Ones2Watch Home

Photo: @andrew_angel_

Lexa Gates blends notes of rap and jazz to tell a story completely hers on Elite Vessel.

The project serves as a label debut, a palpably matured sound that ages Gates far beyond her 23 years. As her underground sound emerges to the masses, remorseful ears that once slept on the Latinx visionary are catching up on a catalog that’s long been promising.

Her work is distinctly feminine, leaning into the waning of her emotions rather than resisting her fragility. Giving herself permission to feel at full depth and bloom art out of it is an ancestral healing, as she shares “I just want to do things for my mom and my sister and show my mom that this stuff is possible and it’s not a dream. If you can think about it, you can get it done.”

Featuring Alé Araya on “Lately, Nothing” and Zelooperz on “Sweet.. Time,” each artist only elevates the quality and spices the hue of the 12-track project. Yet despite its eclectic guests, the Queens native manages to keep the project extremely New York. She’s inviting us onto her porch, rather than acclimating to whatever everyone else is doing.

Billy Lemons’ “I Just Can’t Be Alone” feature already curated a storm of its own, garnering over a million streams on Spotify. It’s accompanying visual solidifies the young and hungry artist as steps ahead of her peers, her playful yet meticulous eye producing work that’s both bold and authentic.

“I’m acting stupid, that’s what normal girls do” anchors “Stupid,” another standout track that reveals Gates' Achilles heel. There’s a softness beneath her bite, a yearning to be seen. Speaking to the significance of the project’s title, Gates shares, “Elite Vessel is more than just a title; it’s a manifestation of everything I’m striving to become. I am the vessel, and this album represents my journey toward everything I’ve ever dreamed of— it's a surreal feeling.”

With her first headline tour set to kick off in Chicago on November 4 and conclude in Gates’ native New York November 27, Gates is clearly taking her sweet time and has no problem checking whoever dares to disagree.

Listen to Elite Vessel below: