DJ Méndez
Encyclopedia
Leopoldo Méndez Alcayaga is a Chile
an-Swedish
DJ
, singer and producer
, known by his stage name Méndez, formerly DJ Méndez. He won the 2002 MTV Video Music Awards Latinoamérica Awards
for Best Southwest New Artist.
, Chile
on 21 July, 1975. His father was a political dissident, and after the Chilean regime began monitoring him, he left the country. In 1986, Méndez, his two brothers and mother left for Sweden, they lived at various places, before settling down in the suburb of Farsta
, in Stockholm
. He went to school in the Larsbodaskolan, in Farsta Strand, and like many other youths, joined a gang and was small-time criminal, though he always had the goal of making it in showbusiness. After several run ins with the police, he focused on beginning his career.
, Norway
, Denmark
, Finland
, and even Russia with his first hit "Chiki-Chiki", featured in his debut album Latino for Life. He had met the producer Robert Wåtz while working at Toys R Us. The emerging interest for the Latin American music
in Europe
was one factor in the acceptance and music like this Chilean market as closed as the Scandinavian market, which until recently were only local artists and popular English-speaking. Some of his songs like "Estocolmo", show-through a Latin song the attitude and opinion of Latin American
migrants to lands so different from theirs as the Scandinavian countries.
In March 2001 he visited his native country, carrying out a successful promotional tour.
His songs are in Chilean Spanish
with a mixture of English
, was produced in conjunction with the popular DJ's Rob'n'Raz
, have melodic choruses made by singers such as Emmanuel Contreras, Martin Thors, Pablo Javier Gonzalez Cepeda or (better known as Yei) choristers who were both in their studio recordings and in each of the live performances he does. Today is one of the best representatives of Chilean rap
and hip-hop and one of the Chilean artists with greater international influence. Has accomplished many milestones and participated in several music festivals, highlighting 1 Award MTV Video Music Awards Latinoamérica Awards
and 1 MTV Europe Music Awards
, second place in Melodifestivalen Sweden 2002
, the gull of gold in the Song Festival of Viña del Mar, participation in the famous festival Son Latinos in the Canary Islands
, Spain
with 350,000 people, a concert for more than 250,000 people in Red Square in Moscow, Russia, and participation to more than 100,000 people in La Pampilla of Coquimbo
. He is currently managing his own label, Macabro Records, where he supports young emerging music, and together with his brother, DJ eMe, own school of DJ's largest in Scandinavia, Dj Macabre School.
In 2009, Méndez is working in his upcoming album and the first single of the album titled "Lady" was recently released on radios in Chile
.
Compilation albums
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
an-Swedish
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
DJ
Disc jockey
A disc jockey, also known as DJ, is a person who selects and plays recorded music for an audience. Originally, "disc" referred to phonograph records, not the later Compact Discs. Today, the term includes all forms of music playback, no matter the medium.There are several types of disc jockeys...
, singer and producer
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
, known by his stage name Méndez, formerly DJ Méndez. He won the 2002 MTV Video Music Awards Latinoamérica Awards
MTV Video Music Awards Latinoamérica 2002
The first annual MTV Video Music Awards Latinoamérica 2002 took place on October 24, 2002, in Miami at the Jackie Gleason Theater.-Artist of the Year:* Alejandro Sanz* Diego Torres* Juanes* La Ley* Shakira-Video of the Year:...
for Best Southwest New Artist.
Early life
Méndez was born in ValparaisoValparaíso
Valparaíso is a city and commune of Chile, center of its third largest conurbation and one of the country's most important seaports and an increasing cultural center in the Southwest Pacific hemisphere. The city is the capital of the Valparaíso Province and the Valparaíso Region...
, Chile
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
on 21 July, 1975. His father was a political dissident, and after the Chilean regime began monitoring him, he left the country. In 1986, Méndez, his two brothers and mother left for Sweden, they lived at various places, before settling down in the suburb of Farsta
Farsta
Farsta is a district in a borough with the same name in southern Stockholm, see Farsta . It is also a metro station on the Green line . The distance between central Stockholm and Farsta is 8 kilometers.-Sports:...
