Latin rap
Encyclopedia
Latin rap is not a homogeneous musical style but rather a term that covers all Hip-Hop music recorded by artists of Latino
origin.
, the first Latino
in hip hop music was DJ Disco Wiz
, a product of a Puerto Rican
father and a Cuban
mother who was born in The Bronx
. DJ Disco Wiz, along with Casanova Fly (Grandmaster Caz
), formed the pioneering Mighty Force Crew from 183rd Street and Valentine Avenue in the mid-1970s. Later on they both were joined by the first Latino MC, Prince Whipper Whip
, a Puerto Rican. Whip, unlike Wiz was exclusively an MC; Wiz was a DJ too. Casanova Fly (Grandmaster Caz) would rap and DJ at the same time.
Since hip hop was experienced primarily via audio and not by video, most people never knew that DJ Disco Wiz was Puerto Rican and Cuban until they saw him. As explained by Kevie Kev in the book Yes Yes Yall, Prince Whipper Whip felt it necessary to keep his Afro-Puerto Rican background a secret in order to gain more positive acceptance. The audience perception of Whip as a Black-American made Rubie Dee the first public Puerto Rican MC according to the book. After DJ Disco Wiz, the second Puerto Rican DJ was an ex-salsa bassist turned DJ named Charlie Chase
, who became the DJ along with DJ Tony Tone) for the Cold Crush Brothers.
In 1981 a group called The Mean Machine
released a 12" single on Sugar Hill Records
called "Disco Dream
" which was the first rap record to emphasize Spanglish. In the same year The Sugar Hill Gang featured a solo by Tito Puente
on "The Sugar Hill Groove". DJ and producer Tony Touch
also mentions (in an interview on blackmagazine.it) the track "Spanglish" by Spanish Fly & The Terrible 2, came out in the same year on Enjoy Records
but was not as well known.
In the early to mid-1980s quite a few Latin-Caribbean rappers and DJ's hit the scene. Producer and DJ Master OC and The Devastating Tito were both a part of The Fearless Four. The Master OC was also the producer of another crew named The Fantasy 3 which featured another Puerto Rican MC named Charlie Rock. Both of these crews were from Harlem
. Out of the East New York section of Brooklyn
came Prince Markie Dee
of The Fat Boys, who later went on to produce Mary J Blige; and Wise, the beat box from Stetsasonic
. Both were Puerto Rican; as was Super Lover Cee from the Astoria Projects in Queens. Like Whipper Whip; Markie, Wise and Super Lover Cee's ethnic heritage was not that well known. Other lesser known MCs and DJs included Johnny Rock, DJ Candido, DJ Muscle and DJ Shiz(today known as B.Boy Omega) who were all Puerto Ricans from The Bronx, while Mr. L of the TDR crew was half Puerto Rican
and half Dominican
. DJ Dr. Dust along with his DJ partner and cousin DJ Duran from the Bronx are considered to be the first Dominican DJs in Hip-Hop (documented in The BX Factor magazine in 1996). Of Brazilian heritage, Breez Evahflowin from the Hell's Kitchen section of Manhattan, and is most famous as a member of the Stronghold Crew is the first MC in hip hop with parents from Brazil.
was the first Latino artist to have a major bilingual single attached to his 1989 debut. Mellow Man, referred to as the "Godfather of Latin rap" and a Hip Hop Hall of Fame inductee, brought mainstream attention to Spanglish rhyming with his 1989 platinum single "Mentirosa". In 1990, fellow West Coast artist Kid Frost further brought Latinos to the rap forefront with his single "La Raza." In 1991, Kid Frost, Mellow Man, A.L.T.
and several other Latin rappers formed the rap super group Latin Alliance and released a self titled album which featured the hit "Lowrider (On the Boulevard)". A.L.T. also scored a hit later that year with his remake of the song Tequila
. Cypress Hill
, of which Mellow Man Ace was a member before going solo, would become the first Latino rap group to reach platinum status in 1991. The group has since continued to release other gold and platinum albums. Ecuadorian born rapper Gerardo
received heavy rotation on video and radio for his single "Rico, Suave". While commercially watered-down, his album enjoyed a status of being one of the first mainstream Spanglish CDs on the market. Johnny J was a multi-platinum songwriter, music producer & rapper who was perhaps best known for his production on Tupac Shakur's albums All Eyez on Me and Me Against the World. He also produced the 1990 single "Knockin' Boots" for his classmate Candyman
's album Ain't No Shame in My Game
, which eventually went platinum thanks to the single
earning recognition for his lyricism and equal controversy for his subject matter. In the late 1990s, Puerto Rican rapper Big Punisher became the first Latino solo artist to reach platinum sales for an LP with his debut album Capital Punishment
, which included hit song Still Not a Player
. Other Latin artists on the East Coast would follow and receive a great deal of support from Latino consumers including rappers such as Cuban Link
and Immortal Technique
. In Miami artists such as Don Dinero
and Pitbull
have been successful with rhymes in Spanish and English as well.
