Young Miko has teamed up with Gap for its first-ever Spanish-language video campaign, Billboard can exclusively announce Tuesday (March 10).
The Puerto Rican rapper — known for her smooth flow over trap and hip-hop beats — joins a star-studded lineup of past Gap collaborators like Madonna, Missy Elliott, Lenny Kravitz and Leon Bridges. “When Gap reached out, it was a no-brainer to me,” Young Miko tells Billboard Español. “I have a lot of pretty memories from when I was little wearing Gap pieces.”
For the campaign, the artist born María Victoria Ramírez de Arellano Cardona revisits her Billboard-charting hit “Wassup,” cleverly renamed “Sweats Like Us,” in a new promotional music video. That song gave Young Miko her first top 10 on the Hot Latin Rhythm Songs chart, peaking at No. 9, while reaching No. 31 on Hot Latin Songs last May. “That song already held a lot of emotional power for me,” she explains. The collaboration also marks a milestone for Gap, as it’s the first time the company has used a Spanish-language song in one of its campaigns.
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“Gap has a long history of partnering with artists who shape culture — not just through their work, but through the way they connect with audiences,” said president and CEO of Gap brand, Mark Breitbard, in a statement. “Young Miko speaks to a generation and is shaping what comes next. As a true creative collaborator on this campaign, she helped us create a visual extension of her music while positioning GapSweats as a canvas for creativity and self-expression.”
Fabiola Torres, chief marketing officer of Gap brand, added, “Young Miko brings authenticity, confidence, and a real connection to style and self-expression. With this campaign, we’re meeting audiences where culture is happening now through music, movement, and storytelling.”
OLIVIA MALONE
The campaign mirrors Young Miko’s laid-back, swaggy personal style, featuring cozy and stylish sweats that align with her studio wardrobe. For the Puerto Rican rapper, the collaboration also carries deeper significance, reflecting the importance of representing Latin culture in such a visible and empowering way, she notes.
Directed by Bethany Vargas and shot by Olivia Malone, the three-minute music video showcases choreography by Zoi Tatopoulos and features 26 dancers.
Check out the “Sweats Like Us” music video below, and further down, read the full interview, where Young Miko also shares her experience appearing at Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl Halftime Casita and more.
What inspired you to team up with Gap?
When Gap reached out, it was a no-brainer to me. I have a lot of pretty memories from when I’m little wearing Gap pieces. Gap has always had such iconic campaigns. To this day, they’re still so relevant. They’ve always been so unique and stood out with good causes and amazing collaborations. I thought, my name up there with all these other amazing people that have collaborated with Gap would be like the coolest thing. I showed my mom las fotos and the video, and she was like, “You used to watch these on TV, now you have your own.” We have a hoodie. It was just like a nice way to connect with things that were very present in my childhood. And nowadays, with all these tough situations that are going on in the U.S. and in the world, I thought a Latin campaign would go a very long way.
How does the campaign reflect your personal style and vibe?
It reflects it a lot more than I thought it would. I spend most of my day in sweats. In the studio, I go in sweats — studios are usually very cold, and I get cold all the time. Yo vivo en el trópico, así que estoy acostumbrada al calor (I live in the tropics, so I’m used to the heat). Anytime I know I’m going somewhere cold, I need my sweats. Plus, they look so swaggy. I thought the campaign was living in a similar world as to the Wassup” video; it looks like we just dived a little deeper into that music video, but this time with Gap’s take on it. We have this awesome scene where all the dancers are dressed in black, myself included. When I was like doing these scenes, I was this is almost in the same world as [my album] Do Not Disturb. Everything I try to do in life is with an intention; nothing is made at random.
How was it like to reimagine “Wassup”?
It was very curious to me. It was like giving my baby to somebody else. “Haz lo que tu quieras con esta pieza” (do what you will with this track) and hopefully we’ll all like it. That song already held a lot of emotional power for me. Before that song came out, a whole year went by where I didn’t drop anything. When I created it, I immediately knew it was the one track I was going to come out of hiding with.
When Gap reached out, they told us that it was the song [they were going with], and that this is the first time they’re using a [Spanish-language] song of the artist in the campaign, and it’s all in Spanish! It just comes to prove that trusting your gut feeling is always more powerful than anything else.
Young Miko x Gap collaboration. Credit: Olivia Malone/Courtesy of Gap
Español is having a lot more visibility and acceptance nationwide. We saw you at La Casita for Bad Bunny’s megastar-cementing halftime show. What does it mean to share such a huge cultural milestone with artists representing Puerto Rico and Latin culture.
It’s the most amazing thing. I said [earlier], por los momentos que estamos viviendo ahora mismo, the one thing we need the most right now is hope and love, and to lock in with each other; to really be a community right now. It’s up to us to be able to make that world — or, at least, try to make the world a safer and better place. To open spaces where we feel welcome. Like Benito said himself [at his Grammy award acceptance speech], “We’re all humans, we’re not animals, we’re not savages, we’re not different to anybody else around us.” Visibility right now is like an opportunity; to give more representation. And you better believe I’m gonna be front row and center. Being able to just to be alive in this moment and watch the Super Bowl and watch Benito up there just like killing it… and Ricky Martin! And then Lady Gaga, who is such a powerful ally, and was just like, “I’m going to be a part of this with them.”
When we got invited to [be at] La Casita, the one rule they gave us was, just get in there and dance. Have fun. Tienen que perrear, bailar y sonreír (To twerk, to dance, to smile). That’s the one thing they asked of us. I’m also very thankful to Benito’s team that reached out and thought about us to be a part of it.
What do you want your fans to feel when they watch “Sweats Like This”?
I want them to know that this was another world I have dived into having the most fun, and for people to enjoy it and continue to get to know me more. For them to know that that I don’t do anything if it’s not out of love and a good place.
OLIVIA MALONE
