Hip hop music by Latin American artists
Latin hip hop
(also known as
Latin rap
) is
hip hop music
that is recorded by artists in the
United States
of
Hispanic
and
Latino
descent, along with Spanish-speaking countries in the
Caribbean
,
North America
,
Central America
,
South America
, and
Spain
.
Latino hip hop in the United States
[
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]
West Coast
[
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]
In the late 1980s and early 1990s, most Latin rap came from New York and the West Coast of the United States. Due to the heaviest Puerto Rican migration to New York City in the '50s, during the '70s, the birth of hip hop involved Latinos from the Caribbean islands.
DJ Kool Herc
was from
Jamaica
. Puerto Rico loved Hip Hop from America, and among the early rappers from the island were Ruben DJ, DJ Negro, and Vico-C.
[1]
Mellow Man Ace
, from
Cuba
, was the first Latino artist to have a major bilingual single, the 1989 track "
Mentirosa
". This song went platinum, leading Mellow Man Ace to be described as the "Godfather of Latin rap" and inducted into the Hip Hop Hall of Fame inductee. In 1990, fellow West Coast artist
Kid Frost
further brought Latinos to the rap forefront with his hit song "
La Raza (song)
."
[2]
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)". The remake of the song
Tequila
was a A.L.T. hit later that year.
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 was also the first major hip-hop music group to include
Spanish
and Latin slang in their lyrics. Cypress Hill gained hit "Insane in the Brain"(1993) and Platinum record.
[3]
Ecuadorian-born American 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, and rapper who was perhaps best known for his production on
Tupac Shakur
's albums
All Eyez on Me
and
Me Against the World
.
[4]
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.
[5]
N2Deep
, A Lighter Shade of Brown,
Proper Dos
, and
Slow Pain
were popular in latin rap scene.
In the mid-1990s, the success of LA's
Cypress Hill
led to additional Latin hip-hop artists finding label support.
Delinquent Habits
were a horn-sampling trio that found MTV support for their breakout bilingual single "Tres Delinquentes" in 1996. By the early 2000's, two Mexico-born, United States-raised Latin hip hop acts found success on major labels. LA's
Akwid
fused banda with hip-hop on hits like "No Hay Manera" while Milwaukee's
Kinto Sol
told tales of Mexican immigrant life over more minimalist beats. Mr.Criminal, Mr.Capone-E, Mr.Knightowl, Ms.Krazie, Charlie Row Campo and Mr.Sancho released latin and Chicano rap CDs.
[6]
East Coast
[
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]
DJ Charlie Chase
fused hip-hop with
salsa
and other music genres. Chase was the DJ for the New York hip-hop group
the Cold Crush Brothers
, from 1978 and through the '80s.
[7]
East Coast Latin artists such as the
Beatnuts
emerged in the early 1990s, with New Jersey native
Chino XL
earning recognition for his lyricism and equal controversy for his subject matter. In 1992, Mesanjarz of Funk, led by the Spanish/English flow of Mr. Pearl, became the first Spanish rap group signed to a major label (Atlantic Records). In 1994, Platinum Producer and DJ
Frankie Cutlass
used his own label, Hoody Records, to produce his single “Puerto Rico” which became a classic. 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
". The genre even spawned a bicultural novelty, the Brooklyn-based crew
Hip Hop Hoodios
, who fused their dual Jewish and Latino cultures on songs like "Havana Nagila" and "Raza Hoodia."
South and Midwest
[
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]
Latin rap (as well as its subgenre of
Chicano rap
) has thrived along the West Coast, Southwest and Midwestern states with little promotion due to the large Latino populations of those regions.
Jonny Z
is considered to be a pioneer of Latin hip-hop, due to him being one of the first Latinos combining Spanglish lyrics with freestyle, salsa, mambo, and regional Mexican banda. He scored four Billboard Hot Dance singles between 1993 and 1997, including one of the greatest
Miami bass
songs of all time, "Shake Shake (Shake That Culo)". Besides bass music, he also recorded the Chicano anthem "Orale".
The Oxford Encyclopedia of Latinos and Latinas in the United States
Volume 2, Page 301 states: "A new style of Latina and Latino hip-hop was created in Miami and Texas by the bass rappers
DJ Laz
and
Jonny Z
, who mixed Latin styles with bass music".
[8]
Latin hip hop in other countries
[
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]
Latin rap in Puerto Rico has had a substantial impact on the genres (rap, and Latin rap) and 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.
[9]
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 the Puerto Rican youth in which they use dancehall and rap music as methods of expression for the Jamaican and working-class American youth counterparts as they made it in France too since 2003 "1492 Army".
