Lexa Gates released her album “I Am” on Jan. 16. The new 18-track project came over a year after her 2024 album “Elite Vessel” under the labels Good Talk and Capitol Records.
Lexi Gates is set to embark on a headline tour for “I Am” throughout 2026 — concluding in her hometown of New York City. She will be at The Observatory in Santa Ana, Calif. on April 2.
“I Am” follows much in the respect of its predecessor. Gates employs her signature style of girly braggadocio and sample-led beats with polished maturity.
Both “Latency” and “Nothing To Worry About” from the new album utilize a sampling technique known as chipmunk soul — popularized by Kanye West, the artist now recognized as Ye.
Gates’ lyrics often delve into her romantic life, subverting the typical machismo of rap and conveying a feminine perspective that she has only sharpened over her six full-length projects. Subject matters range from bathroom habits to intrusive thoughts — all delivered with uncompromising self assurance.
With the exception of “Elite Vessel,” the entirety of Gates’ work is void of collaborations and still rings true for “I Am.” In an interview with Clash Magazine, Gates said “I usually don’t do features,” explaining, “I think that the music is very sacred.”
In the same interview, Gates attributed her musical influence to her day-to-day life. “Verbal altercation is really where I got my flow, just fighting with my mom, with my boyfriend or whoever,” Gates told Clash.
Despite a seemingly brash personality, Gates has swiftly endeared herself to hundreds of thousands of listeners. This could be due to her recent decision to rein herself in.
“If anything, I was almost too honest before. I was just a little girl who was really high and didn’t care because I thought it didn’t matter anyway,” Gates said. “Now I’m more careful with what I say, and I want more control over how I’m portrayed.”
Once she turned 21 years old, Gates took a vow of sobriety. Now at 24, her maturity exudes through her work.
Following in the footsteps of many artists of the late 2010s, Gates started her career on the popular music streaming platform Soundcloud as a teen.
Gates realized the viability of her artistic potential with the relative success of “i can fly” in 2019. The DIY video she made for the song — which now has more than 200,000 views on YouTube — is reminiscent of Clairo’s “Pretty Girl.” During the rollout of Gates’ major label debut, she earned a co-sign from the Grammy-nominated singer.
With the newfound support from Good Talk and Capitol, Gates now has a greater capacity to execute her creative vision. To promote the release of both “I Am” and “Elite Vessel,” Gates engaged in public performance art in New York City.
In 2024, Gates sat in a glass box in Brooklyn’s Union Square for 10 hours without food, water, a bathroom or her phone. She was left alone with a couch and a pair of headphones playing “Elite Vessel,” with another pair outside the box for observers to listen as well.
The day before “I Am” was released, Jan. 15, Gates walked in a human-sized hamster wheel for 10 hours — once again listening to her album during the stunt.
Even with the momentum of her 2024 album’s success, “I Am” has largely lived in its shadow in the following weeks of its release. One possible reason is the effectiveness of the singles at garnering attention compared to the last.
Songs like “I Just Can’t Be Alone” produced by Billy Lemos and “Lately, Nothing” featuring Alé Araya, were quick to spark interest for “Elite Vessel.” Videos from the two received up to 400,000 views, while every video for “I Am,” except for “Latency,” received less than 100,000.
The singles leading up to “I Am” show a steady decline in streams from the first to the most recent, “Estranged” — the video for which resembles Ye’s “All Falls Down.”
Even still, things are looking up for Gates. She had the opportunity to sing with 2000s New York hip hop legends Fabolous and Jadakiss on “New York To The World” in Feb. 2025.
Billboard Magazine named Gates Hip Hop Rookie of the Month in March of 2025, and she had her own Boiler Room set later in the year.
Griffin Chan is an Arts & Entertainment Staff Writer for the winter 2026 quarter. He can be reached at griffilc@uci.edu.
Edited by Riley Schnittger