) has thrived along the West Coast, Southwest and Midwestern states with little promotion due to the large Latino populations of those regions. During the '90s Southern California Chicano artists, such as Kid Frost
, A.L.T.
, A Lighter Shade of Brown
, B-Real
, Psycho Realm
, and Delinquent Habits
received mainstream success. More recently, Texas artists such as Chingo Bling
, Juan Gotti
and South Park Mexican
have enjoyed steady sales, and have headlined a number of successful Southwest tours. San Diego artist Lil Rob
opened doors for Chicano Rap by receiving mainstream attention for his singles "Summer Nights", and "Bring Out the Freak in You". Baby Bash
also had a huge impact with his single "Suga Suga". Artists Sinful of Tha Mexicanz, and Kemo the Blaxican have continued to improve the popularity of Spanglish rap on the West Coast.
, Jae-P
, Crooked Stilo
, Mexiclan
and David Rolas are among the most popular Urban Regional Artists.
. While Puerto Rican rappers from the US like Big Pun made their mark in the U.S., Hip-Hop was merged with Latin, electronica and dancehall into a new style. Popular Reggaeton artists include Tego Calderón
, Don Omar
, Wisin & Yandel
and Daddy Yankee
.
, (which later led to dancehall
), rap
/hip-hop
, reggaeton
, and Latin rap. The latter form of music has been a hit especially in countries with a large number of migrators to the United States. For example, Mexico has a growing hip hop scene with groups such as Control Machete
, Cartel De Santa
, and Molotov
. Similarly, the movement has spread to Puerto Rico, a country where many of its residents have moved to New York, Miami and Chicago over the years. Latin rap was jumpstarted by a wave of rappers that included Ruben DJ
and Vico C
. Ruben DJ's hit, La Escuela, (The School) and Vico C's hit, La Recta Final, (The End of the Road) received considerable radio time during the late 1980s. In addition to Latin rap in Puerto Rico developing around the same time as early American hip-hop, and rap and reggae simultaneously having a substantial impact on each other, all three genres (rap, Latin rap, and reggae/dancehall) relate a certain message to their respective audiences. Puerto Rican rap emerged as a form of cultural and social protest within the Puerto Rican context. This is similar to the way American and Jamaican youth used rap and reggae/dancehall as a means to communicate their feelings on social, cultural, and political issues. In essence, Puerto Rican rap became the voice of Puerto Rican youth like dancehall and rap music are methods of expression for their Jamaican and lower-class U.S. youth counterparts.
Latin rap has also surfaced in the UK with a group called Cultura Londres who list Eric Bobo of Cypress Hill
as one of their members. Also in Australia with Maya Jupiter
.
It should also be noted that a number of East Coast rappers that have been usually identified as African American
have parentage from a country that speaks Spanish or Portuguese, usually Puerto Rico
, The Dominican Republic, and Panama
. This list includes N.O.R.E.
, Lloyd Banks
, Kane & Abel, J. R. Writer, Peedi Peedi
, AZ
, Juelz Santana
, and Fabolous
Latino
The demonyms Latino and Latina , are defined in English language dictionaries as:* "a person of Latin-American descent."* "A Latin American."* "A person of Hispanic, especially Latin-American, descent, often one living in the United States."...
origin.
Early Latinos in hip hop music
According to B.Boy Omega, a writer for The SourceThe Source (magazine)
The Source is a United States-based, monthly full-color magazine covering hip-hop music, politics, and culture, founded in 1988. It is the world's second longest running rap periodical, behind United Kingdom-based publication Hip Hop Connection. The Source was founded as a newsletter in 1988...
