PAME
Music runs through her veins; it’s in her blood. The daughter of a percussionist and choir leader father, Pamé was steeped in rhythm and harmonies and melodies from an early age, and eventually made it her life’s path.
Born in the Dominican Republic and raised in the Bronx, the singer’s musical inspirations are as diverse as the “Melting Pot” itself — everyone from Celia Cruz to Michael Jackson. An interviewer once asked her for three words she’d use to describe her sound: edgy, dark, sexy. Edgy and sexy? Absolutely. But dark is where some fans would pause. Everything about her sound — and, by extension, her personality — is fun, light, and makes you want to join the party and dance.
Flowing seamlessly between English and Spanish, Pamé’s music makes you feel like the best summer day you’ve had, driving down Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu with your hair blowing in the wind.
Pamé has been touring, participating in conferences like VidCon, and showcasing at New York City’s Terminal 5 – on the strength of just three songs. Her Spotify lists “Fresh Water,” “Treasure” (which is CLEW’s song featuring Pamé), and “Bullet Put Down” as her only singles, but the buzz is real. It’s a fact that even she finds perplexing. But when you hear her sultry and mesmerizing vocals, it’s not hard to understand why her three songs are opening doors.
And to think, if it weren’t for younger cousins who urged Pamé to create a TikTok account during the pandemic lockdown, we might never have heard her airy voice. Since posting her music to TikTok and other social media platforms, she has built an organic following that has led her to a musical career that is blowing up.
We talked to Pamé as part of a SoundExchange panel at VidCon in Anaheim, California. Below is some of what she shared about her music and career.
Her start in music
“I have a mom who is a gynecologist in my country, the Dominican Republic, and she was very, very strict when it came to making sure everything was in order. So even before I started releasing my own music, I used to work on the music business side of doing PR work for Kali Uchis and Jessie Reyez and a lot of artists on the Latin side. So, I had that background of knowing what to do, but in terms of getting on a platform like TikTok … it was during the quarantine, so it was like we didn’t have much to do. My little cousins kept telling me that I should join TikTok. So, it was like, let me just do it because they’re telling me to do it. And it happened very genuinely. Then after that, things just started blowing up by me being consistent.”
My little cousins kept telling me that I should join TikTok. So, it was like, let me just do it because they’re telling me to do it. And it happened very genuinely. Then after that, things just started blowing up by me being consistent.”
Performing live and building community
“You know, just being back home and with my family — my dad was on stage with me, my sister was on stage with me. It was nice to bring my world and their worlds together. I got to play with my dad for the first time ever, and he’s a percussionist, so it was nice to just enjoy that time with him. I’ve been able to build a community doing live shows with only having three songs out and performing my unreleased songs. It sounds very unorthodox and it’s not the usual way pop artists approach things, but I feel like by me doing it this way, it helped me create a community and people that speak different languages – whether it’s French, whether it’s Spanish, whether it’s English – and being able to captivate different audiences just through performance and making them feel like they’re also part of my world as well. Nowadays, we’re producing artists and not really developing them, and that’s also part of my process of developing myself and developing my community and developing the people I love all along the way. Doing shows and social media and talking to people but most definitely [helped me build community]. But I think people don’t realize the effect and the impact live shows have.”
Being resourceful
“Well, right now, I’m in a space where a lot of the funding is coming out of my pocket. I am signed with Universal in terms of the publishing, but everything else is on me. You’ve got to find creative ways to make things work. I have been blessed with an amazing mother who makes all my outfits. I bought an outfit, and she saw it and said, ‘This isn’t good enough,’ and she got a zero rating on her Uber ride because she made the outfit in the Uber. You got to find out how to find the resources and find people on your team that can help you along the way.”
You’ve got to find creative ways to make things work. I have been blessed with an amazing mother who makes all my outfits. I bought an outfit, and she saw it and said, ‘This isn’t good enough,’ and she got a zero rating on her Uber ride because she made the outfit in the Uber.”
Using social media to promote her music
“I had a problem with that at first because you don’t want to do what everyone else is doing on social media. I didn’t want to post something that everyone else was posting. But my sister was like, ‘The way you’re going to say something or the way that you’re going to prove something is going to be completely different from everyone else, you know?’ She always told me, ‘You have a little magic.’ My strategy would always be: I would just give people, instead of a minute, I would give them 20 seconds, and I would cut the video so it would be like super short. And it would keep people wanting more. People will come back to my page and be like, okay, this is another 10-second video. Like, is this girl going to give something else, you know? So, I always kept them on their toes.
Responding to fans
“I respond to everyone like they’re my cousin. So that’s my issue; I’m trying to be better. Not everyone wants to know what I’m going to eat for breakfast tomorrow. But I make sure that if someone DMs me and I see something in my requests, I respond because you just never know. I could be making someone’s day. I used to get emails from girls from Panama, Afro-Latinos from Honduras, Afro-Latinos from Mexico. And it was so inspiring because I was getting emails from 13-year-olds, 15-year-old girls that look like me, have the same skin tone as me, and finally, for the first time, felt like they were being heard. So, I’m always going to respond and give them my advice and just always be — I’m going to be a big sister forever.”
I make sure that if someone DMs me and I see something in my requests, I respond because you just never know. I could be making someone’s day.”
Tech she can’t live without
“I just found out that I’m never going anywhere without in-ears [monitors]. It’s life changing. Performing in different places, I used to never have in-ears, and now I can hear, and it feels like the world has changed. My voice doesn’t hurt after a show, so that’s something that I’m going to take with me wherever I go and wherever I want to perform. In terms of setup, I usually have a mic on my face, on my laptop, and maybe a keyboard.”
Life goals
“I hate when people ask the question of five years because I’m working on it, okay?! But in terms of a life goal for me, I want to win an EGOT. I also want to win a Latin Grammy as well. I’m just taking baby steps and trying to see where I go in the next couple months. And I don’t know, maybe I’ll be in Mexico in two months and just take two months to Mexico and record music. And, so, it’s always ever-changing.”
Being a woman in the music industry
“Sometimes they don’t take your ideas because you are the only woman in the room. And I think, you know, stepping in your own power and speaking up to the things that you’re true to is so, so, so important, especially as a woman in this music industry. It’s so important to speak up. I think a lot of the time, we are not valued, and we have to stay strong. There’s no reason why there shouldn’t be two girls producing in a studio. Why is it all men? There isn’t a reason why I’m sitting in a room with all guy writers, and there’s not another girl writer. So, it’s like, you know, giving yourself the power to understand that you belong there and maybe belong in a space. If you belong in that room, you belong there, point blank, period — and say what you need to say.”
I think, you know, stepping in your own power and speaking up to the things that you’re true to is so, so, so important, especially as a woman in this music industry. It’s so important to speak up. I think a lot of the time, we are not valued, and we have to stay strong.”