Mulatto's Drive Brought Her Here. She's Not Slowing Down

By D'Shonda Brown


To mention Mulatto had a good year could be one of the primary understatements in the music industry. Despite a pandemic, unprecedented political unease, and racial unrest for the Black community at the height of the Black Lives Matter movement, the Georgia-bred rapper used quarantine and stay-at-home orders to grind and make 2020 her bitch. She appeared in Megan Thee Stallion and Cardi B’s internet-breaking “WAP” music video and collaborated with fellow Georgian 2 Chainz for the song on everyone’s lockdown playlist, “Quarantine Thick.” Any time if she finally released her debut studio album, Queen of Da Souf, in August, under her new house at RCA Records, Mulatto had become more than a buzzing name, even at the young age of 21.


The accolades are impressive: Immediately after she teamed up with City Ladies for the playful “In N Out,” the video racked up nearly 7 million views on YouTube, earning her a co-sign from one of her biggest inspirations, Nicki Minaj. Queen of Da Souf also features fellow Atlanta staples 21 Savage and Gucci Mane, along with her early 2019 breakout single, “Bitch from Da Souf,” alongside Saweetie and Trina. And in August, she earned a spot in XXL’s 2020 Freshman Class.


“I’m gonna have to pop my shit on this one,” she tells MTV News about the album’s success. “I put a lot of work into finding my sound, trying creative ways to come up with the sound, flying [to] different places for different sceneries, working with different people. I just put myself in so several different environments to build this project. Especially while in the pandemic, I certainly was expecting it to do exactly what it did. It had better did what it did!”


At the end of her banner year, MTV News caught up with Mulatto to chat about her path to being a Gold-record rapper, the significance of female group effort in the rap community, and what fans can expect next, including from her debut’s new deluxe edition (“I will mention that the culture is gonna love this feature.”).


MTV News: You’re habitually putting ClayCo on the map. How did your upbringing in Georgia’s Clayton County develop you as an artist?


Mulatto: I credit where I’m from so much for my outlook on life, my personality, the rawness and the countryness about me. All these quirky things are because of where I’m from. I wouldn’t have had the same possibilities that I had if I would’ve grown up anywhere else. I was doing fall festivals and writing competitions and performing at pep rallies at Clayton County schools, and there was a TV show with the superintendent of the county and I made the theme song. Everything in the starting and everything about my career was so centered around where I was from.


MTV News: as soon as you were first introduced nationally, you were really young. How did ageism play a role in your career and journey by way of the industry? Did people ever underestimate you?


Mulatto: By being a lady, I was already underestimated. I’m still young right now however literally as a child I was underestimated. I just feel like I had all odds against me, however I wouldn’t have had it any different way. That’s where my drive and my competitiveness stems from — just habitually having to prove myself in the starting. I was failed to notice and [they’d say], “Oh, she’s just a baby.” I remember specifically once this one individual mentioned, “Once she gets her braces off…,” yet what do braces have to do with my career? Being constantly underestimated gave me the fire in me.


MTV News: in case you can give little Latto a part of opinions about the industry, what would you tell her? What do you know little Latto would tell you about where you are now?


Mulatto: As a kid, you think, “I’m gonna shoot a music video, get my hair done and I’m just gonna be a celebrity overnight.” I would’ve sat down and told myself it’s gonna be a long time of grinding, hustling, blood, sweat, and tears however it’s gonna be all worth it in the end. Little Latto would tell me right now how overjoyed she is because I’m doing all of those things that little Latto dreamed of. Big Latto some days gets consumed in everything to the point where I don’t even realize I’ve been dreaming of doing the things that I’m doing right now. Little Latto could give Big Latto some opinions and tell me to celebrate some days because I’ll overwork myself.


MTV News: How has Queen of Da Souf served as a reflection of your growth as an artist while in the years?


Mulatto: It’s my growth in an assignment just showing I’m here to stay, this is my lane, I’m that bitch from the South, and all these Southern attachments to Mulatto’s aesthetic. It’s like Mulatto’s the tree and the branches are the songs. I know who I wanna be and why I'd like to be perceived as an artist. Rapping at 10 years old, you’re just rapping and you also don’t know where that’s going however, nevertheless the older I was getting, and right now at 21, I noticed myself, I noticed my sound, and that’s what Queen of Da Souf was.


MTV News: What does teamwork amongst female rappers mean to you, and what does group effort look like?


Mulatto: For me, it’s everything. For the industry, it’s everything. For the fans, the blogs, the culture, it’s everything. It’s setting the new tone for female rappers. We’re gonna be pitted against each other forever — it is what it is and it’s the nature of hip-hop — however as soon as we make it more inviting amongst each other, it sets a different tone. Historically, it’s habitually been just one at the best and if a new girl comes up, they’re gonna have to beef and fight for that spot. Right now, we all follow each other on Instagram, comment on each other’s photos, networking with on songs and music videos. In real life, I’m not a catty, jealous woman, so in the industry I’m not gonna be that. I'm a real-life fan of the ladies who came before me, who’s coming up and at the same level as me. I’m here for it.


MTV News: What are some things you’ve learned about yourself in 2020, especially while in the pandemic?


Mulatto: I’ve learned to be more patient. At times, I plan to rush into an assignment or rush into anything in life, yet the pandemic taught me to take it slow, regroup, reinvent, and get more creative. It also taught me that I’m very controlling and everything has to be my way or the highway. This hit us out of nowhere. I reported that I signed in March and the pandemic hit seriously in April. It totally modified every rollout plan, every idea I had, and it also taught me that everything’s not routinely going to go your way. You must be adaptable, go with the flow some days, and get creative with things that’s thrown at you.


MTV News: What’re your plans for Big Latto’s domination in 2021?


Mulatto: I feel like this deluxe [edition] is gonna wrap up 2020 and set the tone for 2021. This will show, “If this is how she’s gonna end 2020, you know how she’s coming in 2021.” Everything I did in 2020 set the tone for 2021. If I did all this while in the pandemic, then there’s nothing that could stop me. I pray and I work hard — literally, that’s it.