, the first Latino
Latino
The demonyms Latino and Latina , are defined in English language dictionaries as:* "a person of Latin-American descent."* "A Latin American."* "A person of Hispanic, especially Latin-American, descent, often one living in the United States."...
in hip hop music was DJ Disco Wiz
DJ Disco Wiz
DJ Disco Wiz in the Bronx, New York, USA, to a Puerto Rican father and a mother from Cuba. He is also credited with being the first Latino DJ in Hip-Hop music.- Old School :...
, a product of a Puerto Rican
Puerto Rican people
A Puerto Rican is a person who was born in Puerto Rico.Puerto Ricans born and raised in the continental United States are also sometimes referred to as Puerto Ricans, although they were not born in Puerto Rico...
father and a Cuban
Cubans
Cubans or Cuban people are the inhabitants or citizens of Cuba. Cuba is a multi-ethnic nation, home to people of different ethnic and national backgrounds...
mother who was born in The Bronx
The Bronx
The Bronx is the northernmost of the five boroughs of New York City. It is also known as Bronx County, the last of the 62 counties of New York State to be incorporated...
. DJ Disco Wiz, along with Casanova Fly (Grandmaster Caz
Grandmaster Caz
Curtis Fisher , better known by his stage name Grandmaster Caz or Cassanova Fly is an American "Old Skool" rapper, MC, and DJ...
), formed the pioneering Mighty Force Crew from 183rd Street and Valentine Avenue in the mid-1970s. Later on they both were joined by the first Latino MC, Prince Whipper Whip
Prince Whipper Whip
Prince Whipper Whip is the stage name of James Whipper, a Puerto Rican rapper from the Bronx. He was an original member of Grandwizard Theodore & the Fantastic Five...
, a Puerto Rican. Whip, unlike Wiz was exclusively an MC; Wiz was a DJ too. Casanova Fly (Grandmaster Caz) would rap and DJ at the same time.
Since hip hop was experienced primarily via audio and not by video, most people never knew that DJ Disco Wiz was Puerto Rican and Cuban until they saw him. As explained by Kevie Kev in the book Yes Yes Yall, Prince Whipper Whip felt it necessary to keep his Afro-Puerto Rican background a secret in order to gain more positive acceptance. The audience perception of Whip as a Black-American made Rubie Dee the first public Puerto Rican MC according to the book. After DJ Disco Wiz, the second Puerto Rican DJ was an ex-salsa bassist turned DJ named Charlie Chase
Charlie Chase
Charlie Chase is a radio and television host best known for his work on The Nashville Network program Crook & Chase.-Childhood:Charlie Chase was born October 19, 1952 in Rogersville, Tennessee...
, who became the DJ along with DJ Tony Tone) for the Cold Crush Brothers.
In 1981 a group called The Mean Machine
The Mean Machine (Rap group)
The Mean Machine was a rap group composed of Puerto Ricans who rapped in both English and Spanish. They are known for the single Disco Dream, released as a 12" 33 RPM single in 1981 on the Sugar Hill Records label. In 1986, They recorded a single called "At The Party" on the Honey Hush label...
released a 12" single on Sugar Hill Records
Sugar Hill Records (rap)
Sugar Hill Records was the name of a rap music record label that was founded in 1979 by husband and wife Joe and Sylvia Robinson with Milton Malden and financial funding of Morris Levy, the owner of Roulette Records.-History:...
called "Disco Dream
Disco Dream
Disco Dream was a single released in 1981 by early rap group The Mean Machine through Sugar Hill Records. It is the only single the group recorded on that label, released on a 12" 33 RPM vinyl single...
" which was the first rap record to emphasize Spanglish. In the same year The Sugar Hill Gang featured a solo by Tito Puente
Tito Puente
Tito Puente, , born Ernesto Antonio Puente, was a Latin jazz and Salsa musician. The son of native Puerto Ricans Ernest and Ercilia Puente, of Spanish Harlem in New York City, Puente is often credited as "El Rey de los Timbales" and "The King of Latin Music"...
on "The Sugar Hill Groove". DJ and producer Tony Touch
Tony Touch
Tony Touch is an American hip hop break dancer, rapper, DJ, producer and actor of Puerto Rican descent.Tony Touch began as a B-boy during the rap music renaissance era of the early 1980s...
also mentions (in an interview on blackmagazine.it) the track "Spanglish" by Spanish Fly & The Terrible 2, came out in the same year on Enjoy Records
Enjoy Records
Enjoy Records was a record label owned and operated by Bobby Robinson from 1962 through the mid-1980s, and was run out of his record shop at 125th Street and 8th Ave. in Harlem...
but was not as well known.
