Produced and Edited by:
Nicole Camacho
For Tucson musician and pop artist Julissa Lopez, music is a way to express herself while representing the city she calls home.
Lopez is a Mexican American artist who blends hip hop and pop. As she works to grow her career, she also wants to bring more attention to the artists and talent coming out of Tucson.
For Lopez, Tucson feels like more than just a city. It feels like a community where people look out for each other.
“Tucson is basically family to me,” Lopez said. “Everyone knows everyone here.”
Her passion for music started when she was young. When Lopez was around 12 years old, her mom encouraged her to participate in a talent show. She was nervous about performing, but decided to go through with it. When she ended up winning, it gave her the confidence to keep pursuing music.
That early experience helped Lopez realize that music could become something more than just a hobby.
Now, she wants people to think of Tucson when they hear her name. Lopez believes there is plenty of talent in the city, but that artists here can sometimes be overlooked compared to musicians from places like Los Angeles and New York.
“There is a lot of talent in Tucson, Arizona, but I feel like sometimes it doesn’t get seen as much,” Lopez said. “We deserve to have the light shined on us more.”
Lopez shares her journey with her audience through Instagram and TikTok, where she posts music, vlogs and pieces of her everyday life. Her social media gives people a chance to see what it is like to build a career as an emerging artist while staying connected to her hometown.
@officialjulissalopez
https://www.instagram.com/officialjulissalopez/
As Lopez continues working toward her goals, she hopes her music can do more than build her own career. She wants to show that artists from Tucson have a place in the larger music scene too.
For Lopez, putting Tucson on the map starts with simply making music and letting people see what her hometown has to offer.
