Lexa Gates is ready to surprise herself

Lexa Gates isn’t feeling very talkative today. Perhaps that’s because it’s still pretty early in LA – she’s in the city to do some ​“sessions and meetings”. Or maybe it’s because the 23-year-old is still adjusting to the whole professional recording artist thing: the schedules, the interviews, the pressure. It can be disorientating.

​“I didn’t realise how serious it can get,” Lexa says, laughing nervously. ​“It felt calm at first, but it’s definitely gotten overwhelming.”

Born and raised in Queens, New York, Lexa’s love of music comes from her mum, who got her singing lessons as a kid and played Alicia Keys and early-noughties hip-hop around the house. It wasn’t a plain sailing childhood, though: Lexa dropped out of school at 15 and, for a brief period of time, lost sight of her childhood dream of becoming a professional singer. It wasn’t until she started making her own music, aged 17, that she found her way back.

​“I had just gone through a break-up and it was that SoundCloud era where everybody figured out they could make a diss track or record stuff on GarageBand,” she says. ​“At first, I was just joking. Now, [writing songs] feels like some spiritual fucking outer body flow state – like, essential to my being.”

Hence the title of Lexa’s new album, Elite Vessel, which is out today. ​“It’s supposed to be about who I am, or who I’m trying to be, and [how] that identity suddenly became true,” she says. “[Before] I didn’t realise the power that I held. I didn’t know how far making music or art could go.”

Elite Vessel is Lexa’s fifth record, but it’s the first she’s released since signing her major label deal with Capitol this year. This, she says, has played a big role in elevating her sound – she’s no longer rapping over YouTube beats, but rather lush live instruments and astute samples engineered by seasoned producers.

Take the album’s lead single, I Just Can’t Be Alone. Made in collaboration with Billy Lemos (Omar Apollo, Tinashe), the song soups up The Green Berets’ 1998 soul track (Lord) Send Me Somebody, pairing it with Lexa’s diaristic lyricism to create a genre-meld that sounds like the lovechild of Amy Winehouse and Doja Cat.

This autumn, Lexa will be embarking on her very own headline tour around the US. How’s she feeling about that? ​“I’m really excited!” she says. ​“I’m ready to surprise myself.”

Describe your personality…

Sarcastic – that’s what people say. And I think I’m very philosophical.

What’s a bad habit you wish you could kick?

I’m like, straight edge: I don’t drink, I don’t smoke, I don’t have casual sex. I guess the bat habit that I wish I could kick would be anxiety. Or being human. I wish I was a robot.

Love, like, hate?

One thing that I love? Myself. I like fish. And I don’t hate anything.

What do you think about when you’re in the shower?

What I’m gonna wear when I get out.

What do you usually decide on?

I want to look classy. I’m in a constant battle between officewear and streetwear. I want to wear a big T‑shirt and a pleated skirt with stockings and heels. A little bit of both.

How would you describe your music?

Sexy, fire, scary, psychedelic and authentic.

What’s your most treasured possession?

That’s a good question. My phone or my Rolex – I got it as a gift when I got signed.

What would you like to be reincarnated as?

Probably like a rock, or something that doesn’t have to, like, do anything.

What’s the first song you heard where you thought, ​“Oh my God, this amazing”?

I have that for so many songs! But the first was probably IV. Sweatpants by Childish Gambino. Now, I don’t think that’s the most amazing song I’ve ever heard in my life, but at the time I was like woah. [The most recent song is] Juna by Clairo.

What is the meaning of life?

To just be. To experience everything – the good emotions, the bad ones, the shit that’s just nothing special and those moments that are transformative.