Jason Savio

Hot off his first full-length show as a headliner in his hometown of Worcester, upcoming R&B and hip-hop artist Abbie Cotto is on a roll in 2021.

“It was a great feeling,” says the 30-year-old year-old about the June 19 show at the Bridge. Even though it was an outdoor event and it rained, Cotto relished the moment, seeing as how not too long ago in 2020 playing in front of a live audience again didn’t seem possible. 

“When the world stopped for a minute, I just realized how much we take things for granted,” he says. “As far as music, this year I told myself I have to do as many shows as I can do and release so much music because who knows when this is going to happen again.”

Cotto describes the Bridge show as a “test run” to “see where I’m at with it” in regard to performing for the first time since the COVID pandemic.

It turns out Cotto is exactly where he needs to be, performing live music in his backyard while releasing a steady stream of singles that have helped him spread his name and score gigs across New England and in the New York and New Jersey areas. 

Finding his voice

Music was always around for Cotto, but it wasn’t his first love. Initially, he was leaning toward making a future in basketball. He played for South Community High School and after graduation in 2009 he received an invitation to play at a school in Vermont, which he ended up disregarding. 

“But, you know, life changes and you start finding different avenues,” he says

He started “recording and messing around” when he was 18 and thought he was “the best rapper,” something he says now with a laugh. He didn’t take it seriously at the time, however.

When Cotto was 21 he zeroed in on his latent talent as a recording artist and performer. He hooked up with his childhood friend Elion, another local performer, who invited Cotto over to his studio to produce a song.

“The first day I was in the studio I was writing and I just fell in love with it,” Cotto says. 

Cotto then teamed up with Jose Zayas, a multi-instrumentalist who had his own salsa group called Joselito y su Combo (Joselito and the band) and was also into jazz and R&B. Cotto credits Zayas as his mentor, saying “there really wouldn’t be a me if it wasn’t for him bringing out my confidence.”

Cotto would go over to Zayas’ house every day and Zayas would play the piano, telling Cotto how to follow with his voice what he was playing on the piano.

“He was more into the R&B side and he helped me train my voice,” Cotto says. “I never really thought I could sing (but) that’s where I started doing more of the singing stuff. To me, sometimes you’re like your own worst critic, but there were people around me that actually thought I was good at it and I just started working on it more and more”

Making a mark and getting known

Cotto broke into the scene by cutting his teeth at open mics and being featured at Electric Haze and Palladium shows. The launching pad, however, was the Raven.

“That was kind of like my gym,” he says. “I don’t remember when my first show there was, but I was featured on the show. Once I performed, a lot more people started reaching out to me to perform.”

Cotto has yet to release a full-length album or EP, having only released a mixtape when he first started out at age 21. Instead, Cotto is keeping his sights on maintaining a steady stream of momentum by producing singles rather than disappearing for an extended amount of time to work on a bigger project. 

“I fell into releasing singles because I feel like that was for me to keep on promoting who I am and try to draw a bigger crowd. It helps me grow the fanbase,” he says. 

When asked how many singles he’s released to date, Cotto laughs and says he’s lost count. He points to his 2012 song “My Time” as a standout. His latest, “My Baby,” is a laid back and sultry track with a racy video to accompany it.

Nowadays, Cotto is taking care of everything himself from the ground up at his own studio.

 “I engineer myself,’ he says. “Everything is basically independent: the shows, the recordings, the beats.” 

Not just a music artist

But if you think you have Cotto figured out, think again. He’s not only a burgeoning music artist, he also has his own clothing line called heART by Abbie Cotto. Emblazoned across hats, slides, shirts and more is the line’s logo of a heart-shaped painter’s palette. 

“What it stands for is doing something that you love,” says Cotto. “People see the logo and they think it’s for painters and I tell them that it’s not. It’s more of a universal logo that represents everything. It represents something that you love to do, whether it’s being a mechanic, a doctor, a musician, an athlete.”

Working on both his music and clothing line, Cotto knows how to stay busy. He recently played a show at the Shaskeen Pub in New Hampshire and has another coming up at Electric Haze and an appearance scheduled in Atlanta that same month. On September 5 he’ll be opening up for the Joyner Fest outside of the Palladium. As if that isn’t enough, he also has a gig he was supposed to play in London in 2020 that is likely to be rescheduled to next year, signaling another jump ahead in his young career. 

“Expect a lot more from me as far as music videos and shows and more clothing,” he says. “Expect a lot more.”

IG: @iamabbiecotto  

      @heartbyabbiecotto