[9]
In the late 1990s, hip-hop took hold in Mexico, especially with the platinum success of Mexican rap pioneers
Control Machete
. The genre also found prominence with Latin alternative artists who fused hip-hop rhymes with live instrumentation, including rap-rockers
Molotov
and
cumbia
-rockers
El Gran Silencio
.
There are many hip-hop scenes in Latin America, including a growing rap movement in Buenos Aires and Montevideo.
[10]
Hip hop in Uruguay has had a significant presence since the late 1990s, with groups such as Sudacas en Guerra, Oeste Pro Funk, Platano Macho and El Peyote Asesino. Starting in 2003, the genre began to develop progressively in the country, especially after latejapride* joined Bizarro Records. Since then, numerous groups and artists have emerged on the Uruguayan hip hop scene, including Beat Urbano, Arrajatabla Flow Club & The Warriors, Magia Negra Squad, Primate and Cubaguayo, among others.
[11]
Introduction: Since the late 1990s, Uruguay has witnessed the development of a thriving hip hop scene, marked by the contributions of early pioneers and a variety of influential groups.
2003 Onwards: A significant turning point was latejapride*'s signing with Bizarro Records, which led to a progressive development of the genre.
New Artists and Challenges: The emergence of acts like Beat Urbano, Arrajatabla Flow Club & The Warriors, and Magia Negra Squad, as well as the challenges faced, including the tragic murder of rapper Plef, illustrate the scene's evolution and resilience.
Conclusion
Each of these countries' hip-hop scenes reflects their unique cultural contexts and social issues. While facing distinct challenges, these communities continue to use hip-hop as a powerful tool for expression and social commentary.
[12]
Uruguayan Hip-Hop Development: New Rappers such as 44 Kid ,Zanto, Davus, Mesita, and Rodridi recorded rap singles or albums.
Narco-rap
[
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]
A music scene, similar to the early underground
gangsta rap
scene, has emerged in northeastern Mexico (
Nuevo Leon
,
Tamaulipas
and
Coahuila
), where the musical phenomenon of hip-hop is being co-opted by the influence of organized crime and the
drug war
in the region.
Some of the main exponents of the genre are
Cano y Blunt
, DemenT and Big Los.
[13]
[14]
[15]
[16]
[17]
[18]
[19]
Freestyle
[
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]
In the mid-1980s,
freestyle music
was initially called "Latin hip hop". This dance music genre, not to be confused with improvised
freestyle rapping
, was dominated, at the time, by
electro funk
beats and electronic Latin melodic and percussion elements, over which Latino vocalists sang melodramatic pop vocals, usually in English even though it was started by Nuyorican natives and African-Americans primarily.
[20]
[21]
Freestyle has been primarily popular among Latinos in the New York City, Miami, Chicago and California club scenes, but achieved national mainstream pop success with hits by
Lisa Lisa
,
the Cover Girls
,
George Lamond
,
Stevie B
,
TKA
and
Expose
, among others.
[20]
[21]
Latin trap
[
edit
]
In 2015, a new movement of
trap music
referred to as "
Latin trap
" began to emerge.
[22]
Also known as Spanish-language trap, Latin trap similar to mainstream trap which details "'la calle,' or the streets ? hustling, sex, and drugs".
[23]
Prominent artists of Latin trap include Messiah, Fuego, Anuel AA and Bad Bunny.
[24]
In July 2017,
The Fader
wrote "Rappers and
reggaetoneros
from Puerto Rico to Colombia have taken elements of trap ? the lurching bass lines, jittering 808s and the eyes-half-closed vibe ? and infused them into banger after banger."
[24]
In an August 2017 article for
Billboard
's series, "A Brief History Of," they enlisted some of the key artists of Latin trap?including
Ozuna
,
De La Ghetto
, Bad Bunny,
Farruko
and Messiah?to narrate a brief history on the genre.
[22]
[25]
Elias Leight of
Rolling Stone
noted "[Jorge] Fonseca featured Puerto Rican artists like Anuel AA,
Bryant Myers
and
Noriel
on the compilation
Trap Capos: Season 1
, which became the first "Latin trap"
LP
to reach Number One on
Billboard
's
Latin Rhythm Albums
chart."
[26]
A
remixed
version of
Cardi B
's
hit single
"
Bodak Yellow
" (which reached number one on the US
Billboard
Hot 100
chart), dubbed the "Latin Trap Remix", was officially released on August 18, 2017 and features Cardi B
rapping
in the
Spanish language
with
Dominican hip hop
recording artist Messiah contributing a
guest
verse
.
[27]
[28]
[29]
In November 2017,
Rolling Stone
wrote that "a surging Latin trap sound is responding to more recent developments in American rap, embracing the slow-rolling rhythms and gooey vocal delivery popularized by Southern hip-hop."
