“Esta ambición me está matando” (“This ambition is killing me”) are the first words Nathy Peluso belts out in “Corleone”, the bold opening track of her new powerful album, GRASA. This phrase sets the tone for this sophomore effort, which reveals a more mature and emboldened Nathy who asserts her unique capabilities as a songwriter and performer, seamlessly navigating rap, ballads, and tropical genres. For the first time, the Argentine-born, Spain-based artist reveals a more intimate and personal side in her lyrics, unafraid to open up about the growing pains and creative crises that come with fame, success and the pressures of modern stardom.

Nathy co-produced and co-wrote the 15 tracks in the album. Most tracks are the result of a close collaboration with Venezuelan musician and producer Manuel Lara (Kali Uchis, Bad Bunny) who also serves as executive producer with Nathy. ‘GRASA’ draws visual and stylistic inspiration from a diverse array of references - the cinematic grandeur of mafia lore, 1970s NYC salsa, current icons like Kendrick Lamar - but grounded in a contemporary sound. The album feels like the soundtrack of Nathy’s current moment as she pushes boundaries and defies expectations in her craft. It’s also the triumphant result of a deeply personal journey.

Her critically acclaimed 2020 debut album Calambre catapulted Nathy to fame and success, winning “Best Alternative Album” at the 2021 Latin GRAMMYs, scoring hits with Bizarrap, C Tangana and Tiago PZK, playing Coachella, selling out two Movistar Arenas in Buenos Aires and touring all over Spain. But her signature zeal and grueling work ethic came at a personal cost. In between performing, brand deals and releasing new music, in 2022 and 2023 she quickly got to work in the writing and production of new material that would serve as a follow up album. “It’s rooted in me, I’m a strong woman, but I lost track of my own humanity,” she says of her self-imposed high standards, which coupled with the pressures of the industry, and a series of romantic heartbreaks, compromised her mental health and left her emotionally unfulfilled. “I was like a robot telling myself, ‘I’m a gladiator’. But I had to relearn how to enjoy simple things in life that were not work.”

She credits her mentor and friend, Argentine icon Fito Páez, with helping her find her creative center. Last summer, she decided to take a break and go on a vacation. Nathy and Páez ended up in the same location on vacation, and she confided in him that she felt “so lost.” Nathy arrived at a hard realization: she had to discard the 20 plus tracks that didn’t feel right. She felt she was letting her team and everybody around her down. Páez encouraged her to find a conceptual framework to create new music.“Something so small, so simple ignited something in me and sent me off to focus,” says Nathy.

GRASA is anchored in three musical pillars: hip hop, tropical and ballads and she embodies these different genres with craft, precision and skill. Thematically, is Nathy’s own personal soundtrack with a cinematic velour. She says: “It stems from my private life and my honesty. Previous songs I’ve done have been perhaps more fantastical, I’ve made up imaginary characters…This album is deeply personal.”

Going to therapy and taking time off helped Nathy replenish herself as a person and as an artist, to learn once again how to enjoy the music creation process. “This album takes the learnings of what I went through. I’ve decided to talk about my private life, which is something I had never exposed before,” she says.

Fans will be delighted to hear Nathy’s rapping in full force across several tracks in GRASA, something she wanted to do more of for them. In “Todo Roto”, featuring Paco Amoroso and Ca7riel, she delivers strong bars and invites listeners on a journey of self-discovery, challenging them to confront their fears and embrace their true selves, along with her. Another rap, “Aprender a Amar,” is an ode to self-love co-written and co-produced by indie alternative artist pablopablo. “It’s like a mantra I’m telling myself and the whole world,” says Nathy. “It’s essential and you can’t achieve it overnight. It’s work until the day you die.”

For Nathy, the single “Legendario” is the most powerful track in the album, “In the end, what matters is doing something that lasts, whether it's small or huge, but something in which you feel that you did the best and that remains for your history,” she says. “I’ve learned to enjoy what I’m most passionate about, which is writing, being an artist, and embrace my own sensibility.”

For Lara, Nathy is on her way to becoming legendary herself. “Legends break the mold, reinvent themselves. Nathy has that.”

