Rap in Colombia Pt2: The 2000s and 2010s.

Colombia's rap in these 2 decades has had great music. A lot of artists have turned the whole rap game around and they've given the genre a different perspective. I think that, thanks to new artists and some not so new, rap in Colombia has gained more following, and with more following, it gained more recognition. 

Since I was in middle school, I remember that the most played song in every prom and the song that the soon high school graduates would listen to was Amigo by Yoky Barrios. A song that talks about the different types of friends you can have, the ones for parties, for the hard moments, for the worst, friends for every moment in life. He's been around since the 2000 and his career has been growing since then. He's known for his distinctive voice, he combines the singing in reggae and the rapping. He's gain a lot of following ever since Amigos, he's tour in different countries and has worked with different exponents in the genre in Latinamerica. 
Image result for yoky barrios
Amigos: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0HzOkJ1zVSc  
Aprovechame: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RRHc_tDfvgs

For a while I never tried to really listen the lyrics of Flaco Flow y Melanina duo. I was never drawn into their instrumentals until one day I decided to actually pay attention and I was surprised by how much I was missing. They talked about real problems with our society and the government, they rapped about injustice, war and police brutality. This duo from Cali started back in 2002 are both great exponents in Colombian rap.
                                                                                    Image result for flaco flow y melanina
Two great examples are:
La Jungla: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NcUvzYvGO2U
Grave Error: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4nV_BBrVIiY

Ali AKA Mind has been my favorite Colombian rapper and probably my favorite rapper after Canserbero since I first listened to Hoy quiero confesarles. From Bogota D.C. he's been writing since 2006 powerful lyrics that invite to better ourselves, to change the world starting with us, he writes poetry with amazing instrumentals that have some Bolero, rock, jazz and many other music influences. He writes about love, about his experiences, about being an immigrant, he's really made a name for himself in the scene, and I think that his career is only getting better. He's worked with people all over, with exponents from Peru (Norick), Venezuela (Akapellah), United States (Rakaa from Dilated Peoples), Argentina (Nucleo), and a lot of exponents from Colombia (Ata from La Etnia, Gambeta from AlcolirykoZ, Pielroja and more). 
                           Image result for ali aka mind poster
Great songs to listen from him are:
Hoy quiero confesarles: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F4KCpb3FYS8
Mi Raiz (probably my favorite, that is dedicated to Colombia): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=giOWXLeBMbg
Deja: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U5hMM67MkvA

They started the group back in 1999, but they dropped their first album in 2007. A group from Medellin that writes smart lyrics that tell stories with humor and with great instrumentals, AlcolirykoZ have change the rap scene with their unique style and they keep getting new fans every year, which is not surprising considering how talented they are and how tasty their instrumentals, with influences from jazz and boleros and their lyrics that are fun poetry. 
                          Image result for alcolirykoz
Songs to listen from AlcolirycoZ: 
N.A.D.A.: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_1efjBFs0vE
CHANGO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C2_WOBYxweE

Aerophon Crew it's a group that was formed in Bogota and they've come along way, they've been making music for 11 years and it looks like they have music for years to come. They've been around different countries in Europe and America (yes, the whole continent). Ruzto, Takuma and Saks shared the passion for graffiti and music and this is what got them together. Their lyrics talk about stories of people we all know, about the youth and their dreams. 
Image result for aerophon crew

These 2 songs I really recommend:
Soñando: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AJvIVgGPfaQ
Mi familia: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3yJj-klbfH4

The last group I will mention is Lospetitfellas. A group of musicians that write beautiful songs with jazz, rock and funk influences, they've been active since 2013 and have worked hard to get recognition. They've attended different festivals in Colombia and with their unique sound, they've drawn people that normally wouldn't listen to rap. Their lyrics tell daily stories, they write smart poetry about love, about the life in the city, the philosophize about life and its mystery. They probably wouldn't be considered rap but I think they have huge influences in rap. They consist of Nicolás Barragán (vocals), Sebastián Panesso (guitar), Nicolás Garzón (bass), Adrián Hidalgo (sax), Andrés Gómez (keys), César Henao (drums) and the audio engineer David Cortés.
I admired this group because despite the fact that they haven't been around for that long, they have gained a lot recognition, so much that they're nominated to a Latin Grammy award in the New Artist category. 
                             Related image

Songs that I love and really recommend:
Antes de Morir Ft Denise Gutierrez: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2vdIWr1TCBI
11:50PM Ft Dj PHO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Ji_Li5L24s

I know that I've left out amazing artist such as Engendros del Pantano, Samurai, Mc K-no, Clan Hueso Duro, Los Nandez, Todo Copas, Jay M Vee, and many others, but there's only so much you can put in a blog. If you think I'm being biased and I'm only mentioning artist that I know and like you are not wrong, that is the purpose of this blog, to show you my point of view of rap, not a general view. 

Hopeful you'll enjoy my recommendations and listen to all of them or at least most of 'em. 

Comentarios

Publicar un comentario

Entradas más populares de este blog

Mexican Rap! Pt 2

Imagen
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...
Leer más

Venezuelan Rap!

Imagen
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...
Leer más

Where my journey started: My beautiful home country: Colombia!

Imagen
In my last entry I mentioned how I started with the wrong foot with rap music. I think is only fair that I show you a little bit of the rap I first listened to. Before I share the music with you, I do want you to understand that although it's obvious, I do want to make clear that my point of view, my thoughts about Colombian gangster rap have changed. Despite the fact that I don't like some lyrics, I do appreciate and enjoy the music for the instrumentals and I now understand that a lot rappers turned to rap because they realized that talking about crime and violence was better than having to actually be either victims or perpetrators of violence. I also now understand that most expressed their feelings and wanted to give the harsh reality of Colombian society and tell the story of many people in Colombia that never had the chance to be heard. Rap music in Colombia has been around since the 80s but it gained more following in the 90s. A lot of the Colombian and Latin-Amer...
Leer más