The Argentine Singer released Una Niña Inutil today
Rising trap artist Cazzu is in her home in Argentina, surrounded by her paintings and three cats: Mu, Elvira and Gary, a black-and-white kitty who likes to leap on her lap unannounced. Her hair is dyed red, a color that –coincidentally—matches the color scheme of the cover art of her new album, Una Niña Inútil (Useless Girl), which shows her wearing a checkered red schoolgirl skirt, with roses and masking tape covering her breasts.
The album title and its contents were inspired by Diario de una niña inútil (Diary of a Useless Girl), a “diary” penned 100 years ago by Argentine feminist poet Alfonsina Storni in a subversive effort to defy the norms that dictated what women could write at the time. Cazzu, who at 26 years old has done enough subverting of her own by inserting a feminine yet feminist point of view into her music, embraced Storni’s ironic stance in this homage.
Recorded during the pandemic lockdown –with Cazzu in Argentina and her producers in Spain—Una niña inútil is both sparse and beautiful. Or as Cazzu describes it, “an auditive experiment inspired in R&B” that explores the vast realm of female emotion. Cazzu answered five questions for Billboard.
1. Una Niña Inútil. Such a great title and inspired in the writings of the early 1900s Argentine poet Alfonsina Storni, who died by walking into the sea. What would you tell your fans about the album and about Alfonsina?
The album I wanted to do is inspired in feelings that are attributed to women. I wanted to speak very honestly but not in a way that could be seen as toxic. Art is under scrutiny right now in terms of what can be said or not. There’s an artistic morality that’s intimidating. But after making the album it was really important for me to give it a concept. I decided to read poetry, and the first poet I thought about was Alfonsina. I had read her poems but I wasn’t familiar with her journalistic output. And when I read it I was amazed. One hundred years ago there was someone who had understood things even better than us today. I delved deeply into her life. It became important to me to say that there are others that came before us, who have been in this battle for a long time. Understanding the roots of such an important movement is crucial, especially when it’s mixed with love, and poetry and survival. I wanted it to feel like a gathering of friends where I said: Guys, did you know this?
2. What is your definition of feminism?
It’s an entire evolution. Feminism is born from a desire to have equality. There is no way for us to improve as human beings without feminism. There is nothing that motivates us more than being subjugated. Feminism is many things we learn. We can’t be retrospective. I can’t tell anyone, “Two years ago you said x.” Two years ago I didn’t know what I know now. One month ago I didn’t know what I know now. So it’s about understanding that you have to listen and not be afraid. Many men are afraid of having this conversation. And we as women were so rightfully angry before that it maybe provoked a rejection to listening. So, this is a process of evolution, and it’s about having a conversation and having different opinions. We’re allowed to make mistakes. Feminism is not a dictatorship.
3. Describe your album in five words:
Sensual; or maybe sexual. Honest. Irreverent. Poetic. Loving.
4. What is the must-listen song?
That’s complex because the album is made around a group of emotions. Women’s emotions, I’d say ironically, almost making fun of myself. Love, loss, anger, jealousy, possessiveness. Things we all feel, but it’s almost like only us women feel them. One song could be “Romance a la venganza.” It’s a song that deals with that oft-said line: “If I were awful. If I were a bitch, maybe they wouldn’t play with me.” I think we’ve all thought that at one point.
5. If you could go out to dinner with Alfonsina Storni, what would you talk to her about?
Anything she wants. And I would listen very carefully. She was widely known as a woman perturbed by love, when she was so much more.
