Cali-born rapper Snow tha Product is having a killer summer. Not only is she featured in the “Immigrants (We Get The Job Done)” single from The Hamilton Mixtape, the video for which dropped back in June. Now she’s headed to your television screen. The self-described “woke AF” spitter — a label that’s found her at the center of intense and worthwhile debates about appropriation and colorism — is joining the second season of USA’s Queen of the South.
The action-packed American remake of La reina del sur (which recently got renewed) is welcoming Snow for a three-episode arc. She’ll be playing a Little Traviesa, a quick-witted woman running a prison drug trafficking operation through her gang members on the inside. The role, she admits, is precisely what her mom didn’t want her to become. But that’s what made it all the more fun.
Ahead of joining the crew in Dallas, she binge-watched the entire show on Netflix and got even more excited about getting to work with this kickass group of Latina women led by its Brazilian star, Alice Braga. And while she very much enjoyed getting her own sweet gun to play with, it took her a while to get used to the violent scenes that characterize the high-octane drug trafficking series. At one point she even had to make sure her co-star hadn’t actually been hurt (spoiler alert: she’d just witnessed really great acting). After years of making a name for herself as a rapper, her time on the Queen of the South set may have helped her find a new outlet for her artistic inclinations; don’t be surprised if she shows up on another one of your favorite shows.
During Remezcla’s visit to the Dallas set of Queen of the South, we got a chance to sit down and take part in a conversation with the rapper-turned-actress just before she was set to record “Run That,” an original song written specifically for the banner USA show. Check out some highlights from our chat.
Snow tha Product’s three-episode arc on Queen of the South starts tonight, August 17. Queen of the South airs Thursdays at 10 p.m. EST on USA.
Could you tell us a bit about your character on season 2 of Queen of the South?
My character is “Little T” or “Little Traviesa.” Teresa and I meet when she’s needing some help…I’m basically trying to prove myself to her. It’s real dope because we have great chemistry. It’s honestly my first time ever acting on TV…It’s just really awesome and really authentic. I’m known in my personal career as being very proudly Mexican and representing for Latinos, so it’s a really cool way to incorporate people from outside of just the show.
How has the transition from music to acting been?
I think it was very natural. I direct most of my own music videos. And I act in them, and it’s sort of the same. You know, when you’re having a bad day as an artist and then you have to go on stage, you still have to put on that front. You have to put on what they wanna see…There’s a little bit of a difference in terms of it being somebody else’s vision. But I think it’s really dope because the writers have been working with me. They took me out and asked, “What do you see? Is there anything you wanna change?” and I think that’s what made it so authentic and dope. And you get to freestyle a bit because if you’re forgetting your lines, they’re like “Just keep going!” With rap, I have such a long history of rapping and maybe not getting the props that I think I deserve for the work I’ve put in. So it gets to be a little chip on your shoulder, whereas this is so brand new.
What was it like working with Alice?
I think any other character might’ve been difficult. I feel like I did cheat a little by being a character who is so similar to how I grew up. They needed tattoos — they’re already there. The eyeliner and the chola eyebrows were already here. And then, working with [Alice] was just — she’s a super good actress. The first time we acted together and she threw a line at me I stopped. She’s so good and so intense!
What can you tell us about the single you’re recording for the show?
I’m on my way to do that right now! I have the beat. And I’m pretty much gonna make it up on the spot. I usually do it like this, because I don’t want to overthink it. Or do too much. It usually flows really well. As long as they tell me what the general concept or idea is. It’s all about female empowerment and trying to make it in a man’s world. I’m trying to make sure I kill it.
