“When an artist writes their own music, that's what's most genuine,” Paloma Mami tells Apple Music. “I feel like that's how you really can connect with your fans.” The New York native turned Chilean music sensation put no small amount of herself and her feelings into Sueños De Dalí, a rich and diverse album that expands upon her teenage breakout successes in a major way. Running through R&B, hip-hop, and pop moods, the project offers surprises and personal moments for day-one fans and newcomers alike. “I feel like this is really the beginning for me,” she says. “This is how it's going to start, how people should know my music.” Check out Paloma’s thoughts on each of the tracks below.
Mi Palomita (Intro) “So, this is a song very close to my heart—folklore, typical music from my country. This song, for example, is not a lullaby, but I've always heard it as one. For me, it was like my lullaby because my grandpa always sang it to me, since I was born. 'Paloma' means 'dove,' so my name being Paloma and the song speaking about doves, I always made the connection. My grandpa's always with me, as if he's a bird. He's always protecting me, he's always by my side.”
For Ya “I saw a lot of potential in this song, and then I wrote it in Spanish and I fell in love with it even more. It’s sad because it's basically just about loving somebody and there's nothing you can do about the fact that the person doesn't love you the same way. I think a lot of people can relate.”
Goteo “For this track, I collaborated with El Guincho, an amazing producer from Spain. I told him, 'This is my idea, I want to talk about how fly I am but make it in Spanish.' He loved the idea and he immediately played a track for me and I thought it was perfect with the vibe.”
Frenesí “I finally got to make an R&B song that I really, really fuck with. This song was made with Hit-Boy, who is an amazing producer; he just won a Grammy. He's super dope and I love the sound of this song. This song is super sexy and it talks about being in limbo with this person and just having this obsession with somebody.”
Religiosa “‘Religiosa’ is more of my vulnerable, romantic side. And I'm a Scorpio, so I'm a person that doesn't really like sharing my emotions like that. When you're religious, you believe in that so much and you're very passionate about that belief. I feel like sometimes that happens in relationships, where you're so passionate about somebody that that's all you know.”
Dreams (Interlude) “When I wrote that song, I was in a state of peace. I recorded that in Puerto Rico, and it was so nice. I got to be on a balcony; I was recording it with all the insects, all the crickets, the frogs, the birds, everything around me. And it was sunset, so the sky was pink. It talks about being in love and having curiosity if this is something that's forever, having all those thoughts in your head when you're in love.”
Mami “I pay homage to my girl Ivy Queen, the one that started everything. It's such a special song that I could have that whole mix of my thoughts of women now and Ivy Queen's thoughts of women back in the day when she released that song, so it's a super cool mix. My cousins, all they would play whenever I'd come to Chile was reggaetón. I think I was 11, 12 years old. I probably heard it when I was younger, but there I was old enough to really understand and hear who she was and hear her lyrics and understand them.”
RDMDA “‘Redimida’ is how I say it, which means ‘redemption.’ It's talking about how there's this relationship that I was in and how I feel so free now that I'm not in it. I put myself into that character, that I was heartbroken that this guy cheated on me. I've never been cheated on before, but I was able to really catch that essence of how it feels.”
I Love Her “This is one of my favorite songs on the whole album. It was so dope because it was my first time working with female producers—they’re called Nova Wav and they're a duo. I got in there and they obviously were expecting to do something tropical because I'm a Latin artist. I was like, 'No, guys. I heard what you guys do, I'm trying to do trap with you.'”
Traumada “‘Traumada’ is a vibe. I feel like lots of people have gotten to that point in their lives where it's not even that they don't want anything to do with love, it's just that they're traumatized at this point. They never want to talk about it again.”
Que Wea “‘Que Wea’ means basically ‘WTF’ in English. In Chile, it's a slang word. I literally started the album with a Chilean national song and then I ended with Chilean slang. I felt like it was the perfect way to finish, because it just shows my side of literally not caring about anything, laughing at all the people that hated on me and just showing them how little I care. My whole entire career, honestly, is based in that song.”