In the early to mid-1980s quite a few Latin-Caribbean rappers and DJ's hit the scene. Producer and DJ Master OC and The Devastating Tito were both a part of The Fearless Four. The Master OC was also the producer of another crew named The Fantasy 3 which featured another Puerto Rican MC named Charlie Rock. Both of these crews were from Harlem
Harlem
Harlem is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Manhattan, which since the 1920s has been a major African-American residential, cultural and business center. Originally a Dutch village, formally organized in 1658, it is named after the city of Haarlem in the Netherlands...
. Out of the East New York section of Brooklyn
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
came Prince Markie Dee
Prince Markie Dee
Mark Anthony Morales, better known by the stage name Prince Markie Dee, is an American rapper, songwriter, producer, and radio personality of Puerto Rican descent...
of The Fat Boys, who later went on to produce Mary J Blige; and Wise, the beat box from Stetsasonic
Stetsasonic
Stetsasonic was an American hip hop group formed in 1979 in Brooklyn, New York City, New York. It is remembered as one of the first hip hop crews to use a live band, and the group's positive, uplifting lyrics made it forerunners of alternative hip hop and jazz hip...
. Both were Puerto Rican; as was Super Lover Cee from the Astoria Projects in Queens. Like Whipper Whip; Markie, Wise and Super Lover Cee's ethnic heritage was not that well known. Other lesser known MCs and DJs included Johnny Rock, DJ Candido, DJ Muscle and DJ Shiz(today known as B.Boy Omega) who were all Puerto Ricans from The Bronx, while Mr. L of the TDR crew was half Puerto Rican
Puerto Rican people
A Puerto Rican is a person who was born in Puerto Rico.Puerto Ricans born and raised in the continental United States are also sometimes referred to as Puerto Ricans, although they were not born in Puerto Rico...
and half Dominican
Dominican Republic
The Dominican Republic is a nation on the island of La Hispaniola, part of the Greater Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean region. The western third of the island is occupied by the nation of Haiti, making Hispaniola one of two Caribbean islands that are shared by two countries...
. DJ Dr. Dust along with his DJ partner and cousin DJ Duran from the Bronx are considered to be the first Dominican DJs in Hip-Hop (documented in The BX Factor magazine in 1996). Of Brazilian heritage, Breez Evahflowin from the Hell's Kitchen section of Manhattan, and is most famous as a member of the Stronghold Crew is the first MC in hip hop with parents from Brazil.
Latin rap on the West Coast
In the late 1980s and early 1990s, most Latin rap came from the West Coast of the United States. Cuban-American artist Mellow Man AceMellow Man Ace
Ulpiano Sergio Reyes , better known as Mellow Man Ace, is an American rapper. He is best known for his hit single "Mentirosa"...
was the first Latino artist to have a major bilingual single attached to his 1989 debut. Mellow Man, referred to as the "Godfather of Latin rap" and a Hip Hop Hall of Fame inductee, brought mainstream attention to Spanglish rhyming with his 1989 platinum single "Mentirosa". In 1990, fellow West Coast artist Kid Frost further brought Latinos to the rap forefront with his single "La Raza." In 1991, Kid Frost, Mellow Man, A.L.T.
A.L.T.
A.L.T. is a Mexican-American rapper known for the 1992 hit song "Tequila" . He is of Mexican and French descent. A.L.T. joined the rap supergroup, Latin Alliance in 1991. After their first and only album, A.L.T. went solo and released his debut album, Another Latin Timebomb in 1992...
and several other Latin rappers formed the rap super group Latin Alliance and released a self titled album which featured the hit "Lowrider (On the Boulevard)". A.L.T. also scored a hit later that year with his remake of the song Tequila
Tequila (song)
"Tequila" is a 1958 Latin-flavored rock and roll song recorded by the group, the Champs. The title of the song constitutes the entirety of the lyrics, and is spoken a total of three times during the course of the song. "Tequila" became a #1 hit on both the pop and R&B charts at the time of its...
. Cypress Hill
Cypress Hill
Cypress Hill is an American hip hop group from South Gate, California. Cypress Hill was the first Latino hip-hop group to have platinum and multi-platinum albums, selling over 18 million albums worldwide...
