One of the unintended benefits of the Covid-19 lockdown was spurring artist creativity. For Dominican singer Natti Natasha, it meant creating music and, for the first time ever, directing a music video — for her new single, “Que mal te fue” (You Did Badly), released June 5.
Natasha, who spent her lockdown in Puerto Rico, played around with penning a light-hearted song, one about a philandering boyfriend that goes after another girl, just to come back with his tail between his legs. “I did a preview, I posted it on my social media, saw the reaction and thought: Maybe this is what people want,” Natti Natasha told Billboard in the above video interview this week. “They want a song where they can feel something positive. Where during quarantine they can get out of the zone. Where they can dedicate it, sing to it, shout to it, dance to it.”
Which is not to say it was all about conveying fun during lockdown. Natti Natasha was featured in the Global Citizen and World Health Organization worldwide digital event “One World: Together at Home;” she joined forces with Baseball Hall of Famer Pedro Martinez and the Pedro Martinez Foundation to deliver meals to families in the Dominican Republic; and she also lent her voice to the “Resisitiré Domninican Republic,” a benefit track.
The Covid-19 crisis, she says, has been hard. “But there are people that are doing far worse than us,” she acknowledges. “So we need to feel blessed. I decided to keep growing with music, to keep creating, and stay connected with the people who follow me on social media, connect with family and be a better human being.”
When asked what she would like to tell fans in the wake of George Floyd’s murder, Natasha’s answer was unequivocal: “We have to act with solidarity,” she said. “We have to be very conscious of what’s going on. Learn about what’s going on. Learn about history. How this all started. This is the time when we have to really understand that we have to get to know the people that are going to be leading our human rights in our cities. You need to find out who they are. Learn about them, and if you really want them to be your leaders. I feel it is so important to do that because that’s where it all starts.”
On a more light-hearted note, Natasha also shared some secrets. Top of the list? She can’t swim. “I’m Dominican, I’m from the Caribbean — so you would think I naturally know how to swim,” she offers. “But I don’t. I have tried as many times as I could but I can’t. It’s the hardest thing ever.”
Watch the full video at the top of the post.
