San Jose Show Connects Latino MC's from Peru, Mexico and the Bay
by Fernando Perez, Molly Vasquez, Angel Luna // Photos by Abraham Menor
from Silicon Valley DeBug (siliconvalleydebug.org)
Hip Hop en Español (hip hop in Spanish) is a movement coming from all over the place, and when I say all over the place, I really mean all over the place. But the launching point of this international phenomenon might just be San Jose, and its start date might just have been March 1, 2008.
What grew out of this period was Hip Hop en Español, and it is more then the replication of US Hip Hop. Hip Hop in Latin America is now a mix of ancient culture, Latino tradition and modern urban life. The stories that are told through the raps and beats are appealing to kids from the favelas of Brazil to the homies in the slums of Peru, the ghettos in Argentina and the barrios in Mexico. The by-product has been a cross-national unity among Latinos who see coming together as a necessity to build their movement.
Unlike Hip Hop in the US, born in the 70's, Hip Hop En Espanol has been born in a time when the music and culture has no borders. The Internet, Myspace, and just plain migration are some of the tools that have made the Hip Hop En Español a phenomenon from Patagonia all the way to Alaska. Hip Hop may be dead, according to Nas, but Spanish language came to resurrect it in a unique way.
On March 1 st , 2008 at the De-Bug Community Center just off of downtown, Hip Hop En Espanol broke into San Jose. On this day, the Bronx culture had a second breath of life all thanks to some locals and international performances. The night was full of surprises and the presence from the community was felt. Dubbed as "Hip Hop En Tu Idioma," the show was a first in a series of concerts that is trying to build Hip Hop Espanol, and make San Jose its epi-center.
"All ages" were the key words for the roughly 100 parents and youths who showed up. The show kicked off with a strong performance by one of the
pioneers of Hip Hop in Spanish in the Bay Area -- Mex Tape. The 23-year-old from Oaxaca performed some of his most soulful songs, and some of his new material
from the up-coming album called "A Tape Called Mex." The people in the crowd were feeling this veteran of the Bay Area Spanish Hip Hop scene who was
accompanied by his DJ, Vex One. DJ Vex One, whose parents are from Guadalajara, was the DJ of the night and injected the atmosphere with delicious classics of
Hip Hop in English and Spanish. The rest of the performers were all strong and brought different faces from the Latin American Hip Hop experience. One
performer, Kalizay, a Salvadorian from the East Bay even rapped in English, Spanish and French. Her up-coming Reggaeton single, "Chiko Bay Bee" is a
track about the sensation of desire through the dance. Mil Bocas, also from San Jose, was one of the highlights of the night. He is a walking definition of
modern Latino rap, full of hope and coolness his street anthem "tu." On the other side of the coolness, La Patriota give our minds some food for
thoughts with her beautiful poetry and her tales of a simple life mixed with teachings from ancient times full of history. Line after line, the power of the
words took over the room, and she really hit the nail with her last poem when she recited the "Soy Bonita" poem regarding the Latinas worldwide.
The headliner, Sekreto, from Mexico, started his set with his most recent hit song "Nos conecta" accompanied by one of the greatest and finest mc's out of Peru, Gramo. "El Hip Hop nos une el Hip Hop nos conecta, nos lleva de viaje y nos trae de vuelta" this song speaks about the connection through Hip Hop among Latinos and how hectic the life style of a Spanish MC in the making can be. He kept rocking the mic with track after track like "vida sin rap," it's just more then a song he likes to perform, its a life style that he likes to explain to the fans with simple lines and a clear example of how Hip Hop is necessary in our every day life. Sekreto's right hand man Sadick showed up and dropped some knowledge in the mic with his lyrics by giving the simple of message that you are important, so you need to take care of yourself. The end of Sekreto's set came to an end, and he thank everybody put a call out for everyone to support this hip hop en Español movement -- which by looking at the evening, knows no race, borders or linguistic barriers.