, of which Mellow Man Ace was a member before going solo, would become the first Latino rap group to reach platinum status in 1991. The group has since continued to release other gold and platinum albums. Ecuadorian born rapper Gerardo
Gerardo
Gerardo Mejía , better known as simply Gerardo, is a Latin rapper and singer who later became a recording industry executive. Born in Guayaquil, Ecuador, he has based his career in Los Angeles, California since his family moved to Glendale, California, when he was 12 years old. He became known for...
received heavy rotation on video and radio for his single "Rico, Suave". While commercially watered-down, his album enjoyed a status of being one of the first mainstream Spanglish CDs on the market. Johnny J was a multi-platinum songwriter, music producer & rapper who was perhaps best known for his production on Tupac Shakur's albums All Eyez on Me and Me Against the World. He also produced the 1990 single "Knockin' Boots" for his classmate Candyman
Candyman (rapper)
Candell Manson known by his stage name Candyman, is an American rapper and record producer. He is best known for his only hit single, "Knockin' Boots".-Biography:...
's album Ain't No Shame in My Game
Ain't No Shame in My Game
Ain't No Shame in My Game is the debut album by rapper, Candyman. The album was released on September 24, 1990 for Epic Records The album was a huge success for Candyman thanks to the single "Knockin' Boots" which went to #1 on the Hot Rap Singles and #9 on the Billboard Hot 100...
, which eventually went platinum thanks to the single
Latin rap in the East Coast and Miami
On the East Coast, Latin artists such as the Beatnuts emerged in the early 1990s, with New Jersey native Chino XLChino XL
Derek Keith Barbosa , better known by his stage name Chino XL, is an American hip hop lyricist, battle rapper, and actor of Puerto Rican and African American descent...
earning recognition for his lyricism and equal controversy for his subject matter. In the late 1990s, Puerto Rican rapper Big Punisher became the first Latino solo artist to reach platinum sales for an LP with his debut album Capital Punishment
Capital punishment
Capital punishment, the death penalty, or execution is the sentence of death upon a person by the state as a punishment for an offence. Crimes that can result in a death penalty are known as capital crimes or capital offences. The term capital originates from the Latin capitalis, literally...
, which included hit song Still Not a Player
Still Not a Player
"Still Not a Player" is a hip-hop song, written and performed by Puerto Rican-American rapper Big Punisher , produced by Knobody and featuring singer Joe. It was featured on his 1998 debut album Capital Punishment....
. Other Latin artists on the East Coast would follow and receive a great deal of support from Latino consumers including rappers such as Cuban Link
Cuban Link
Felix Delgado , better known by his stage name Cuban Link, is a Cuban rapper.-Biography:Delgado was born in Havana, Cuba in 1974. He and his family emigrated to the United States in 1980 and settled in the Morrisania section of the South Bronx neighborhood of New York City...
and Immortal Technique
Immortal Technique
Felipe Andres Coronel , better known by the stage name Immortal Technique, is an American rapper of Afro-Peruvian descent as well as an urban activist. He was born in Lima, Peru and raised in Harlem, New York. Most of his lyrics focus on controversial issues in global politics...
. In Miami artists such as Don Dinero
Don Dinero
Jose Manuel Guitian, popularly known as Don Dinero, is an American-born Cuban Rapper.-Biography:Dinero was born in the Washington Heights section of Manhattan. Don Dinero is the son of Cuban exiles who arrived in the United States at the beginning of the 1960s.In the late 1990s he and his older...
and Pitbull
Pitbull (rapper)
Armando Christian Pérez , better known by his stage name Pitbull, is an American rapper, singer-songwriter and record producer. His first recorded performance was from the Lil Jon album Kings of Crunk in 2002, after which he released his debut album in 2004 titled M.I.A.M.I. under TVT Records...
have been successful with rhymes in Spanish and English as well.
Southwest and Chicano rap
Latin rap (as well as its subgenre of Chicano rapChicano rap
Chicano Rap is a subgenre of hip hop music, Latin rap and gangsta rap that embodies aspects of West Coast and Southwest Mexican American culture and is typically performed by American rappers and musicians of Mexican descent.-Early Years:...
) has thrived along the West Coast, Southwest and Midwestern states with little promotion due to the large Latino populations of those regions. During the '90s Southern California Chicano artists, such as Kid Frost
Kid Frost
Arturo Molina Jr. , better known as Frost , is a Mexican American hip hop artist.-Early life:...
