Rap Music in Spanish

Hip-Hop culture arrived in Spain back in the 80s when the US set up military bases in Spain. Soldiers introduced the clothing, rap music, breakdancing and the Spanish youth felt really attracted to this new thing. There were a few artist that rapped in that decade but weren't completely dedicated to rap, although they did influence rap. One of the first examples of Spanish rap beginnings can be found in the group MC Randy and DJ Jonco, but the only had singles. Not only was Spanish rap the first one I really enjoyed listening to, but was also the one that really made me like rap for what it is and most of the Spanish artists that I listened to are amazing individuals that write amazing lyrics that inspire me to be the best I can be. Spanish rap really developed and consolidated in the 90s, when the first Spanish rap album was published. The responsible for this were the group CPV (Club de los Poetas Violentos) . Consisted of El Meswy (MC), Jota Mayúscula (DJ), Kamikaze (MC)...

Venezuelan rap holds a big part of my heart and my respect. Their lyrics really get to me and I can relate so much to a lot of the rappers I will mention (especially my favorite one), because of how close Venezuela is to Colombia, so we have a lot in common but also because a lot of their struggles and the things they have to fight, we've also fought it and suffered it like them. Now I'm not saying we're the same or that we've went through the same, but a lot of things we share and have in common. The first rapper that rapped in Spanish came from Venezuela, Perucho Conde with his song La Cotorra Criolla, introduced to LatinAmericans the first rap song in Spanish in 1980. Rap didn't get a big following until 1997 with the creation of groups like La Corte, consisting of Bostas Brain, Russo40, Bless Killa and DJ Trece (who is one of the responsibles for making rap grow big in Venezuela), rap in Venezuela started to be a thing, a culture. After that, different artis...

Hip Hop culture and rap arrived in Cuba back in the 80s, but in the 90s is when it gain more following since the youth was starting to be attracted by it. It wasn't easy for rap to get following since the government first saw it as a threat of the revolution. The government felt like the message brought from the US was one of violence, crime and they thought that it might end up being counter-revolutionary. It was only later that the government realized that it was an erroneous idea and they decided to form the Cuban Rap Agency that provides state-run record label, a Hip Hop magazine and they began to support the annual Cuban Hip Hop Festival. A lot of rappers from Cuba decide to turn to regueton, since they felt like they wanted more recognition and it was what was trending. Although most underground rap from Cuba criticizes regueton heavily, because of its lyrics that are empty, that lack of spirit and only talk about trivialities. I will focus more on the underground rap, si...

I would like to make something clear, although some of the next rap artists that I will mention could be consider the "new school" of Mexican rap, I will not address them as that, simply because some of them gained recognition or relevance after the 2000s but they've probably been doing rap since way before that, but also because a couple of them have been making music since the 90s. So, without further due, I'd like to start this list with one of the top exponents of Mexican rap, Bocafloja . Bocafloja  is a rapper, poet and spoken word artist, he's been making rap since 1995 and he is widely known for his strong lyrics and his great way to rap. Lyrically, Bocafloja critically addresses topics such as institutionalized racism, social and political oppression, mental slavery, colonialism, and other human conditions. To me, he is probably the biggest representative of Mexican rap, I've been listening to his music for quite a while and his music has such fee...

Rap in Mexico's been around since the 80s. Influenced by the hip-hop culture from the US, rap was introduced in Mexico by the comedian Memo Rios with a Spanish version of Rapper's Delight by Sugarhill Gang. There are a couple of rap artists that although they are Mexican or have Mexican heritage, I will not cover as much as others, because they rap mainly in English, like Cypress Hill for example (although they do have a complete album in Spanish, most of their work is in English and this blog is about rap in Spanish). Sindicato del Terror is considered the first actual rap group from Mexico, they made music from 'Mexicans for Mexicans, from the hood for the hood.' Mi Barrio: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=620yMuSGIZI There is a group that is very important to Mexican rap history, Vieja Guardia. They are a fundamental part for the rap scene to grow stronger in Mexico. They consist of Petate Funky, Kartel Aztlan, Dr. Zupreeme and MC Luka, and they founded the ...

        The Hip-Hop culture arrived to Peru with breakdance back in the 80s. It was very popular among the youth but what made Hip-Hop get more recognition at the end of the decade was rap music. The first Peruvian rap group was Golpeando la Calle, which for ten years they carried the rap flag, they promoted breakdance and graffiti. Sadly there is not much information about their music and is not easy to find but here is one of their songs: Hijo Mío: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fwE76qqKNyI Clan Urbano was formed in 1996 and were probably the main exponents in rap music back in 2002 with their album Desde las urbes.  They have 4 studio albums and they've been to many countries around the globe. They won an award in the third edition of the Festival Claro de la Música and an award for Best Urban Song in 2010. Songs that are great to enjoy from them: Eres: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E2epUiaRUms Solo recuerda el nombre: https://www....