Coi Leray Credits Her Versatility for Double Grammy 2024 Noms: 'I Don't Want to Be Locked in a Box' (Exclusive)

Mar. 15, 2025

Don’t putCoi Lerayin any boxes!

The rapper and singer cited her versatility while speaking with PEOPLE’s Janine Rubenstein exclusively at the2024 Grammy Awardsas part of theWomen In The Mix initiativeto amplify the voices of female musicians.

Leray, 26, has been on the music scene since 2018 and released her first studio album,Trendsetter, in 2022, but Sunday was her first time attending or being nominated for a Grammy.

“It’s a blessing. I got nominated for the pop category and then the rap category so I feel like my versatility is something that I really would love everyone to continue to appreciate and admire,” she told PEOPLE. “And for the ones who are still discovering me to notice that, ‘cause I don’t want to be locked in a box.”

She said that her goal in the studio is always to “make what comes to the heart.”

“I love all genres, I love music and I love to express myself,” Leray said, adding that “it’s lit” to be nominated in two different genre categories for two different songs.

She also teased her next project for fans, which she said she’s working on with music producerMike WiLL Made-It, who is known for making hits with artists likeMiley Cyrus.

Gilbert Flores/Billboard via Getty Images

The rapper is becoming known forher bold outfitsthat sometimes feature minimal fabric, but she admitted to PEOPLE that as she gets older she’s learning what it means to be a role model.

“I do take criticism and I take it and I learn from it,” she said, “And someone said, ‘You know, at the end of the day, regardless if you don’t want to be a role model or not, you are.'”

Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

Leray said the comment made her become more self-aware and realize that as she gets older she should “put some clothes on now.”

“I love being sexy, twerking and all that, but as I get older it’s just a different respect level and I’m realizing I’m really a role model, you know?” she added.

Leray wore an archived YSL black body suit with tights to her first Grammys.

source: people.com