, A.L.T.
A.L.T.
A.L.T. is a Mexican-American rapper known for the 1992 hit song "Tequila" . He is of Mexican and French descent. A.L.T. joined the rap supergroup, Latin Alliance in 1991. After their first and only album, A.L.T. went solo and released his debut album, Another Latin Timebomb in 1992...
, A Lighter Shade of Brown
A Lighter Shade of Brown
A Lighter Shade of Brown was a Mexican American hip hop duo from Riverside, California best known for their 1990 hit single "On a Sunday Afternoon", a success in the U.S., written by songwriters/musicians David Dunson & Micah Carson.-History:...
, B-Real
B-Real
Louis Freese, better known by his stage name B-Real, is an American rapper of Cuban and Mexican heritage, and a film and TV actor...
, Psycho Realm
Psycho Realm
Psycho Realm is an american hip hop supergroup started in 1989 by brothers Sick Jacken and Big Duke from the Downtown, Pico-Union area of Los Angeles. The first recorded Psycho Realm song, "Scandalous", was released on the soundtrack of the film Mi Vida Loca in 1994...
, and Delinquent Habits
Delinquent Habits
Delinquent Habits is a hip hop group. Formed in East Los Angeles in 1991, they are known for their Latin-tinged rap, which is both melodic and hardcore...
received mainstream success. More recently, Texas artists such as Chingo Bling
Chingo Bling
Pedro Herrera III in Houston, Texas of Mexican parents, better known by his stage name Chingo Bling, is a well known underground rapper and producer....
, Juan Gotti
Juan Gotti
Juan Ramos, better known by his stage name Juan Gotti, is an American rapper of Mexican descent, and member of Dope House Records. He raps in both Spanish and English. Billboard has called him "one of the pioneers of the West Coast Latin rap movement"....
and South Park Mexican
South Park Mexican
Carlos Coy , better known by his stage name South Park Mexican, is an American rapper, founder of Dope House Records, and convicted felon...
have enjoyed steady sales, and have headlined a number of successful Southwest tours. San Diego artist Lil Rob
Lil Rob
Roberto Flores , best known by his stage name Lil Rob, is a Mexican American rapper, producer, and actor-Biography:...
opened doors for Chicano Rap by receiving mainstream attention for his singles "Summer Nights", and "Bring Out the Freak in You". Baby Bash
Baby Bash
Ronnie Ray Bryant , better known by his stage name Baby Bash , is a Mexican-American rapper. From 1995 to 1998, he performed under the stage name Baby Beesh, as part of the Vallejo, California group Potna Duece, after which he changed the last part of the name to Bash...
also had a huge impact with his single "Suga Suga". Artists Sinful of Tha Mexicanz, and Kemo the Blaxican have continued to improve the popularity of Spanglish rap on the West Coast.
Urban Regional
In recent years the term "Urban Regional" was coined to refer to Spanish rap performed over beats infused with the sounds and melodies from popular Mexican music styles such as Banda, Cumbia, Norteno and others. AkwidAkwid
Akwid is an American hip hop group combining hip hop-style vocals with regional Mexican music. An earlier incarnation of the group was known as Juvenile Style...
, Jae-P
Jae-P
Jae-P, born Juan Pablo Huerta, is a Mexican rapper. Born in Jalisco, Mexico on May 24, 1984, Jae-P is the son of Mexican immigrants from the states of Guanajuato and Colima...
, Crooked Stilo
Crooked Stilo
-Early years:The duo spent their early years in El Salvador, a Central American nation that was torn apart by civil war. In their youth, they immigrated with their parents to the United States in search of a new beginning and a better future...
, Mexiclan
Mexiclan
Mexiclan is a latin rap duo composed of Sem Vargas and Marco Antonio Muñoz. Their first self-titled album was released by Univision Records on January 13, 2004, and that same year the album was charted on Billboard's Top Latin Albums chart peaking at number 51....
and David Rolas are among the most popular Urban Regional Artists.
Reggaeton movement
In Puerto Rico a new style was created, inspired by hip hop: ReggaetonReggaeton
Reggaeton is a form of Puerto Rican and Latin American urban and Caribbean music. After its mainstream exposure in 2004, it spread to North American, European and Asian audiences. Reggaeton originated in Puerto Rico but is also has roots from Reggae en Español from Panama and Puerto Rico and...
