Young Miko Is Just Happy To Do What She Loves

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After two years of building hype with the backing of Latin superstars like Bad Bunny, Karol G, and Feid, Young Miko is ready to make her mark with her debut album. While at home in Puerto Rico, she breathes a sigh of relief over Zoom knowing that she finally let out the feelings attached to her new project, att. “I’ve been dying to talk about the album!” she says. “I’ve been holding everything in so much. I feel like I’m going to explode.”

Before bursting onto the Latin urban scene with over 29 million monthly listeners on Spotify, Young Miko was born María Victoria Ramírez de Arellano Cardon in Añasco, Puerto Rico. Ever the hustler, the 25-year-old has harnessed her many artistic abilities to achieve her dreams as a musician. Young Miko’s gig as tattoo artist on the island led her to connecting other creatives in the Latin urban space. Her love for drawing and being an anime fan has also made her stand out as one of urbano’s most colorful stars. “I sometimes feel like I think like an anime character,” she admits. Young Miko was referring to Asami Sato, the bisexual star of The Legend of Korra, who she regarded as a “bad bitch” in “Puerto Rican Mami.”

At her concerts, Young Miko is known for wielding her rainbow-color microphone. In 2022, she released her debut EP Trap Kitty where she boasted about her love for women in risqué bangers “Putero” and “Bi.” As an openly lesbian artist, she is carving out a space for LGBTQ+ acts that have historically been excluded from urbano genres like reggaeton and trap. Her unapologetic authenticity and swaggering flow have drawn the attention of artists that she adores. Bad Bunny featured her on his 2023 album Nadie Sabe Lo Que Va a Pasar Mañana, Karol G invited her to be an opening act on her stadium tour, and Feid collaborated with her on one of last year’s biggest hits, “Classy 101.” Later this month, Young Miko will make her Coachella debut.

Young Miko’s ascent has been fast and furious and she’s processing it all through her att.album. The title is Spanish shorthand for “atentamente” or “sincerely” in English. She lets down her hard exterior and gets sincere and vulnerable. Young Miko reunites with Feid for the sad reggaeton track “Offline,” about missing an ex that has moved on. She hits back about the lack of privacy in the defiant “Fuck TMZ.” Then there’s the cover art for the alluring “Curita” with a bandage that Young Miko drew herself. “This album has definitely been my Band-Aid,” she says.

Here, Young Miko chats with ELLE.com about the journey to her first album and empowering people through her music and platform.

You’re coming on three years since you uploaded your breakout video “105 Freestyle” to YouTube. How do you feel reaching the point in your career where you can put out your first album?

It’s the best feeling in the world. We put so much work into it that I just can’t wait to see the fruits of our labor and have people enjoy what we’ve been creating. We put so much love into it.

What’s the story behind your album att.?

We started the album before Trap Kitty came out. We had been working on it for two years now. I can’t even begin to explain to you the inspiration because so much has happened in these two years. It’s just like a brief summary of everything I got to experience for the first time in these past few years. Things that made me grow up as a person, as an artist. The album is nothing like I’ve ever done before in a more mature and vulnerable way. There are still so many tracks that are so fun. This one is definitely for myself and my fans and whoever wants to hear it. It’s like my love letter. Each song is like a page of my diary.

The album is called att., which is shorthand for “sincerely” in Spanish. One way you’ve always been sincere in your music is by singing about your attraction to other women. Can you tell me about the moment that you decided you were going to write songs that celebrate who you are?

Ever since I was little, I’ve always been that way, so I didn’t have to put that much thought into it when I started to make music. It came out just the way it came out. I was lucky enough for people to like what I was doing and accept it. I’ve felt support ever since the beginning, so it’s the best decision I’ve ever made. I’ve always felt support from my parents, from the people around me, so I want to extend that to people around me and people that listen to me.

I’m gay too. I’ve always had such a great time at your concerts because I feel like they’re a safe space where I can be myself. What does it mean to you to make Latin urban music more inclusive for the LGBTQ+ community?

I love that so much! Thank you for that, first of all. It feels so refreshing to be able to hear people say things like that, that they do feel safe in a concert or when they hear my music. We’re all freaks and we can do whatever we want and as we please. Growing up, I didn’t really have a huge artist that was queer that I got to look up to. It was more until my later teens and my early 20s that I started to discover more LGBTQ+ artists. The way I felt listening to them, I hope people feel that way as well [listening to me]. At the end of the day, that’s the kind of thing that motivates me the most. Having people feel like they do have a safe space goes way beyond me. It goes way beyond any prize, any recognition, or award. I’m just happy people do get to feel that way.

Young Miko performs at SXSW festival in March 2024.

You’re also out there proudly representing Puerto Rico. You’ve performed and collaborated with one of your island’s biggest stars, Bad Bunny. Was there any advice that he shared when you worked together?

