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GRAMMYs

Mau y Ricky

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Reggaeton Pop Stars Mau y Ricky On 'Rifresh' mau-y-ricky-adding-punk-their-reggaeton-influenced-sound-rifresh-life-musical-family

Mau y Ricky On Adding Punk To Their Reggaeton-Influenced Sound On 'Rifresh' & Life In A Musical Family

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The Venezuelan singer/songwriters tell GRAMMY.com about the creation of their new album in quarantine, how proud they are of their brother-in-law, Latin GRAMMY-winner Camilo, and more
Lucas Villa
GRAMMYs
Dec 9, 2020 - 6:01 pm

Mau y Ricky are reinventing themselves on their aptly-titled new album Rifresh. Finally finding success as artists with their blend of pop and reggaeton on their 2019 debut LP Para Aventuras y Curiosidades after songwriting for years, the Venezuelan-born brothers used their time in quarantine to revamp their sound and image for their sophomore album. A little over a year after releasing their debut, the punk rock and '80s influenced Rifresh, released on Nov. 20, takes them to an edgier place musically.

On the new album’s vibrant cover, Ricky sports his Cruella de Vil-like black and white hair as he playfully kicks Mau in the groin, leaving behind the calm, cool and collected rock star demeanor displayed on their debut. There's a looser vibe on the album as well as the brother duo bounce around on rambunctious bangers like "Fresh" and "Mi Moto." It’s clear: They're enjoying the ride this time around and showing it.

"I feel like right now we're obsessed with evolving and doing new and different sounds and concepts that not only differentiate us from the rest, but most importantly, differentiates us from what we've done in the past," Mau tells GRAMMY.com over Zoom. "I think that's the beauty of evolving."

The evolution didn’t come fast for the singer/songwriters—it took them nearly a decade to find themselves as artists. Mauricio "Mau" and Ricardo "Ricky" Montaner, Jr. are the sons of Ricardo Montaner, the GRAMMY-winning Argentine icon who received a Latin GRAMMY lifetime achievement award in 2016. They began their careers as balladeers, following in their father’s footsteps when they began to make music as MR in 2011. But after not quite breaking through, they shifted gears into songwriting, penning hits like Becky G and Natti Natasha's 13-times Platinum "Sin Pijama" and Ricky Martin and Maluma's "Vente Pa' Ca," for which they received a Latin Grammy Song of the Year nomination in 2017.

In 2018, they found their pop groove as Mau y Ricky with their reggaetón-influenced breakthrough single "Mi Mala'' featuring Karol G. A year later, their debut album followed with Platinum success. They have become go-to collaborators featured on hits by Mexican superstar Thalía, Argentine pop princesses Lali and Tini, and Puerto Rican reggaeton OG Nicky Jam. They went global this year when they were invited to sing in Spanish on the remixes of John Legend's "Bigger Love" and JP Saxe's "Hey Stupid, I Love You." They have also brought GRAMMY-nominated singer/songwriter Camilo, who married their singer/actress sister Evaluna Montaner earlier this year, to the forefront on their multi-Platinum singles "Desconocidos'' and "La Boca."

Now with their new sound, Mau y Ricky are “exploring the possibilities and showing the people that there is no limit,” Mau says.

The guys chatted with GRAMMY.com about Rifresh-ing their career with the new album and life in a musical family.

What's the experience like to work together in Mau y Ricky as brothers?

Mau: As brothers, it's a beautiful experience. We learned that our relationship is actually our biggest strength, and our connection as brothers I feel is what differentiates us from the rest of the people.

Has your dad Ricardo Montaner given you guys any advice on the industry?

Ricky: Throughout our entire life, we've seen his example. I think being grateful is the biggest advice. To always look at everything as a gift. Being able to write songs and do what we love for a living, I think that's beautiful. And appreciating every single step of growth. One is always focused on the end goal, but we tend to forget the small steps that it takes to get there.

The "Mi Mala" remix with Karol G, Lali, Becky G, and Leslie Grace was your first big hit as Mau y Ricky. How did your lives change after that song?