, in Stockholm
Stockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
. He went to school in the Larsbodaskolan, in Farsta Strand, and like many other youths, joined a gang and was small-time criminal, though he always had the goal of making it in showbusiness. After several run ins with the police, he focused on beginning his career.
Career
After joining a counseling institution called Fasta and meeting sound engineer Jordi Fuste, DJ Méndez started his career as a Latin rapper, making his live debut in a local festival. Mixing hip-hop and traditional Latin American rhythms, and he was able to get a record deal, soon climbing charts in SwedenSweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
, Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
, Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
, Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
, and even Russia with his first hit "Chiki-Chiki", featured in his debut album Latino for Life. He had met the producer Robert Wåtz while working at Toys R Us. The emerging interest for the Latin American music
Latin American music
Latin American music, found within Central and South America, is a series of musical styles and genres that mixes influences from Spanish, African and indigenous sources, that has recently become very famous in the US.-Argentina:...
in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
was one factor in the acceptance and music like this Chilean market as closed as the Scandinavian market, which until recently were only local artists and popular English-speaking. Some of his songs like "Estocolmo", show-through a Latin song the attitude and opinion of Latin American
Latin Americans
Latin Americans are the citizens of the Latin American countries and dependencies. Latin American countries are multi-ethnic, home to people of different ethnic and national backgrounds. As a result, some Latin Americans don't take their nationality as an ethnicity, but identify themselves with...
migrants to lands so different from theirs as the Scandinavian countries.
In March 2001 he visited his native country, carrying out a successful promotional tour.
His songs are in Chilean Spanish
Chilean Spanish
Chilean Spanish is the variety of Spanish spoken in most of Chile. Though still entirely mutually intelligible with standard Spanish, Chilean Spanish has distinctive pronunciation, grammar, vocabulary, and slang usage...
with a mixture of English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
, was produced in conjunction with the popular DJ's Rob'n'Raz
Rob'n'Raz
Rob'n'Raz were a Swedish musician duo of Robert Wåtz and Rasmus Lindwall.After some years of disc jockeying in the late 1980s, they decided to start performing and composing together. They worked on production, remixing and scratching...
, have melodic choruses made by singers such as Emmanuel Contreras, Martin Thors, Pablo Javier Gonzalez Cepeda or (better known as Yei) choristers who were both in their studio recordings and in each of the live performances he does. Today is one of the best representatives of Chilean rap
Rap
Rap may refer to:*Rapping, performance in which rhyming lyrics are used, with or without musical accompaniment ; while an MC performs spoken verses in time to a beat/ melody**Hip hop subculture**Hip hop music...
and hip-hop and one of the Chilean artists with greater international influence. Has accomplished many milestones and participated in several music festivals, highlighting 1 Award MTV Video Music Awards Latinoamérica Awards
MTV Video Music Awards Latinoamérica 2002
The first annual MTV Video Music Awards Latinoamérica 2002 took place on October 24, 2002, in Miami at the Jackie Gleason Theater.-Artist of the Year:* Alejandro Sanz* Diego Torres* Juanes* La Ley* Shakira-Video of the Year:...
and 1 MTV Europe Music Awards
MTV Europe Music Awards
The MTV Europe Music Awards were established in 1994 by MTV Networks Europe to celebrate the most popular music videos in Europe. Originally beginning as an alternative to the American MTV Video Music Awards, the MTV Europe Music Awards is today a popular celebration of what MTV viewers consider...
, second place in Melodifestivalen Sweden 2002
Melodifestivalen 2002 semifinals
The semifinals for Melodifestivalen 2002 began on 19 January 2002. Ten songs from these semifinals qualified for the final on March 1, 2002. This was the first year that a semifinal format had been used for the competition...
