Bktherula’s long-awaited album, N5ON, is officially out, and with it come fourteen tracks and a definitive refusal to be boxed in. The heaviest electronic production of her career crashes into her rap, taking her project into territory she’s only beginning to map. She shows no intention of turning back, and if that sound has earned her a spot at Deftones’ festival, she might be onto something.
She’s been putting out music on SoundCloud since she was thirteen, so at twenty-four, switching things up hardly comes out of nowhere. Still, hearing her sing in Spanish wasn’t exactly on my bingo card. So, if N5ON has left you with any questions, you might find some answers here. We talk about her creative process, how the unexpected collab with underscores came to life, getting her own Fortnite emote, her songs becoming TikTok trends, and how the Bktherula type beats will need to change from now on.
You described Lucy, your previous album, as transitional. What does this new LP represent for you?
This new album represents that I’m fully and finally in it and just having fun. In the moment. That’s it.
I saw you posted this picture of a man breaking free from his handcuffs when promoting the album on Instagram. Has it been a hard process?
Honestly, yes, a little difficult. You have to do a lot to get to where you want to be. So, it’s been a little stressful. But I’m here, you know, hence the picture of him breaking free (laughs). That’s how I feel.
Are you the kind of artist who goes into full-on camp mode and immerses herself in a project until it’s done?
Yes, one hundred percent. I have to indulge in it. Sometimes, my producers and I will set up camps in different places. One time we went to Joshua Tree National Park in California. It was so dope. For another album, we went up to the mountains. And for another one, we went to the beach. We’ll set up camps in different places, and we’ll just stay there for up to two or three weeks and rock out.
How long have you been working on this album?
Honestly, about a year now.
“Every artist who has this superstar power and paves the way for different flows is coming out of Atlanta.”
That’s not so long.
Yeah, maybe less than a year. This one came together pretty fast. Actually, it was supposed to be an EP and then it became an album.
There were already little hints of this electronic sound on tracks like Code, from your 2024 album LVL5 P2. Is it something that you’ve been consciously wanting to explore for a while, or did it come naturally?
I feel like my music gets more electronic as I go. I think it just grew into what it is today.
Which artists do you think have influenced this sound?
Skrillex, for sure. Also, deadmau5 and Subtronics. There’s a lot. Oh, and Excision. He’s great.
And outside of electronic music, who else has been inspiring you lately?
I really love Zara Larsson lately, man. And Sabrina Carpenter. I’ve been very inspired by how they are on stage and their visuals. Also, Ninajirachi’s visuals are crazy. So, I’ve been watching them a lot. And PinkPantheress, let me not forget.
People have been uploading Bktherula type beats on YouTube for a while now. Do you think this album will inspire more rappers to experiment with electronic sounds?
Yes, I definitely think so. And I think it’s going to be fun to watch the Bktherula type beats change. That’ll be fun to see.
Addicted2U was the first track you released from the album, and the collab with underscores caught everyone by surprise. How did it come about?
I’d seen that she’d either done a remix of one of my songs or DJ’d one of my songs, Big Feeling, in one of her sets. It went viral on Twitter and people were like, ‘oh, my gosh, my worlds are colliding’ or something. So I started listening to her music and I was like, yo, she’s turned. So, I hit her up in the DM and I was like, I think I have a song for you that you could really like. She’s been listening to me for a long time, since 2019, so she was super down. She got on the track, and it was beautiful. She added more production to the song, and it was crazy. It was just really good.
And then, on this album, you’ve remixed Big Feeling again. What made you bring that song back?
Man, it’s just such a universal track. When it dropped, so many people were already making remixes to it. It was so cool to listen to them all. So, I was like, you know what? Fuck it. I’m going to make a remix to it and bring it back one more time.
The second-to-last track, Jevitas, is mostly in Spanish. What inspired that choice?
This was actually at one of the camps. We decided to go up to the mountains. We were fully isolated, with nothing around. So I was listening to the beat and I was like, this shit kind of sounds fire. I had just come from Spain; I was there on a break in Ibiza with Nude Project. And that’s how I was feeling still, so I started speaking Spanish on the track. I had to call my dad because I was like, ‘Does this make sense?’ I had to make sure it made sense to him because I was going off of what I remembered. But he told me it was fire, and I ended up getting him on the track.
“I’m cool with the TikTok stuff. Like, keep running it up because now my emote is in Fortnite.”
Oh, so that’s him on the song. That’s cool. I also wanted to ask you about tracks like Left Right becoming TikTok trends. How do you feel about that whole phenomenon?
Honestly, it’s pretty cool. It’s dope because you can find cool artists. And, you know, that’s how a lot of people found me too. And I honestly love the dances. Speaking of that, this Sunday, the dance to Big Feeling is going to be in Fortnite. So, I’m cool with the TikTok stuff. Like, keep running it up because now my emote is in Fortnite (laughs).
Now, this one’s mandatory: Is there any news about the unreleased album with Lil Uzi? Will it see the light of day eventually?
Honestly, with artists, you never know. On my last album, Lucy, there are a couple of songs that are five to six years old that I never thought I was going to drop, and then I ended up dropping them. So, you never know.
Fair enough. I’ve asked other artists from Atlanta this too, but there’s so much talent coming out of the city that the answer is probably always going to be different. Who’s someone from there you think deserves way more recognition?
I feel like there are too many for me to say. I have too many friends there. But on that note, I would say that just Atlanta in general needs more recognition. Even though it already has it, it needs more, because every single artist who has this superstar power and paves the way for different flows is coming out of Atlanta. I’m talking producers, painters, and different things like that, too. So, I would say just Atlanta as a whole.
What can we expect from you after this album?
You can expect another album right after. It is actually already done, so I’m going to drop it right after N5ON. I’m staying on everybody’s necks.