. While Puerto Rican rappers from the US like Big Pun made their mark in the U.S., Hip-Hop was merged with Latin, electronica and dancehall into a new style. Popular Reggaeton artists include Tego Calderón
Tego Calderón
Tegui Calderón Rosario is a Puerto Rican rapper and actor.-Early life:Calderón was born in Santurce, Puerto Rico, the son of Pilar Rosario Parrilla, a schoolteacher, and Esteban Calderón Ilarraza, a government worker for Puerto Rico's Department of Health. Moving at a young age from his native...
, Don Omar
Don Omar
Don Omar, also known as El Rey Don Omar, also known as El Rey Don Omar, also known as El Rey (born William Omar Landrón Rivera; February 10, 1978, is a Puerto Rican Reggaetón singer and actor.-Early life:...
, Wisin & Yandel
Wisin & Yandel
Wisin & Yandel are a Puerto Rican reggaeton Duo, consisting of Juan Luis Morera Luna and Llandel Veguilla Malavé Salazar . They started their career in 1998 and have been together since, winning several awards during that time....
and Daddy Yankee
Daddy Yankee
Ramón Luis Ayala Rodríguez , known artistically as Daddy Yankee, is a Latin Grammy Award winning Puerto Rican Reggaeton recording artist. Ayala was born in Río Piedras, the largest district of San Juan, where he became interested in music at a young age. In his youth he was interested in baseball,...
.
Latin rap around the world
The constant migration of people from one country to another has greatly influenced the dispersion of cultures and music across the globe. In the music realm, this can be heard with many different genres, like reggaeReggae
Reggae is a music genre first developed in Jamaica in the late 1960s. While sometimes used in a broader sense to refer to most types of Jamaican music, the term reggae more properly denotes a particular music style that originated following on the development of ska and rocksteady.Reggae is based...
, (which later led to dancehall
Dancehall
Dancehall is a genre of Jamaican popular music that originated in the late 1970s. Initially dancehall was a more sparse version of reggae than the roots style, which had dominated much of the 1970s. In the mid-1980s, digital instrumentation became more prevalent, changing the sound considerably,...
), rap
Rapping
Rapping refers to "spoken or chanted rhyming lyrics". The art form can be broken down into different components, as in the book How to Rap where it is separated into “content”, “flow” , and “delivery”...
/hip-hop
Hip hop music
Hip hop music, also called hip-hop, rap music or hip-hop music, is a musical genre consisting of a stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted...
, reggaeton
Reggaeton
Reggaeton is a form of Puerto Rican and Latin American urban and Caribbean music. After its mainstream exposure in 2004, it spread to North American, European and Asian audiences. Reggaeton originated in Puerto Rico but is also has roots from Reggae en Español from Panama and Puerto Rico and...
, and Latin rap. The latter form of music has been a hit especially in countries with a large number of migrators to the United States. For example, Mexico has a growing hip hop scene with groups such as Control Machete
Control Machete
Control Machete is a Mexican hip hop group from Monterrey, Nuevo León, Mexico. Its members are Fermin IV , Patricio "Pato" Chapa Elizalde, and Toy Kenobi .-History:...
, Cartel De Santa
Cartel de Santa
Cartel de Santa is a Mexican band from the "barrio de la Aurora", Santa Catarina, Nuevo León, Mexico. The band started playing in 1996 as part of the Avanzada Regia musical movement and is currently composed of Eduardo Davalos de Luna, also known as MC Babo , MC Dharius, Rowan Rabia and DJ Agustín...
, and Molotov
Molotov (band)
Molotov is a four-time Latin Grammy Award-winning Mexican rock band formed in Mexico City on September 23, 1995. Their lyrics feature a mixture of Spanish and English, rapped and sung by all members of the group. Musically, Molotov blends heavy basslines with heavy guitar riffs...
. Similarly, the movement has spread to Puerto Rico, a country where many of its residents have moved to New York, Miami and Chicago over the years. Latin rap was jumpstarted by a wave of rappers that included Ruben DJ
Ruben DJ
Ruben Urrutia , better known in the Spanish rap music world as Ruben DJ, is a Puerto Rican former rap star who became famous in the late 1980s....
and Vico C
Vico C
Vico C is an Puerto Rican rapper and rap artist. He is considered one of the founding fathers of rap and has played an influential role in the development of Latin American hip hop....
