Audrey Nuna on Existentialism, Villains, and Dressing like a ‘Futuristic Grandpa’

The rising rapper is breaking out of the simulation.

By Andie Eisen

Stepping on Audrey Nuna’s photoshoot set, the studio has an atypical calm as the glam team and stylists assemble the first look of the day. Nuna seems to have this effect on people—a warm and unhurried composure that sets the emotional temperature of the room. Walking into the backstage prep area, I see Nuna in the makeup chair, piles of hair extensions to her left, as her mother hand-plaits more hair into a braid that is already six feet long. The gesture of a mother braiding her child’s hair evokes the nostalgia of getting ready for school, but—like most of Nuna’s creative output—there is an element of surreality that accompanies all sentiment.

At 24, the New Jersey native has already built an impressive career in music. She began auditioning for musicals in Manhattan at age 12, started independently recording at 17, and was signed to Arista Records by age 20. These efforts culminated in her first studio album, a liquid breakfast, in 2021. When we sat down for our interview, Nuna was mere days away from the release of her latest song, “Starving” featuring Teezo. Although I planned to steer the conversation toward her upcoming musical projects, Nuna’s contagious curiosity and intellectual musings derailed these ideas, and soon we were talking about everything from simulation theory to Catholicism.

Mid-interview, she remarked on how funny it was we’d landed on these topics: “I feel like every interview I have turns into an existential crisis conversation.” And how boring would it be if it didn’t? In the link below, Nuna shares her thoughts on synchronicity, musical theater, villains, and dressing like a “futuristic grandpa.”

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