Working with Benito was amazing. I love him! He was the most welcoming guy. He was so down to earth. He was so humble. He’s like a kid. I swear to God. He’s just so funny and unserious. He’s so goofy. He knows his words but in a very perfect, humble, and balanced way. Just by being with him in the studio, I feel like I learned so much. I did get the opportunity to just sit down with him and have deep conversations. He’s just a woke-ass person. Obviously, he’s been through so much in such little time. That I kind of do see myself in him and I think vice versa. He was just so happy to have me there and be able to talk with me. I loved every second of working with him. I hope I get to work with him again.

Another big Latin star that is a fan of yours is Karol G. She invited you to perform with her on her Mañana Será Bonito Tour and you later starred as her love interest in her “Contigo” video. What have you learned from working with her?

Karol is one of my girls! I love her so much! We have a great friendship. We’re very close. She’s the type of friend I could call up right now and she’ll probably answer the phone no matter how busy she is. Even though I’ve learned from her as an artist, I’ve also learned from her as a person. She’s definitely one of the people I admire the most in this world, and getting to work with her up-close was such a huge inspiration and motivation for me. It’s also a reality check, like, “I can’t believe I’m working with you. You’re so established and you don’t have to work with up-and-coming artists because you’re the top of the food chain. People are killing themselves to work with you.” She was so open. She was the one that reached out [to me]. I hope that I get to do that as well where I’m in a huge position where I get to help people come up more. Working with her has definitely been one of the best experiences ever.

Young Miko and Karol G at the 2024 Billboard Women In Music awards.

Going back to the album, you reunited with Feid for the song “Offline.” After scoring a global hit with “Classy 101,” how would you describe the experience of teaming up with him once again?

“Offline” is a vulnerable track. It’s kind of me accepting the fact that this person is over me, and I’m not over them, and that’s fine. Accepting that is also the process of moving forward. I do love me some sad Feid. There’s Ferxxo and then there’s Feid—I feel like this track has Feid on it. I’ve also wanted to do a sad reggaeton song with him. I think we did hit the spot. Even though it’s a sad vibe, it’s kind of like a “why am I crying in the club right now?” song. It still feels pretty fun. I hope people get to enjoy it and be excited about the fact that we got to collaborate again. There are artists, for example Arcángel and Bad Bunny, where you know they’re a duo and every time they work together, they make a smash. I feel that way about Ferxxo. I feel that way about Karol too. I just hope I can keep working with them, and here we go, two for two.

This album is definitely showing another side to who you are. What would you say is the song on it that means the most to you?

I think the most personal song on the album would be “En La Pichi Interlude” or “Fuck TMZ.” It’s the first time I’ve ever been so vulnerable on a track. It’s the first time I’ve ever gotten to open up to the general public. It’s also my first time being in front of the public eye. I have a lot of first time-experiences being a public figure doing this album. Those two songs I mentioned, there’s not a possible way that I could’ve been more vulnerable. They’re so straight to the point. They’re so self-explanatory. I had to vent in something, so might as well be my music. It makes me nervous having people listening to that train of thought. But we all get it. We all have our days when we’re a little more down than usual. I think that’s fine because, if not, we wouldn’t recognize the good things.

A great thing coming up in your career are your sets at the Coachella music festival. How do you feel to soon perform on one of the biggest stages in the world?

Oh my God! It’s nerve-racking, but I’m so excited. I’m glad I got to do [a round of concerts in] Mexico before Coachella. That wasn’t even planned, but Mexico ended up motivating me even more. I was missing the stage. I’m just excited to be able to perform for, like you said, one of the biggest festivals in the world. I definitely dreamt about it. I didn’t know it was going to actually happen. We’ve been preparing for months now. I’m going to get to sing songs from the album for the first time. I can’t wait to perform all of those together.

What can people expect from a Young Miko show at Coachella?

I always like to bring the energy, the charisma. I always try to interact with the crowd anytime I get the opportunity to. I just hope they get to experience a fun show. They can expect that we’re definitely going to enjoy each other’s presence because I sure as hell am going to enjoy being on that stage and getting to perform these songs for the first time. Just like a new show, a lot of energy, and a good-ass time.

You’ve already accomplished so much before putting out this first album and you’re just getting started. What more do you hope to achieve next?

I want to be able to keep doing what I’m doing. And keep feeling that I evolve, that I grow, and that I’m happy with what I do. The evolution of Young Miko is very present in this project. I hope I get to see the same people that are beside me still there. To be healthy mentally, physically. To feel loved. That’s what I aspire for the most out of life. And to be able to look back and be like, “Damn, I regret absolutely nothing and I think I had a fun life. I’m happy I was able to do what I love.” I’m pretty happy with what I’m doing right now. I’m excited for the future. I just want to keep feeling excited about the future.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.