. On “no debo :(“ it really feels like you’re taking a second and looking at your surroundings.
What made you feel ready to start sharing yourself with the world again?
That’s a good question. I made “Do Not Disturb” with tunnel vision because I wanted to get all of those feelings out, and obviously have fun while I was doing it, but there were a lot of things I was carrying. When I finished that process, I felt a lot lighter, and that changed the energy. It was like “okay, let’s be outside again, let’s hang with our friends.” I didn’t want the process to just be me anymore.
What was it like to be in community with so many more collaborators this time around? De La Rose and Clarent are in the scene in Puerto Rico, but Destin Conrad was a cool outlier.
The three features were a lot of fun. Destin [Conrad, featured on “no debo :(“] was an artist that I had discovered because this year we worked a lot together. I found his work and loved it. We linked up in LA and clicked immediately. I had this idea for a bachata, Mauro [Young Miko’s longtime producer] had an idea and he uses those jazzy R&B melodies that are slow. I was curious about getting a voice used to that style on a slow bachata, and it was divine, just a beautiful combination.
And then there’s the song with Rauw Alejandro. Energetically to me, you two feel like the same being. There’s a raw sexuality, maybe even a masculinity, to both of you, but it manifests on both ends of the gender spectrum. Have you seen online how fans compare you two?
That collaboration was one that everyone had been waiting for, but it came at the right time. I see online, and I like that idea of a soul that kind of manifests as masculine and feminine, that mirrors itself. You see a lot of that in how people talk about us online [Laughs]. It’s where we got the idea in the video where we date these twins. He also sees the things people are saying, so when we got to that idea he was like “they’re going to love this.” I was ready for that moment of working with him, and I think it came out really good.
Have you been thinking about the third album?
I am not! Only really thinking about the deluxe I just released, which we’re taking on tour. I’m right here in the world of “Do Not Disturb,” and deeply present at the moment.
So you’re not even working on any new music?
Not right now. I promised myself I’d be present. Like I said, we live in a fast world, and if you’re looking too ahead you forget to appreciate and really live in the moment. There’s definitely a future where I’m going to start thinking about other projects, music or otherwise…I’m kind of always in the studio, which I can’t help because it’s my favorite place in the world. I’m always making things, but right now what has me most excited is the tour and for people to sit with the music we just put out. I’m so happy about that, and that’s the best place to be.
Respect. Where do you go from here?
This upcoming tour is my first arena tour, which is a massive dream I’ve had for years now. I can’t believe it’s finally happening. We’re going to have dancers and play both “Do Not Disturb” and “Late Checkout,” so there’s a lot of music to share and perform, lights, choreography….I have a lot of ideas flying around my head for it and I’m really excited about all of them.
This interview was conducted in Spanish, translated, and edited for clarity.