CELEBRITY

OITNB’s Jackie Cruz Steps into Her Music Career

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Orange is the New Black actress Jackie Cruz is making waves in music with the debut of her latest single. We all know Cruz from her role as Marisol Gonzales, or “Flaca,” in OITNB, but you may not know that she is now leaving her mark in the music industry as well.

Cruz, who is Dominican-American, released a bilingual single called “La Hora Loca” (the crazy hour) this past month to ignite her musical career. In an interview with The Daily Mail, she describes the song as “a bilingual smash! It’s tropical and it’s hip-hop, throwing off a lot of vibes similar to that of Cardi B’s.”

But in Cruz’s latest interview with Billboard, the song is a bit deeper than that. Beginning with the open line, ” Melba! Traeme el café!” It is in reference to Cruz’s grandmother. She says, “It’s an homage to my abuela Melba. She would work all day, and he would still ask her for her coffee. I remember being 4 years old and hearing him. And she always got him the coffee. She defended him until he died.” In the same discussion, she also says the song is about wanting to find someone that can be on her same level.

Her next single to be released is “Sweet 16” which Cruz says will be a more bluesy song. Cruz makes it clear in the interview that she isn’t looking to fit in a specific genre, she just wants to make music that relates to her and everyone like her.