March 31, 2012

March 28, 2012

Cristopolis - Live @ the Velvet Lounge - March 29th, 2012



I'll be performing this Thursday, March 29, 2012 as part of the 'The 9 Hip-Hop'.

If you're in the DC area stop by and build with me.

via Cristopolis

March 23, 2012

NPR presents: Latin Roots - The Rise of Latin Hip-Hop

I just came across this awesome interview of Josh Norek on NPR talking about the intricacies of Latin Hip-Hop.  Be sure to listen to the audio portion of the interview available here.
The original article can be found on NPR.org here.

On the latest segment of the "Latin Roots" music series, Josh Norek, co-host and executive producer of The Latin Alternative (a one-hour radio show of Latin funk, hip-hop and electronica), stops by the studio. A musician, producer and journalist who works for the Latin indie label Nacional Records, Norek spends a good deal of his time exploring the history and direction of Latin hip-hop.
Springing up on the West Coast during the '80s and '90s, Latin hip-hop was the manifestation of a mixing of cultures. As young members of the Hispanic population became exposed to urban rap sounds and shaped them into their own style, their beats began to spread from L.A. to the East Coast and then down through Mexico and South America. Artists began to incorporate other genres by turn (such as jazz in the case of Ana Tijoux and klezmer in the case of Norek's Hip Hop Hoodios), to the point where Latin hip-hop itself has become an influential musical force around the globe.
In this session, Norek and host David Dye explore the cultural dispersion that has helped create Latin hip-hop. On both sides of the border, young artists began to sample their parents' music and combine it with the sound of rising hip-hop groups of the time, such as N.W.A. Since then, the genre has matured and become an influence in its own right. Here, Norek plays music from Tres Delinquentes, whom he describes as the first "post-racial" Latin hip-hop crew, and also outlines the spread of the genre into South America with a smooth trip-hop arrangement from Ana Tijoux.
via Cristopolis

March 14, 2012

Sofla - B.S.T. [Free Download]







via Cristopolis

March 3, 2012

Alex Fatt - "Posted in the Corner"

New Alex Fatt video off his latest album 'Humildon'



via Cristopolis

Controversial - "Cypher" ft. Advocate & Camilo 100 Fuegos



via Cristopolis

Afro-Latino Hip-Hop

I came across this great article written by Isabel on Valoramos.com

The article gives a great deal of history on the relationship between Hip-Hop and Latin music and the fusion of these two musical genres.

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Afro-Latino hip-hop is a shared history blending two musical traditions.  As Black History Month winds down we pay tribute to some great Afro-Latino hip-hop artists.  We’d also like to tell a bit about this bridge between African-American and Latino/Hispanic cultures.
African-American culture has given us a whole history of great music, from jazz to blues to hip hop. Latinos, as a minority group along with African-Americans, have been right with African-Americans in putting their own mix to the goodness.  Afro-Latino hip-hop is a natural extension of this history.
During the 70s hip-hop started to form with spoken word and the dub related music style. It ultimately blew up around block parties in the Bronx by African American and also Latino youth. Soon hip-hop started to spread internationally, starting in the late 70s in the Dominican Republic, Jamaica and Cuba. Soon after, Mexico, Puerto Rico and Brazil started to explode with traditional Latin music infused with dub and rapping.
One of the first Afro-Latino hip-hop DJs was Puerto Rican and Cuban DJ Disco Wiz. Disco was in his name given its influence on the beginnings of hip-hop. With Casanova Fly and Prince Whipper Whip he started the first exclusively Latino hip-hop group called Mighty Force Crew. Yet these Afro-Latino artists weren’t very public about their cultural heritage.
It wasn’t until 1981, when Spanglish was used by the groups The Mean Machine and The Sugar Hill Gang, that Latinos openly culturally influenced hip-hop. Soon after Latin-Carribean MCs and DJs broke into the scene substantially. Master OC with The Fearless Four and The Fantasy 3 started a reggae-infused scene in Harlem and moved Afro-Latino hip-hop in that direction.
During the 90s hip-hop began to spread around the country rather than overseas. On the West Coast a number of artists began to mix English, Spanish and Spanglish in their Latin-infused rap.  Performers in this category include:
  • Kid Frost
  • Mellow Man
  • A.L.T.
  • Cypress Hill
  • Ecuadorian-born rapper Gerardo
Johnny J produced several Tupac Shakur albums, making an important mark on hip-hop history. Southwestern states beyond California, such as Texas, began to have popular rappers emerge. Chingo Bling, Juan Gotti, South Park Mexican, Sinful of tha Mexicanz and Kemo the Blaxican all brought the hip-hop scene to the South. In the southern East Coast around Miami, Don Dinero and Pitbull were successful in their use of Spanglish rap.
Other important artists to the scene worth mentioning include the following:
  • Akwid
  • Jae-P
  • Crooked Stilo
  • Mexiclan
  • David Rolas
  • Control Machete
  • Cartel De Santa
  • Molotov


curated by Cristopolis