[26]
In addition, Venezuelan hiphop has emerged in an explosive way with very talented artists such as Neutro shorty and big soto
See also
[
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]
Further reading
[
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]
References
[
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]
- ^
Puerto Rican Underground
medium.com Retrieved 16 May 2024
- ^
Gold, Jonathan (August 20, 1990).
"Kid Frost: Political Rap for Chicano Solidarity Pop music: His hit La Raza ??"
.
Los Angeles Times
. Retrieved
15 May
2024
.
- ^
"American certifications ? Cypress Hill ? Insane in the Brain"
.
Recording Industry Association of America
. Retrieved
16 May
2024
.
- ^
allmusic Credits
- ^
"RIAA Database"
.
Recording Industry Association of America
. Archived from
the original
on September 24, 2015.
- ^
Mr. Sancho
AllMusic. 17 May 2024
- ^
Roberts, Ed. "Cold Crush Brothers."
Oldschoolhiphop.Com.
Oldschoolhiphop.com. Retrieved 16 May 2024
- ^
Oboler, Suzanne; Gonzalez, Deena J. (2005-08-25).
The Oxford encyclopedia of Latinos and Latinas in the United States - Suzanne Oboler, Deena J. Gonzalez - Google Books
. Oxford University Press.
ISBN
9780195156003
. Retrieved
2018-01-17
.
- ^
a
b
Giovannetti, Jorge L. "Popular Music and Culture in Puerto Rico: Jamaican and Rap Music as Cross-Cultural Symbols." In "Musical Migrations: Transnationalism and Cultural Hybridity in the Americas", ed. Frances R. Aparicio and Candida F Jaquez, 89. New York: Palgrave, 2003
- ^
"Buenos Aires Rap: An Interview with Diane Ghogomu"
.
Sounds and Colours
. June 9, 2014.
- ^
"Hip hop en Uruguay: La tribu urbana que se transformo en una cultura de masas"
. 5 March 2023.
- ^
"Muros que hablan: El "graffiti" uruguayo florece en memoria de Plef"
.
- ^
"En Tamaulipas los narcos disparan a ritmo de rap"
. VICE. 2012-06-13
. Retrieved
2018-01-17
.
- ^
"El narco-rap, la banda sonora del horror en Reynosa"
.
Mexico CNN
. Archived from
the original
on 2016-01-31
. Retrieved
2016-01-20
.
- ^
"Se suman los raperos norteamericanos a la 'ola narco' | El Paso"
. Diario.mx
. Retrieved
2018-01-17
.
- ^
Maria, Juana (2013-07-09).
"McALLEN: 'Reynosa la Maldosa' - El Nuevo Heraldo: Noticias Locales"
. El Nuevo Heraldo
. Retrieved
2018-01-17
.
- ^
"US Rappers Dedicate Their Songs to Mexican Drug Lords"
. Borderland Beat. 2013-06-17
. Retrieved
2018-01-17
.
- ^
"Mexico's Narco Rappers Are Here to Stay"
. VICE. 2012-06-18
. Retrieved
2018-01-17
.
- ^
"Voy a morir porque creen que soy un Zeta"
. Nuestraaparenterendicion.com
. Retrieved
2018-01-17
.
- ^
a
b
Gill, Michael F. (2007-08-13).
"The Bluffer's Guide to Freestyle"
.
Stylus
. Retrieved
June 15,
2012
.
- ^
a
b
Veran, Cristina (Apr 11, 2006).
"Let the Music Play (Again)"
.
The Village Voice
. Retrieved
June 15,
2012
.
- ^
a
b
"Ozuna, Bad Bunny, De La Ghetto, Farruko & Messiah Narrate a Brief History of Latin Trap"
.
Billboard
.
- ^
Portilla, Christina (August 23, 2017).
"Latin Trap Brings New Music to Miami"
.
Miami New Times
.
Archived
from the original on December 1, 2017
. Retrieved
April 24,
2018
.
- ^
a
b
"Trap's Latin American Takeover"
.
The FADER
.
- ^
"Rappers Discuss Brief History Of Latin Trap"
.
Vibe
. August 21, 2017.
- ^
a
b
Leight, Elias (November 7, 2017).
"Inside Latin Trap, the Viral Sound Too Hot for American Radio"
.
Rolling Stone
.
- ^
"Bodak Yellow (feat. Messiah) [Latin Trap Remix] - Single by Cardi B"
– via music.apple.com.
- ^
Berry, Peter A. (18 August 2017).
"Cardi B Drops Spanish Remix of 'Bodak Yellow' With Messiah - XXL"
.
XXL Mag
.
- ^
"Cardi B Premieres "Bodak Yellow" Spanish Remix With Messiah"
.
Vibe
. August 18, 2017.
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