What is “hip hop latino”? Some may say it’s not any different from American hip hop except for the fact of it being mostly done using Romance languages. But what really differentiates hip hop latino from regular hip hop? To find some form of an answer, I asked Puerto Rico’s own Negro Gonzalez, a member of Patrio Ritmo who is currently flourishing as a solo artist, and he stated “El Hip Hop latino emula lo que se está haciendo en Estados Unidos pero con otro sabor, con otros colores y desde otra perspectiva” (Hip Hop Latino emulates what is being done in the United States, but with another flavor, other colors and another perspective). He backs up this definition by adding “Los latinos, como personas, son más calurosos que los americanos. De ahí sale la unión y la hermandad que en otros casos también nace de la necesidad de expresar algo; todo se une” (Latinos as people are more affectionate than the Americans, thus bringing unity and togetherness which also grows out of a necessity to express something; it is all connected). In short, hip hop latino can be defined as an emulation of traditional American hip hop, but with a touch of Latinos’ perspective which is built from the unity, togetherness, and need of expression.
(picture taken from Negro Gonzalez’s Facebook Page)
That being stated, in a world where hip hop is currently the number one most played genre, Puerto Rico is no stranger to the impact. In fact, Puerto Ricans were right there in New York City at the forefront of hip hop’s inception. But like any musical form, as time passed, rap grew and took different shapes, sparking the ever debated question, “What is real hip hop?”
When it first hit the island, hip hop was heavily attached to its New York roots with boom bap, and it was with this sound that the great Vico C was able to pop on the radio with hits such as “La Recta Final”, “Viernes 13”, and eventually “Desahogo”, when he had a resurgence in the mid 2000’s. However, despite Vico C’s success boom bap never really managed to lift itself, and it stood as an underground movement much like the metal and punk scenes of the island. Negro Gonzalez emerged from this evergoing movement, which was heavily influenced by the golden age of hip hop from the late 1980s to the mid 1990s. However, what many Puerto Ricans at the time brought to the table was their love of salsa. But, as stated previously, this movement never managed to pop in its native island.
As years passed, artists from the underground who managed to go pop were those involved in the Reggaeton movement, which started in the early but finally exploded in the late 1990s. Reggaetoneros like Daddy Yankee, Wisin y Yandel, Hector & Tito, Don Omar, and Tego Calderon were just a few to bring reggaeton into Puerto Rico’s mainstream despite the controversy that would always surround their lyrical content. In the meantime, artists from Puerto Rico’s hip hop underground, like Negro Gonzalez, continued to push their movement forward expanding their voices to Latin American countries like Colombia and Peru. By participating in events like Festival Hip Hop Al Parque, a yearly festival dedicated to promoting hip hop in Colombia by bringing artists from all across America, Gonzalez managed to meet many of the artists he continues to admire and now even has the pleasure to work with.
(picture taken from Hip Hop Al Parque’s Facebook Page)
The latest form of hip hop to conquer the airwaves has been trap music, which originated in the U.S. south as an escape of the street life which includes, but is not limited to, poverty, violence, and drug usage. However, the lyrical content has changed, and instead of reflecting on the hardship, many have decided to glamorize it. Due to the impact trap has had on the mainstream, many artists have had successful careers and now live the classic rock n’ roll lifestyle which followed the “sex, drugs & rock n’ roll” lifestyle. Latinos are no strangers to this sub-genre. Artists like Puerto Rico’s Bad Bunny, Bryant Myers, Ozuna, and, the latest sensation, Cardi B, have decided to follow this path. Even artists who started in reggaeton, like Farruko and De La Ghetto, have jumped in the trap bandwagon.
In the midst of this trap boom, artists like Puerto Rico’s Negro González (El Artesano de la Impro), Cubans Silvito, El Libre & Al2 El Aldeano, and Venezuelan Gabylonia came together and drop “LOS LIKES”, demonstrating that the boom bap scene is still alive and well and that Latin America is much more than just reggaeton and Latin trap. With this fresh single, the hip hop latino advocates tackle current trends created by trap and pop rappers. But the song’s prevailing theme is that of rapping for the sake of getting famous, more specifically internet famous, the origin of the track’s title. In short, if looking for fame is your priority as a rapper, then you are not a real rapper. When each rapper comes in for their verse it feels like they are instructors teaching the youth, while at the same time keeping it real. They tell these internet rappers to get educated, be conscious, find people who truly support them because fame only lasts so long in the digital age, and to, above all, learn how to truly rap about different subject matters. It is a six minute lesson and it begs listeners to pay attention.
(picture used for the single as found in Soundcloud)
Many will take “LOS LIKES” as a diss song or might dismiss it as a track made by petty rappers who never got “famous”. But it is not like that at all. El Artesano de la Impro, El Libre, El Aldeano and Gabylonia are providing a lesson to the new generation while demonstrating that boom bap still has a place in hip hop latino, despite the sudden boom of trap and the running legs of reggaeton. “LOS LIKES” demonstrates the power of coming together to educate the youth, even if it has to be done using street slang.