It’s hard to imagine there are many 21-year-olds having a better summer than Molly Santana. When I join our call, the rising rapper, whose past few months have included a smattering of festival appearances, viral collabs and cosigns from everyone from Don Toliver to Alysa Liu, is still recovering from her previous night’s show in London. “That’s why my voice sounds a little crazy,” she tells me, apologising through her rasp.

To those tapped into the underground rap scene, Santana’s low gravel has been a familiar voice since 2021, when the Los Angeles-based artist dropped her debut EP Molly’s World, a four-track collection littered with the assertive bars and synth-heavy production she’s become known for. While that early output lured in her first generation of fans, millions more became hip this May when she joined Drake and Future on “Ran to Atlanta”, one of ICEMAN’s strongest tracks. Since its release, it has racked up over 90 million streams on Spotify and ushered Santana into the mainstream limelight. Her recent ascent makes Future’s declaration on the track feel that much more accurate: “They wanna play Molly Santana.”

When listening to Santana’s glitchy rage raps, it’s easy to hear the influence of fellow experimental rappers like Playboi Carti and Lil Uzi Vert, who she cites as longtime favourites. It wasn’t all rap, though – as a kid in Southern California, Santana was a student of all genres. “Growing up, there was a lot of Paramore, My Chemical Romance and Pierce the Veil,” she says. Alongside her love for emo punk, she had an affinity for “West Coast, slower indie”, like surf-rock act Current Joys.

Today, that smorgasbord of influences has resulted in a sound that’s self-assured and entirely her own. And as she makes her way out of the underground, others are taking note, too – most recently, UGG tapped Santana to star in the campaign for its Dusty Orchid Collection, which, in the spirit of embracing the unexpected, ditches the brand’s neutral colour palette in favour of a new purply-pink shade. 

Ahead of the campaign’s release, we caught up with Santana to chat about collabing with Drake, touring with North West and ruffling some feathers. 

How would you describe your music to somebody who’s never listened to it before?

Molly Santana: I don’t ever use this word, but androgynous. I think that it’s almost polarising in a way, because when you look at me, and then you hear what I sound like, it almost doesn’t make sense, because it’s two opposites coming together and making something. To me, it feels very powerful and very feminine, but still androgynous and genderless in a way. 

You went to fashion school in Japan for a time. What was that experience like?

Molly Santana: It was so much fun. It was such an amazing experience to be able to live in Tokyo when I was like 18, 19 years old. Those were very important memories for me to continue building the story and continue building my knowledge of the fashion world, and not just fashion, but art in general. 

I was the only American at my school. I think in Japan, they are focused on perfection. Their fashion is known for the architecture – the perfectionism of it is just out of this world. But it definitely taught me that I just don’t fit in the fashion industry in that role. I was taking a pattern-making and fashion design course, and it was just very intense. I love fashion, but the more I was in school, I noticed that my heart was more into music because it’s a more raw expression of yourself. There are honestly no rules when it comes to rap. Coming from the underground, it’s a very raw place. 

Speaking of fashion, you’re one of the faces of UGG’s new campaign for their new Dusty Orchard collection. How did that collaboration come about?

Molly Santana: Ava Nirui [the creative director] had actually messaged me, and I had been wanting to work with her for a long time. I’ve been such a big fan of her and just everything that she does. I think she’s such an amazing creative force, honestly. 

And with UGGs, I love UGG. Everybody loves UGG. Coming from California, the Cali girls wear UGG any season, all year, that’s our thing. This is my first campaign with a fashion brand, so it was just super exciting. And I love that shade of pink. That's actually my birthday colour. So it was a perfect little match-up moment, honestly. 

What’s your favourite style from the new collection, and how have you been styling it? 

Molly Santana: I was wearing the micro in the shoe [in the campaign], but I also love the minis. Those are my favourites because I think you can wear them with basketball shorts, short shorts, baggy pants. There are just so many different ways you can wear them, so I think they’re very cost-friendly. But I also love the Mary Janes, they’re so cute. 

How do you feel you’ve been able to challenge people’s expectations in your career so far, especially as a young woman coming out of the underground rap scene? 

Molly Santana: I think all female artists feel me on this one, but honestly, even just starting out is challenging, especially in rap. It’s a very male-dominated space, so just being a female coming up in this space and following your heart, doing what you desire and being true to yourself is already challenging people’s expectations. 

When it comes to rap, it’s about your lyrics, it’s about your bars, and if you don’t come correct, they come at you crazy. And even if you do come correct, they’re always gonna have something to say when you’re a woman, because we’re spectacles. We’re supposed to have the attention. Whether it’s good or bad attention, you just gotta ride the wave. 

Who or what are some of your biggest influences fashion-wise? 

Molly Santana: Lady Gaga, number one. That is my north star right there. Obviously, Nicki Minaj. I think her fashion over the years has been so inspirational. I don’t think anybody has really tapped into that Japanese, cute gyaru-type style, and she made it so fun and bigger than life. I really respect her for that. Also, Michael Jackson. His fashion is just amazing. And then the fourth person I’ll say is Erykah Badu. I think her fashion is just out of this world as well. 

Who is your dream collab? 

Molly Santana: Lady Gaga and Nicki Minaj. Oh, and Rihanna. Oh my gosh, Rihanna, so bad.

Speaking of collabs, your recent collab with Drake, “Ran to Atlanta”, has been blowing up. What has it felt like to see fans love it this much? 

Molly Santana: It just feels like a whirlwind of crazy new energy, and I’m trying to sort through it all right now. But I think that it’s been a great moment for me and my fans to share. Me and my fans really feel like a family. They’ve been riding with me for a minute, and I think it was such a crazy moment for us because now we have something to point to and be like, ‘This is why we love this girl. This is why we go so hard. This is why we continue to show up for this woman.’ There are people out there who are genuinely inspired by what I do, and that’s always been the goal. It gives me energy to have moments like that where it feels full circle, and I’m not just yelling out into the ether, into a black hole. It just felt very rewarding.

You also recently announced a tour with North West. How did you two become friends, and what are you most excited about for the upcoming tour? 

Molly Santana: The first time I met North was actually at my first Summer Smash performance a year ago. And now this year, she performed the slot right before me, which is another full-circle moment that was just so beautiful to see. She has been showing me so much love, genuine love and support since the day that I met her, and I think it’s very rare in this rap space that girls get together and support each other. 

I’m just excited for this tour. I think that she is so talented and so much stronger than a lot of people who are honestly double her age. If anybody deserves to go on tour and show people what they’re about, she’s definitely one of them. She really deserves a platform because she really does work hard for it, and she rehearses every day. She’s really locked in. It’s an amazing thing to watch and see her grow.

What can you tell us about your upcoming album, Black Punk?

Molly Santana: I’m very excited to paint the picture and explain my standpoint on where I’m trying to lead this generation to, where I’m trying to lead the underground rap scene. I really want to be one of those people who help lead more female rappers, more children and people in this underground scene to continue taking their craft seriously and continue taking themselves seriously. 

And it’s gonna be powerful. This album is definitely for all the people who see themselves in me and who see parts of themselves in me, who can relate. And even for people who don’t understand anything that I got going on, this album is supposed to be very universal. I think it’s gonna ruffle a few people’s feathers.