современные течения в музыке

Vsem Emigrantam iz svoih rodnih mest:
Immigrant Orishas rap on anti-immigrant rhetoric
By RAMIRO BURR

When anti-immigration political parties began winning parliamentary seats in Europe, the Cuban-born, Europe-based rap group Orishas decided to speak out about it.

Solidarity with immigrants is the message of Emigrante, the new CD from Cuban-born rap group Orishas -- Ruzzo, from left, Yotuel, and Roldan.

Solidarity with immigrants became part of the group's message on its new CD, Emigrante, which fuses Cuban sounds with rap lyrics.

"Now that the ultra-right is gaining strength in France, Austria, Belgium and the Netherlands, we shouldn't think of ourselves as better than new immigrants," rapper Yotuel says. "We should feel just as much like immigrants as those who are disenfranchised."

Yotuel lives in Madrid, while group members Roldan and Ruzzo live in Paris.

Emigrante is the group's second album; its 2000 debut was A Lo Cubano. The group broke out with the single Represent, a Cuban-pride anthem that recalled the members' tough childhood in the Havana barrio Cayo Hueso.

Ruzzo and Yotuel formed a rap group while still in Cuba and understood the importance of creating a signature sound.

"We realized that by adding traditional Cuban elements and son-style singing, it gave the music a stamp, a new identity: Cuban rap," Yotuel says.

Yotuel counts Run-DMC and Public Enemy as key influences but didn't realize the potential of rap en español until he heard seminal Puerto Rican hip-hopper Vico-C.

"With songs like Viernes 13, Vico-C made us Cuban rappers aware that we could rhyme in Spanish," he says.

Meanwhile, the group incorporates plenty of traditional Afro-Cuban percussion, harmonies (most tracks feature some singing) and bass.

Yotuel is also a fan of Cuban music pioneers Beny Moré and Compay Segundo. Although Orishas avoids samples, the A Lo Cubano track 537-C.U.B.A. was a partial remake of Segundos' Chan Chan.

Like Vico-C, Orishas considers social commentary important. The rhythms almost take care of themselves.

"The rhythms come out naturally," Yotuel says. "We're Cubans, we're Latinos. Adding a danceable rhythm to socially conscious lyrics is like the spoonful of sugar that helps the medicine go down. So while people are enjoying the music, they're thinking about what we're saying. That's one of the best ways of introducing messages into society."

Emigrante track Desaparecidos was inspired by the experiences of friends who've had loved ones taken away and killed by secret police in Cuba, Argentina and Chile or terrorists in Colombia.

Emigrante has an ominous feel -- 12 of 15 tracks are in a minor key -- but the band shows its sentimental side on Que Pasa and Niños.

"Que Pasa is about people who haven't forgotten about us and who've been faithful followers of our sound," Yotuel said.

Niños is a heartfelt tribute to the band members' children. They have five among the three of them.

Yotuel expresses nonchalance about airplay prospects. "Whether they play us or not is their problem," he says. "We don't worry about releasing a radio-friendly single. If people like it, great. If they don't respond to it, which is what's happened in France, we'll keep trying, touring and marketing ourselves."

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http://challen.dyn.dhs.org/~naldosf/Music/orishas%20songs/