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Natti Natasha: “I feel like people want to see the real stuff"

Natti Natasha on Bachata, Love’s Realities, and Making Music That Lasts

Natti Natasha is embracing Bachata like it’s an old friend she hasn’t seen in years. Or maybe more like a lover she’s finally ready to commit to. Either way, Natti Natasha en Amargue isn’t just a Bachata album—it’s a statement. It’s a full-circle moment. It’s the kind of record that doesn’t just dip a toe into the genre; it lets it completely take over.

“This is a moment of being real, of being true to myself,” she says. “I wanted to make music that reflects exactly where I am, and this is it.”

It’s been three years in the making, written and produced by none other than Romeo Santos, the self-crowned King of Bachata. “I mean, who would’ve thought?” she says, shaking her head. “I used to listen to Romeo Santos while I was still living in the Dominican Republic. He was this legend, this guy who was revolutionizing Bachata, taking it global. And now, here I am, sitting in the studio with him, watching him create.” She leans back, laughing. “It’s surreal. Like, how does it get better than this?”

But Natti Natasha en Amargue isn’t just about big names and dreamy collaborations. It’s a personal album, filled with stories of love, heartbreak, and everything in between. “Bachata is about real lyrics, real feelings. It’s about dying for love,” she says, her voice dipping into something almost conspiratorial. “It’s passionate. It’s raw. You can’t half-ass Bachata.”

The first single, Quiéreme Menos (Love Me Less), sets the tone. It’s a phrase that doesn’t exactly scream romance, but that’s the point. “Five years ago, I would have never said that,” she admits. “Back then, I was still looking for love, still searching for something. Now, I get it. Love isn’t just about wanting more and more—it’s about wanting the right things, the real things. That song is me, now, in this moment.”

And then there’s Besos Mojados, a song that takes on a topic that, as Natasha puts it, “no one ever really talks about.” In it, she sings about a relationship where the love has faded but the expectations haven’t. “It happens,” she says, shrugging. “You’re with someone, you’re giving them everything, and one day, you realize—you’re not getting the same in return. And yeah, sometimes that means in bed, too.” She raises an eyebrow. “It’s taboo, right? Women aren’t supposed to say that. But why not? Why pretend?”

For an artist who’s made a career out of genre-hopping, Natti Natasha en Amargue isn’t a reinvention as much as it is a homecoming. “I grew up with Bachata. Even when it wasn’t cool, even when it was still underground in the Dominican Republic, I was listening to it,” she says. “Now, it’s everywhere, and I get to be part of that history. That means something to me.”

The guitars on the album are as lush as you’d expect from a project with Romeo Santos’ fingerprints all over it, but Natasha swears she didn’t have to change her vocal approach much. “People ask me if I had to sing differently, and the answer is no,” she says. “I bring the genre to me, not the other way around. It doesn’t matter if it’s Bachata, reggaeton, R&B, salsa, EDM—I make sure you know it’s Natti Natasha. That’s the whole point.”

The video for Quiéreme Menos takes things a step further, showing her in a vulnerable moment. “I feel like people want to see the real stuff. The struggles, the triumphs, the ugly parts, the beautiful parts—everything,” she says. “The world doesn’t need more fake moments. It needs more real ones. Urgently.”

It’s not lost on her that this album could define a new era in her career, but she’s not sweating it. “I don’t want to make music for the moment. I want to make music forever,” she says, like it’s the easiest thing in the world. “That’s the goal. Always.”

Watch the full interview above and then check out the video below.

Kyle is the WFPK Program Director. Email Kyle at kmeredith@lpm.org

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