, the gull of gold in the Song Festival of Viña del Mar, participation in the famous festival Son Latinos in the Canary Islands
Canary Islands
The Canary Islands , also known as the Canaries , is a Spanish archipelago located just off the northwest coast of mainland Africa, 100 km west of the border between Morocco and the Western Sahara. The Canaries are a Spanish autonomous community and an outermost region of the European Union...
, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
with 350,000 people, a concert for more than 250,000 people in Red Square in Moscow, Russia, and participation to more than 100,000 people in La Pampilla of Coquimbo
Coquimbo
Coquimbo is a port city, commune and capital of the Elqui Province, located on the Pan-American Highway, in the Coquimbo Region of Chile. Coquimbo lies in a valley south of La Serena, with which it forms Greater La Serena with more than 400,000 inhabitants. The commune spans an area around the...
. He is currently managing his own label, Macabro Records, where he supports young emerging music, and together with his brother, DJ eMe, own school of DJ's largest in Scandinavia, Dj Macabre School.
In 2009, Méndez is working in his upcoming album and the first single of the album titled "Lady" was recently released on radios in Chile
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
.
Personal life
Méndez met his wife, also Chilean-born, in his teens, and together they have three children. He is Roman Catholic, and has a tattoo of Jesus Christ, among many others.Discography
Studio albums- 2000: Latino for Life
- 2001: Méndez
- 2002: Adrenaline
- 2003: Perro Perseverante
- 2005: La Máquina
- 2007: Mendez vs. Macabro
- 2009: 210
Compilation albums
- 2005: Grandes Éxitos
Singles
| Year | Title | Peak chart positions | Album | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SWE |
NOR VG-lista VG-listen is a Norwegian record chart. It is weekly presented in the newspaper VG and the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation program Topp 20. It is considered the primary Norwegian record chart, charting albums and singles from countries and continent around the world. The data is collected by... |
FIN Finland Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside... |
CHI Chile Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far... |
|||||||||||
| 1999 | "Chiki-Chiki" | 34 | — | — | 1 | Latino for Life | ||||||||
| "Estocolmo" | 37 | — | — | 1 (12) | ||||||||||
| 2000 | "Razor Tongue" | 5 | 19 | — | 98 | |||||||||
| "Fiesta (House Party)" | 13 | — | — | 2 | ||||||||||
| 2001 | "Cross the Border" | 14 | — | — | 89 | Adrenaline | ||||||||
| "Blanca" | 21 | — | — | 11 | ||||||||||
| 2002 | "Adrenaline" | 2 | — | — | 1 | |||||||||
| 2003 | "Carnaval" | 5 | — | — | 9 | Perro Perseverante | ||||||||
| "Tequila" | 22 | — | — | 1 (3) | ||||||||||
| 2004 | "Ya Po" | — | — | — | 1 (6) | |||||||||
| 2005 | "Is That OK?" | 5 | — | 13 | 28 | La Maquina | ||||||||
| 2006 | "Streetlife" (with Teddy Teddy Teddy is a common informal variation of the given names Edward and Theodore and, more rarely, their female equivalents, Edwina and Theodora... ) |
23 | — | — | — | Streetlife | ||||||||
| 2009 | "Lady" (with Crossfire Crossfire A crossfire is a military term for the siting of weapons so that their arcs of fire overlap. This tactic came to prominence in World War I.... ) |
— | — | — | 1 (6) | 210 | ||||||||
| 2010 | "Ay Ay Ay" (con La Noche) | — | — | — | 1 (2) | |||||||||
| "—" denotes the release did not chart. denotes the Weeks Stay in that position. | ||||||||||||||
Awards and nominations
| Year | Award | Category | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | MTV Video Music Awards Latinoamérica Awards MTV Video Music Awards Latinoamérica 2002 The first annual MTV Video Music Awards Latinoamérica 2002 took place on October 24, 2002, in Miami at the Jackie Gleason Theater.-Artist of the Year:* Alejandro Sanz* Diego Torres* Juanes* La Ley* Shakira-Video of the Year:... |
Best Southwest New Artist | |