Snow Tha Product is plowing her way through 29 cities from coast to coast as part of her new album and tour, with a stop in Dallas tonight/Thu.
Recorded at her home studio in California, Before I Crash Out compiles boisterously addicting bilingual anthems with hard-cutting, fast-paced personal confessions, rapping about the parties, the people, and the events that have shaped her life as an American Latina.
Releasing a 26-track record and traveling cross-country does seem like an unorthodox way to combat the burnout that Snow says inspired this burst of creativity, but the tour is symbolic to her. She is demonstrating how to not only keep moving forward but to also beat the self-defeatism that she says was following her since becoming fully independent nearly a decade ago. The album has already produced a few viral hits, including “Sábado.”
The bouncing, comedic confrontation track, Snow said, was “basically written on a livestream. We made that beat from scratch, and the whole song … was fairly quick, and, honestly, it went kind of viral before I even released it, because the fans grabbed a screen recording of it, and they put it on TikTok, so that was pretty cool.”
Snow says she has a natural writing process. Some songs pour out quickly while others need to steep, be backed away from, or even forgotten about temporarily for them to be ready in an authentic way later. The beat for her recent release, “Clase de Ingles,” was two years old by the time she decided what to say with it.
Writing full blast with fearless emotion and addressing issues directly, Snow admits there are songs she left alone for a while because they made her cry, including “No Traigo Nada,” about the emotional journeys, defeats, and triumphs of the first-generation immigrant experience. The title simultaneously translates to “I have nothing” and “nothing’s wrong, I’m fine.”
Snow also has to push through “Mariposa,” dedicated to a loving fan who has since passed. Everything Snow writes is powerfully personal and authentic.
Early in her career, Snow released her accolade-laden debut album Unorthodox (2011) that was later shelved by her label, Atlantic Records. Recognizing her own power in the situation, she dumped Atlantic in 2018. Refusing to wallow in self-pity, Snow built her own empire that year, Product Entertainment. She now releases all her music and videos independently, just like she used to when she first started out, with her brother doing her videos and her cousin making her merch.
At first, Snow suffered from imposter syndrome. “We didn’t think we could ever do it alone. … Growing up with parents from another country, a lot of times they just want you to keep your head down, just work, don’t take up too much space.”
It took a minute, but Snow and her team accepted that they did not have to sign with someone else to be successful. “Ultimately, I think that’s where the disconnect is. Sometimes if a company that you’re working with doesn’t understand the actual product, no pun intended, then you need to go and make your own proof of concept.”
She thrived without the expectations and formulas and quotas from a traditional label. Snow is passionate about her culture, which she raps about at spitfire speed. Although being independent has allowed her to work with her own team, it also means you have to do everything, especially your own marketing and organizing, and some people just want to make music. Citing attention to detail as one of the few perks women have as underrepresented players in rap, and having ADHD, Snow works on many projects simultaneously. Conquering tough topics on culture and life itself, Snow does not know fear and restraint. She may not be independent forever, but right now that is what works.
“I get in where I fit in,” she said.
All efforts are paying off. Snow received her first Latin Grammy nomination in 2021 for her collaboration with Bizzarap, “BZRP Music Sessions #39.”
A few years ago, feeling the urge for some personal peace and to fortify her ties to her Mexican roots, she bought a ranch in California. Living, working, and playing there has allowed her to practice gratitude, to wake up with a hot coffee and fresh air, to record a music video and drop it the same day, all from home. It is the dream setup for a creative soul.
Snow Tha Product does have local roots, too. From 2010 to 2016, she lived in Fort Worth, where she gave birth to her son. She has a special love for North Texas, she says, especially the good food. Along with performing locally, Snow was known for selling her own CDs at Traders Village in Grand Prairie.
“Honestly,” Snow said, “a lot of what I have now started in Fort Worth, from my screenprinting to shooting music videos to recording my music, everything. I could say that I got my bearings and really built there. I started in California, but something really switched in me when I moved to Texas.”
Returning to North Texas on her Before I Crash Out tour is almost like a homecoming. “I love all the people that have supported me from the beginning there, so it’s definitely nice to see everybody and see the original Dallas woke.”
Snow Tha Product
7pm tonight/Thu w/James Elizabeth at The Bomb Factory, 2713 Canton St, Dallas. $54.40. 214-749-5757.