. Ruben DJ's hit, La Escuela, (The School) and Vico C's hit, La Recta Final, (The End of the Road) received considerable radio time during the late 1980s. In addition to Latin rap in Puerto Rico developing around the same time as early American hip-hop, and rap and reggae simultaneously having a substantial impact on each other, all three genres (rap, Latin rap, and reggae/dancehall) relate a certain message to their respective audiences. Puerto Rican rap emerged as a form of cultural and social protest within the Puerto Rican context. This is similar to the way American and Jamaican youth used rap and reggae/dancehall as a means to communicate their feelings on social, cultural, and political issues. In essence, Puerto Rican rap became the voice of Puerto Rican youth like dancehall and rap music are methods of expression for their Jamaican and lower-class U.S. youth counterparts.
Latin rap has also surfaced in the UK with a group called Cultura Londres who list Eric Bobo of Cypress Hill
Cypress Hill
Cypress Hill is an American hip hop group from South Gate, California. Cypress Hill was the first Latino hip-hop group to have platinum and multi-platinum albums, selling over 18 million albums worldwide...
as one of their members. Also in Australia with Maya Jupiter
Maya Jupiter
Maya Jupiter is an Australian Rapper & Radio Personality-Biography:Maya was born in La Paz, Mexico. She is of mixed Mexican and Turkish origin...
.
It should also be noted that a number of East Coast rappers that have been usually identified as African American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
have parentage from a country that speaks Spanish or Portuguese, usually Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
, The Dominican Republic, and Panama
Panama
Panama , officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The...
. This list includes N.O.R.E.
N.O.R.E.
Victor Santiago, Jr., best known by his stage name N.O.R.E. or Noreaga , is an American rapper of Puerto Rican descent...
, Lloyd Banks
Lloyd Banks
Christopher Charles Lloyd , better known by his stage name Lloyd Banks, is an American rapper and member of the rap group G-Unit. Raised in South Jamaica, Queens, he dropped out of high school in 1998. G-Unit released two albums, Beg for Mercy in 2003 and T.O.S. in 2008...
, Kane & Abel, J. R. Writer, Peedi Peedi
Peedi Peedi
Pedro Zayas, known as Peedi Crakk and also Peedi Peedi is an American rapper of Puerto Rican descent. He is a member of State Property and is currently signed to Amalgam Digital.-Career:...
, AZ
AZ (rapper)
Anthony Cruz , better known as AZ is a Grammy-nominated American rapper of Dominican & African American descent. He is known for being a long time and frequent rhyme partner of Nas, and also a member of hip-hop group The Firm alongside Nas, Foxy Brown, Cormega and Nature.In a countdown of the 10...
, Juelz Santana
Juelz Santana
LaRon Louis James , better known by his stage name Juelz Santana, is an American rapper, producer, and actor. He appeared on Cam'ron's 2002 singles, "Oh Boy" and "Hey Ma"...
, and Fabolous
Fabolous
John David Jackson , better known by his stage name Fabolous, is an American rapper of African American and Dominican descent. He grew up in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York. Part of his early popularity arose from his hit single "Can't Deny It" in 2001, from his debut...
See also
- Chicano rapChicano rapChicano Rap is a subgenre of hip hop music, Latin rap and gangsta rap that embodies aspects of West Coast and Southwest Mexican American culture and is typically performed by American rappers and musicians of Mexican descent.-Early Years:...
- ReggaetonReggaetonReggaeton is a form of Puerto Rican and Latin American urban and Caribbean music. After its mainstream exposure in 2004, it spread to North American, European and Asian audiences. Reggaeton originated in Puerto Rico but is also has roots from Reggae en Español from Panama and Puerto Rico and...
- Freestyle musicFreestyle musicFreestyle or Latin freestyle, sometimes referred to as Latin hip hop, is a form of electronic dance music that emerged in the early 1980s. Mostly popular during the mid 80s to the early 90s...
- Haitian hip hopHaitian hip hopHaitian Hip Hop or Hip Hop Kreyol is music originating from Haiti and sung by artists of Haitian descent. The most popular form of this is the rising of 'Hip Hop nan Kreyòl' or Kreyòl Hip Hop. Often, hardcore beats are used while the artist raps in kreyòl...
- Jamaican hip hop
External links
- LatinRapper.com - Source for Latin rap news and interviews.
- BrownPride.com at BrownPride.com - A collection of texts and links about Latin rap.