Nathy and Lara clicked at the studio and after that, ‘GRASA’ ended up coming together very fast, in three sessions over six weeks at Sony’s 5020 Studios in both Madrid and Miami. “He is committed, hard-working, respectful, and contributes wonderful things all the time. He’s a Maserati,” she says of Lara. Together, they figured out the framework the album needed (the 1983 iconic movie “Scarface” was always playing in the studio as a visual inspiration throughout the sessions). “The album has a tinge of Tarantino-esque violence, of danger, of passion, of breaking the rules, which represents me because I’m very passionate,” says Nathy. She came in with lyrics and was ready to let go and truly collaborate with Lara as well as multi instrumentalist Ben Aller.

“Nathy is like Pandora’s box, a mix of so many things. She knows exactly what she wants”, says Lara, who has a degree in Music Engineering and Production from Berklee College of Music. “The way she expresses her ideas lyrically is one of the most amazing things I’ve ever seen.” Additional production credits include Colombian producer Casta (Karol G, Manuel Turizo), frequent Nathy collaborator Didi Gutman (María José Llergo, Brazilian Girls) and Sony’s own Rafael Arcaute.

In Spanish, ‘GRASA’ evokes many different meanings and cultural subtexts, especially in her native Argentina, where the word can mean “tacky”, “tasteless” or “vulgar”. But Nathy, like her music, doesn’t want to limit herself to one definition: it could be how she proudly flaunts her body that doesn’t fit the mold of heteronormative expectations while publicly revering a slice of pizza or pasta on her social media feeds. Or it could evoke the richness of her musical arrangements, or even her zealous, all-in attitude of getting her hands dirty, in everything she does. She wants to reclaim the word and make it part of her universe: “For me it’s a state of mind, a lifestyle,” she says.

Standout track ‘La Presa’, marks the third salsa song in Nathy’s repertoire, after “Un veneno” in Calambre and single “Mafiosa”. A salsa song in the classic vein of Hector Lavoe or Rubén Blades, “La Presa '' counts with Venezuelan songwriter-producers Servando Primera and Yasmil Morrufo and is blessed with backup vocals by none other than Jerry Rivas, Luisito Carrión and members of El Gran Combo de Puerto Rico. It’s rare to hear a young female artist masterfully and so sumptuously deliver a salsa song from a woman’s point of view. On top of that, Nathy imbues what could be a mere romantic trope with satire and dark humor.

In “Manhattan”, featuring Argentine trap artist Duki, she rises above her haters. It’s rare to hear Nathy addressing them fully-on, but again she stays authentic to her experiences of the last four years as part of her raw honesty. Likewise “Envidia”, preceded by an intro from no other than C-Tangana, is also a theatrical, even humorous take on how poisonous society can be. “Humor is what keeps me alive, I swear,” says Nathy about having the last laugh. “God will always give you an opportunity, but it’s up to you whether you take advantage of it or whether you waste your energy worrying about other people's business.”

In an industry often characterized by superficiality, Nathy's authenticity shines through, reminding us that you can be an ambitious powerful woman while also showing vulnerability and being open about navigating life’s challenges.

In that vein, “El día que perdí mi juventud,” is a nostalgic acoustic tune reminiscent of Argentine rosarina trova or Argentine rock pioneer Litto Nebbia. It features producer Dev Hynes (who records under the artistic name Blood Orange) on guitar. Nathy and Hynes, who has produced for Solange, Sky Ferreira, recorded it together at his home studio in London.

In ‘GRASA’, Nathy revels in a newfound willingness to delve into her personal experiences and innermost thoughts. She acknowledges the pressures of fame and the relentless pursuit of success, yet remains resilient in her commitment to self-expression. She goes all in, uncompromising in showing herself vulnerable and the dark side of fame. She can still be a businesswoman but the struggle is also part of the journey. And she shows us her journey. “It never crosses my mind to throw in the towel. Never. But at what cost? I was empty and dead inside, but kept pushing forward. I needed to recover,” she says. “In this album I feel I can tell my story from a healthier perspective, after having healed certain things but sharing everything that took to get here.”