Something Inside Me Healed: Becky G Talks Returning to Rap & Mexican Music Roots

On a crisp day at Milan Fashion Week in February, Becky G steps into a graffiti-lined plaza of an old Italian neighborhood, setting the stage for her latest music video “Marathon” featuring elkan. Backed by her girl crew amid flashing cameras and cheering fans, the visual showcases glam and street edge set against choreographed runway struts, paparazzi — and her confident bilingual bars. Dressed in a see-through lace top hanging by a few hooks and matching red leggings, Rebbeca Marie Gomez looks and sounds confident as she preps for a new chapter in her career: one that harkens back to her Los Angeles rap roots, while consolidating her image as an international star.

“These days, people want you to stay in just one place. It’s easy to think in black and white, but I always say life is in color — I love coloring outside of the lines,” Becky G reflects, speaking to the balance between embracing her Chicana roots and her global aspirations. “Being from Inglewood is the coolest thing. But I’m a world traveler too. I take where I’m from wherever I go. That doesn’t limit me. There are no limitations to where my dreams can take me.”

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Chatting at a studio in her native Los Angeles, Becky G — who is the Global Impact honoree at Billboard‘s 2026 Latin Women In Music gala, taking place on April 23 in Miami — describes being at the Roberto Cavalli Fall/Winter 2026-27 fashion show, and the very next day shooting the “Marathon” music video. “It was just like, ‘boom boom boom.’ Like, ‘Wow, I’m living the life,’ ” she adds.

“We’re trying to make videos that feel like you don’t necessarily know where Becky is — to feel more global,” says Daniela Matos, Becky’s creative director, noting the shift from the “Miami vibe” of her earlier Latin urban music videos.

“Marathon,” the lead single off Becky G’s upcoming summer album, pulls threads from every corner of her story: the effortless way she flows between English and Spanish, the nod to her early music, and the image of an ascending international pop star hitting her stride. In the opening sequence, Becky samples “Shower,” her now billion-stream 2014 pop smash that first propelled her into stardom at just 17 years old and jumped to No. 2 on Billboard‘s Hot Rap Songs chart. This callback acts as a reminder of how far the Inglewood-bred singer has come.

“Reflecting that full circle moment was important for me, because we’ve been here,” Becky G tells Billboard today. She’s dressed in an elegant, business-like tube top, paired with heels, and her long black hair cascades all the way to her waist. As she speaks, Becky demonstrates her natural ability to code-switch, comfortably transitioning between English and Spanish throughout the interview. “I said this the other day to my fans: ‘If you know, you know. And if you don’t know, you are about to find out,’ ” she says, referencing her new music and her return to spitting rap bars, a skill that defined much of her earlier work.

Her forthcoming fifth full-length marks Becky’s return to her roots as a rapper — the same foundation that helped make her a star over a decade ago. Becky has steadily built an impressive resume: Esquinas (2023), Esquemas (2022) and Mala Santa (2019) all entered the Billboard 200 chart. She scored eight Billboard Hot 100 hits, including “MAMIII” with Karol G (a No. 15 peak), “Shower” (No. 16) and “Chanel” with Peso Pluma (No. 55). Her presence on Hot Latin Songs is even more frequent, with six top 10 entries, among them “Mayores” (No. 3 with Bad Bunny), “Sin Pijama” (No. 4 with Natti Natasha) and the chart-topping “MAMIII.”

While Becky’s past two albums — including 2024’s Encuentros, which explored rancheras and corridos — celebrated her Mexican heritage, her upcoming release represents an evolution, combining the confidence of her early rap-adjacent sound with an unapologetic pop focus. For fans who have followed her journey since the early days, Becky’s return to rapping feels less like revisiting the past and more like forging ahead.

“When I returned to my roots through Mexican music, something inside me healed,” she explains. “As an artist, I felt it gave me a chance to reconnect with my heritage, my childhood and my inner child — to embrace her and take better care of her. Just to catch up with her.

“As I was healing throughout making those albums,” Becky continues, “it allowed me to leave these things there to make room for other things. And rap is also part of my roots. Because you’ve been following me for long enough, you know that that’s how I got signed as an MC.”

Now, in what her team calls her “reverse crossover,” Becky is reclaiming her rap roots while weaving in her Latin heritage. “She started as a rapper, but she also was a singer at the same time,” says Marc Jordan, who’s been co-managing Becky G since she was 14 alongside Ben Tischker. “One thing she always said [was], ‘I want to rap again, I want to rap again, I want to rap again.’ We [started] in the general market and then into the Latin space. Now we’re back into the general market with a splash of Spanish.”

Tischker adds, “She started on the Anglo side. She’s always worked with amazing collaborators and is very good at choosing which collaborators best fit her for where she’s at in her life. One of the biggest changes over the years was to go to the Latin space, four or five years into her career — when she was 17 or 18. That opened up a whole new lane for her … Now we’re coming back into pop.”

The still-untitled new album sees her embracing every corner of her musical journey. Tracks like “Chula” dazzle with R&B reggaetón-tinged elegance, laced with dreamy instrumentation, while in “5’5,” Becky glides through glitchy electro-pop textures with sharp lyricism. “Epa” — a euphoric dance floor cut, scheduled to arrive May 15 — erupts into Spanish-language rave chaos. Then there’s “Glitch,” full of L.A.-Mexicana wordplay and one of the highlights of her new work.

“The big thing is her art has no walls. Yes, she can sing in Spanish. Yes, she can sing English. Yes, she can sing, period. But also she can rap,” says Jordan. “We call her a global pop superstar because we think that’s what she is.”

