Many 20-year-olds count down until they can flash an ID in exchange for a drink on their 21st birthday.
For the artistLexa Gates, turning 21 marked the first day of her sobriety.
A stealthy swipe of a big ass bottle of Henny from the airport.
Lexa Gatesat home in Queens, New York on October 11, 2024.Lanna Apisukh for Rolling Stone
Gates started making music in her teens, putting her first releases all over SoundCloud.
The album got pickup from small music publications as well as digital platforms like On the Radar Radio.
On the album, she stays true to her mellow sound but with new confidence.
(SZArecently noticed and shouted her out in an Instagram story this summer.)
Because I am that girl whos down and dirty from the fucking basement that didnt go to school …
But this is like, I dont know, Im just a baby.
BeforeElite Vesselcame out, Gates promoted the album with some performance art.
(Shes now signed with Capitol and GoodTalk.)
Its crazy because with the label now it takes so long I didnt know, she says.
But now I kind of feel like I have to make the music more timeless, she says.
When asked about the music shes working on now thatElite Vesselis finished, she gets excited.
Thats the stuff thats really gonna be life-changing for me on a huge scale.
The first show she ever saw was the 1975, where she vividly remembers frontmanMatty Healyswine-wielding stage presence.
He was, like falling, she recalls.
She says now that his nonchalant vibe is something she wants to emulate when shes performing.
Yeah, Im into having money right now.
