Snow Tha Product has long been known in her career for being outspoken. On Aug. 14, the Mexican-American rapper released her new song and music video for “SABADO,” giving fans and new listeners yet another glimpse into her politically charged mind. For those who don’t know her music well, this might sound like trendy headline bait, but day one fans know she’s always been unapologetic about what’s politically and culturally affecting the Mexican-American community.
Produced by DJ Pumba and Snow, “SABADO” is a high-energy, pulsing EDM track that starts with slowly-increasing and intriguing acoustic guitar chords as she calls out her family members who voted for President Trump. What makes the song infectious is the rapper’s humorous wordplay that is as hilarious as it is traumatically relatable. On the track, Snow is trying to guess which of her family members voted for Trump, with each descriptive line reminding me of a certain someone from my family. When she said, “Yo creo fue la prima que pa’ tener hijos güeros / Con un güero americano se casó [I think it was my cousin who wanted to have blond children / So she married a white American],” I laughed out loud, because til this day, some of my older family members think dating white Americans is a level-up.
After listening to “SABADO,” I immediately shared it with close friends. I wanted to share online and tag my cousins as a “This is you” type of thing. But honestly, it’s a deeper conversation on the brink of boiling over. I decided to wait until a better time in person, such as the holiday season. While others think the holidays may be “too much,” it isn’t. What’s “too much” would be me sharing a meal side-by-side with a supporter of someone who’s against my rights. Their rights. Our family’s rights. If Snow Tha Product has nothing to lose in front of thousands of viewers, politicians, advertisers, and the entire music industry, neither do you.
And it’s not like Snow hasn’t gotten shunned by political talk before this presidential election, either. Many social media users frequently press the rapper for “all of a sudden” speaking up about being Mexican. But besides her taking out her receipts to prove her career’s trajectory of talking about our rights, let’s make it even more straightforward. In an era where the once-unreachable and globally-respected Aguilar Dynasty is making sure they add the word “legal” when speaking about themselves as Mexican-Americans, and saying how people should “do things legally to really be part of this wonderful country” during their borderline performative “political” speeches, Snow is showing up at protests and releasing songs like “SABADO” for our Latine communities without fear of retribution.
“It’s very on brand for me to be in things that are ‘taboo.’ Whether I’m going to a Pride event, or I’m going to a women’s event, or going to a Mexican or immigrant event, or I’m going to a protest – all these things… I show up,” Snow Tha Product said in a recent interview with Remezcla about showing up for what’s important to her. “I definitely take the responsibility – I’m not going to say I’m a huge artist [but] if I have the fan base and the people that have supported me, I also have the responsibility of showing up in those moments when I’m needed.”
If Snow Tha Product has nothing to lose in front of thousands of viewers, politicians, advertisers, and the entire music industry, neither do you.
She continued, “To me, if it’s about uplifting women, I’m going to show up. If it’s about uplifting Latinos, I’m going to show up. If it’s about queer people, I show up. The day that I no longer make music or that I’m not here anymore, I would like for people to at least know that when it was important, I showed up.” And with “SABADO,” she sure did.
Moments like this song release remind us why we shouldn’t dismiss artists as “just entertainers.” They carry influence, turning lived experience into something that cuts through, that resonates. Snow knows how music can ignite the dialogue many of us are hesitant to start — like myself. I want to show up more for our community, even when it means having uncomfortable conversations with my own family. Because if an artist can risk backlash from fans, labels, and advertisers, the least I can do is risk tension at the dinner table. The power of art: it not only entertains, it pushes us to act.