Reclaiming her “pocha power,” as Becky calls it, “is this whole expansion of my creativity [and] really owning that I am a 200-percenter in every sense of the word. For me, being pocha is not something that hinders me or hinders anybody. It’s something that adds to my music, and I’m happy that I’ve been able to embrace it in this [album].”

While it’s not new for artists to find success releasing material in both English and Spanish — veterans like Shakira, Enrique Iglesias and Ricky Martin paved the way — it’s far less common for an artist to seamlessly integrate bilingual lyrics into a song, let alone across an entire album. “The only one that’s done it right is Kali Uchis. ‘Telepatía’ is probably the best example of a successful [fully bilingual] song,” Tischker points out. “I think the world is more ready for it than it’s ever been … The hardest part about Spanglish is to not feel forced, right? Because there are a lot more [Spanglish-speaking] kids here than people realize. If it feels like it’s a marketing exercise, then it just won’t work.”

As far as Becky is concerned, “It should officially be named a language of its own,” she jokes. “People forget that language was created to communicate, to connect. Spanglish is an evolution of us 200-percenters, que no somos ni de aquí ni de allá, but I say, ‘de aquí y de allá.’ That’s how my brain sounds, that’s how I dream, that’s how my heart speaks, that’s how my creativity expresses itself.”

Now 29, Becky started her career 15 years ago, signing a joint record deal with Kemosabe Records and RCA Records, when producer Dr. Luke saw her cover of “Otis” by Jay-Z and Kanye West on YouTube. “I was rapping 30 bars straight. We shot a music video … in my grandfather’s garage,” she recalls. “It was me, my cousins and some of the directors’ kids. At that time, they hadn’t even graduated from film school just yet. We pulled all the favors out. It was literally one take. That’s the video that changed my life.”

While she was also scoring her early hits like “Booty” with C. Tangana and “Sin Pijama” with Natti Natasha, Becky G also ventured into acting, most notably in Power Rangers (2017), Gnome Alone (2017) and A.X.L. (2018). She has also made appearances in TV series like Empire and Austin & Ally. Her team teases more acting work on the way for the Inglewood native.

Her rise has not been without hardship — shaped by moments of struggle and vulnerability. Her documentary Rebbeca, which premiered last year at the Tribeca Festival, offered a glimpse into these challenges, from grappling with panic attacks before taking the stage to supporting her loved ones financially as a teenager and confronting her family’s history with addiction.

“There’s something really vulnerable in allowing yourself to be seen in that way. But it was super hard,” Becky says. “I think there was something really empowering in sharing my story, knowing that it’s not just my story, it’s a story about family. It’s a story about our community,” she adds. “Unfortunately, we’re really good at making beautiful things out of our pain. But we don’t have to stay there — we can grow from it.”

Her struggle to balance her public and private life also came into focus recently, sparking backlash after Becky announced she reconciled with her longtime partner, Sebastian Lletget, following allegations of infidelity in 2023, just months after their engagement. Speaking to Billboard, she expands on her decision to get back together with Lletget: “It’s that process where everybody’s journey looks different.” For Becky, embracing life’s ambiguities with honesty has become part of her evolution as both an artist and a person. “I’m proud,” she adds.

“It’s not easy,” says Tischker about navigating her personal life with the public. “People are always going to hate, and they’re always going to talk. But as long as you’re authentic and true to who you are — no matter what you reveal — it all makes her who she is. Trials and tribulations, and how you deal with those, produce that individual, and we think that’s a pretty awesome artistic thing.”

Becky G’s commitment to creating safe spaces for healing extends beyond her personal experiences. Through her partnership with Project Healthy Minds via her film Rebbeca, Becky advocates for mental health destigmatization in Latin communities. By partnering with this nonprofit organization, she helped amplify access to resources and support for individuals dealing with mental health concerns such as anxiety, depression, PTSD, trauma, substance use, relationship challenges and eating disorders. “If we’re going to talk about these issues, knowing that we can also provide education and resources — the spaces our community needs — was incredibly important,” says the star. “We’re not meant to go through life alone.”

“Whenever [Becky] receives a brand opportunity, there always has to be some type of philanthropic element to it,” adds Jordan. “She’s like, ‘How can I better help my community through this brand partnership?’ Oftentimes there is some type of giveback or philanthropic element.” This value-driven approach has become a hallmark of Becky’s career.

Recent examples include her partnership with the Save The Music Foundation to support school music programs, collaborations with This Is About Humanity (TIAH) and Immigrant Defenders Law Center (ImmDef) in 2024 and her work with Cheetos on the Deja Tu Huella campaign, which funds Hispanic student scholarships. In 2023, Becky also launched her horchata-inspired “Swirl-Chata” smoothie at Erewhon Market, benefitting both the Just Keep Livin’ Foundation and Justice for Migrant Women, organizations advocating for high school student empowerment and migrant equity.

It’s a pattern of giving back from an artist who understands the long game. “[I believe in] fighting for your dreams. There are no shortcuts. This stuff does not happen overnight,” she says. “In a time where it’s so easy for things to go viral, I choose to believe the story of the tortoise and the hare, slow and steady. These things, they come and they go, but the one thing that remains is always the lessons that we learn.”

Up next are projects tied to the FIFA 2026 World Cup, which couldn’t be announced at press time. But already, Becky is championing women’s sports and entrepreneurship as part-owner of Angel City Football Club, a women’s soccer team based in Los Angeles. It’s part of her longstanding pattern of taking the things that are closest to her and turning them global.

“It’s about showing up and doing the work,” she said. “It’s about believing and fighting for your dreams; supporting each other and holding that door open for other people. I know that I’m not the only one, so collaboration is really important to me. Finding other people who are just as fearless, just as passionate, just as driven, no matter where they come from, it’s the most inspiring part about what I do.”