Hitmaker Sky Rompiendo on Taking Fashion Cues From 50 Cent & How Latin Megastars Bad Bunny and J Balvin Have Influenced Fashion
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Sky Rompiendo has long been comfortable behind the scenes, producing countless classics for Latin music megastars Bad Bunny, J Balvin and Karol G, among others. Now the hit-making producer born Alejandro Ramírez Suárez is ready for the masses to get to know him.
In 2023, Sky Rompiendo — the product of Medellín, Colombia — transitioned to become more of a solo musician. This year, he has released numerous well-received singles, such as “El Cielo” with Feid and Myke Towers (which they performed in October at the 2023 Billboard Latin Music Awards) and “Crush” with Dei V. To date, more than 60 of Sky Rompiendo’s songs have charted on Billboard’s Hot Latin Songs chart, including three No. 1 hits and another 16 songs that landed in the top 10.
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Much like the musicians he works with, Sky Rompiendo also has a strong sense of style, and should be mentioned among the most fashionable Latin stars today.
Here, Sky Rompiendo details his fashion and footwear tastes with FN, and reveals the music he plans to release in 2024.
When FN spoke with J Balvin in 2019, he said he wanted to change the perception of Latinos in fashion and show the world they are fresh. With more Latin artists becoming global superstars, what is the perception today?
“I feel like it has changed a lot, and it has escalated quickly the last couple of years with people like Balvin, people like Bunny, people like Rauw [Alejandro]. They have this huge platform and not only use it for music, they push all these other aspects of their career, like fashion. That’s a message they gave to the world, but inside of the culture, all the Latinos in the last decade with all the socials, everything is more accessible to people. Maybe there were a lot of people that had taste but it was difficult to get a pair of sneakers or a pair of pants that you wanted, and the brands started communicating differently, started getting to more people outside of the U.S. or Europe. I think that helped, too, for Latinos starting to get to know cool stuff, different trends that they may want to pick up. We’re lucky to have guys like Bunny with different styles, Balvin with different styles — and they take risks, too. It’s cool to have those people push and all the Latinos keep doing their thing on the inside with the fashion talking.”
Who were your earliest style influences?
“I was a New York fan when 50 Cent came out. I was born in ’92, so when he was at his peak, I was in my age to start consuming. I was in fitted [hats], tank top. But in Colombia, you don’t see that. So for me it was a style, it was something different. I wanted to dress like that. It’s not like in New York when everybody wears that. And then I started seeing sports guys, too, like Dennis Rodman. I always liked his style. David Beckham, I always liked his style. [Edgar] Davids, he was a soccer player who were Oakley shades, he played at Juventus. He used to wear the Eye Jackets for the games, specific ones for him because he had something with his eyes. I take a lot of stuff from soccer, there are some soccer players that always represent in fashion. And in terms of artists, I’m a producer so I’m always searching for producers and Pharrell has always been a very strong influence for me.”
Who do you admire in footwear and fashion today?
“[Lil] Yachty is one of them. I like Yachty’s style a lot. Aminé, I like his style. I like the collab he did with New Balance. A lot of people. If I see somebody and I like their hat, I start looking where the hat is from and maybe it’s a little trend that’s going on. I keep looking.”
Do you have a favorite Latin designer?
“I have always admired Guillermo Andrade [of FourTwoFour]. I’ve known him since we started to come here to the states. I still admire him today. I admire Rivington [roi Rebis] from the brand Rivington [RRR123], he’s a Dominican guy. There’s a lot of Latin guys doing it out there. Undergold, it’s a local brand in Medellín that is doing their thing over there, and in Mexico they’re starting to go out. There’s a lot of things out there in the Latino movement. We have our ambassadors and there’s the new generation, which I’m very proud of.”
Please walk me through your footwear collection. What is your shoe style of choice?
“I’m from Medellín, and people that haven’t been to Medellín, it’s a lot of mountains, it’s a lot of rain. Everywhere you go, you’ve got to pack hoodie or your jacket. I’m into boots lately, I’ve been going crazy with the Oakley x Brain Dead collab. Those boots remind me of the old days when they first came out. In Medellín, Oakley has always been cool. It’s something that you can wear and you can do a lot of stuff with it. In sneakers, I had my stage with the [Nike] SBs, when I was crazy with the SBs and wanted them all, but before that I was crazy when I was a kid about the Nike Shox. The Nike Total ’90s, they were a soccer shoe but they sold the different soles because in soccer they have the cleats, so they sold them without them. You rock those shoes to go to the mall, that was back in the day. Obviously, the [Jordan] 1s, I had that fever, too, but lately I don’t even wear them. I just go around in more comfortable shoes, more active wear shoes. It may be Salomon, it maybe Oakley x Brain Dead, and maybe I throw on some [Christian] Louboutins if I feel some type of vibe. I go all around. Lately, I’ve been into that gorpcore stuff. Everything about it, I want to push that on my end. I’m doing it because people can dress nicely, dress with style without having to be in the forest.” (laughs)
How many pairs of shoes do you own?
“I’m going to have to build another closet right now because I don’t have space for my pairs. I used all the closets in my crib for the sneakers, I have sneakers in my crib in Medellín. I don’t even know, I lost count. There are a lot. I never count my shoes: I’ve never been a sneakerhead as somebody would think. I feel like I like clothes more than sneakers. The sneaker for me is cool, and I buy the same shoe in three different colorways, but I’m not so passionate about shoes. I like clothes more.”
What aspirations, if any, do you have for fashion professionally?
“It’s never been in my plans, but it’s cool to represent something for Latinos. If I can represent, if the opportunity gets to me, I’m obviously going to take it. I have my concept, I know my vision and I know how everything around me should look and how it should be. It will be a very fun project for me, it will be exciting. Collaborating, modeling for a brand, I like the whole industry.”
Who are you listening to today?
“When I work out, I listen to a lot of Brazilian funk, favela funk. It gets you hype. I’ve been listening to Bad Bunny’s album a lot, and Latin Mafia — this new group is super dope indie music. I’ve been listening to Rosalia’s first album. I went back there to get some vibes. Spanish rock, old jams — Soda Stereo, Enanitos Verdes. A bunch of old rock. I go around to every genre.”
You’re quite the prolific producer, with more than 60 hits on Billboard’s Hot Latin Songs chart. What is the next goal you want to accomplish?
“I keep doing what I do, so it’s not like, ‘Oh, I achieved something.’ I did some cool a** records and I keep doing them. If they go No. 1 or they chart, that’s cool, I’m grateful for it, but at the end of the day what gets me motivated is the new generation that’s coming up, the new ideas, the open mindset that the kids are coming with to the studio, that’s what drives me. And seeing the Latino culture getting bigger and bigger, and cooler, that’s what’s most exciting about this. Not the charts.”
In terms of music, what is in the works for 2024?
“I dropped my single, ‘El Cielo,’ this year with Myke Towers and Feid. It went great, it was the start of this new journey I’m beginning right now. This new journey is me getting my face in front, getting myself in the portrait as an artist without me having to sing or having to get in front of the mic. Just delivering songs that I feel comfortable with, the vision, the videos, the whole aesthetic of every single that goes along with all the ideas I have. It’s a new journey for me. I’m super excited, I’m super happy about it. I just released another song [‘Crush’] with this new kid Dei V who’s crushing it out there in Puerto Rico. Everybody has eyes on this guy. Bunny has always given him credit on what he’s doing. Dei V is a very important guy to look to in 2024. I have been part of a lot of big artists that were starting at some point, and I think this is one of them.”
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