Ricky: That song definitely changed our lives. We did "Mi Mala" and the remix. Both those songs kind of set ground for us to start building off of that. We were able to grow a lot after that—and knowing that we played, even if it was just a small role, in this Latin women movement by having all these beautiful and talented artists on one song: Becky, Karol, Leslie, and Lali; It was the first song in Spanish to have that many women on it—To know that we were a part of that, I feel like that's a dream come true. We didn't do it intentionally. We just thought it would be really dope. It's beautiful and really set the way for everything that happened after that.

There are notably no artist features on rifresh. Why did you guys decide to do that?

Mau: When we decided to make this album, one key decision we made was to have no features. The beauty of a feature is that it's kind of [finding] that middle ground; having to surrender to certain things and the other artist doing the same and meeting in the middle. In this case, we were very clear on what we wanted, in our minds and hearts, to communicate on this new album and what we wanted to happen in our career, that evolution and that growth. We had to make sure that that message wasn't scattered. A lot of times when you work with other people, your message has to take a back seat, so that you're able to work as a team. It doesn't mean we won't do that in the future. We already started working on features on some upcoming projects.

Manuel Turizo has uncredited vocals at the end of the song "Dolería."

Ricky: That was a dope surprise we wanted to do for our fans. When we did the first arrangement of the song, we pitched my vocal down. We put it low so that it sounded like Manuel Turizo. It was a little bit of a joke. Then we thought it would be really cool to actually have him on it. The day I proposed to my girlfriend, [Stefanía Roitman], I was so nervous that I needed to get out of the house and ended up going to the studio with Manuel an hour before proposing. I was in the studio recording his part.

Mau: Rick was so nervous. He didn't even tell me. I called him like, "Yo, where are you?" Because we were an hour away from him proposing. He's like, "I'm at the studio." And I'm like, "What in the world are you doing at the studio? You're about to propose!" He's like, "I'm cutting Manuel's vocals." I'm like, "First of all, you're about to propose. No. 2, what the heck? You didn't let me know that you were cutting his vocals."

There's a punk rock influence on songs like "Pápas" and "Fresh." Where did that inspiration come from?

Mau: It comes from the music that we grew up listening to. It's this kind of hint of an influence, which I love. Most of it is in the album's aesthetic or in our music videos. We wanted to explore the possibilities of reggaeton music being combined with music like punk rock. We feel like people didn't think that could happen. We're here exploring the possibilities and showing the people that there is no limit. Anything can happen if you do it with excellence and love. If you actually believe in and be genuine to who you are, it'll sound dope.



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A post shared by Mau y Ricky (@mauyricky)

You worked with Bad Bunny's main director Stillz on your wildest music videos for rifresh like the creepy "Ouch." How did those collaborations come about?

Mau: During the quarantine, we found out Stillz was Rick's neighbor. We ended up reaching out to him. We started creating all the concepts together. It was a creative, awesome relationship growing through these videos. Most of the videos have come out already, but there's still some that haven't come out. In our opinion, they're some of the greatest music videos out right now. Stillz is one of the top directors. It's a huge honor to be able to work with him. He allows us to be extremely crazy with our ideas. We allow him to go crazy as well with his. We fit together.

What did you think when John Legend invited you guys on his "Bigger Love" remix?

Mau: We had two crossover moments, which are wild, in this quarantine: John Legend, like you're saying, and JP Saxe. Those two are our favorite collabs we've done. We went straight to the studio to write our part for that song. We sent it. They loved it. John actually asked us to do more, so we went back to the studio to record some more. It's crazy to me because he's an artist we've admired for awhile. JP Saxe is our favorite artist in the world. We've become friends with him in the past year. We have a beautiful relationship. He invited us to become a part of that remix and it's our favorite song.

How did you feel seeing Camilo win the Latin GRAMMY for Best Pop Song for "Tutu"?

Ricky: So excited! I busted my lip celebrating it. I'm still in pain. So much pain. We've all gotten nominated, but he's the first one in our family to win one.

Mau: It was this family moment, we all celebrated as if it was our own win. It does feel like it's our win. We're proud of him. He deserves it. Nobody works harder than him.

What can we expect from you next?

Mau: After "Ouch," there's two new videos coming that you're going to freak [about]. They're crazy and also with Stillz. There are a couple songs that we'll be releasing with other artists. One in particular comes out very soon with our entire family, which is a surprise that I wasn't supposed to tell, but because it's you, I'll tell you. It's our first song as a family that we're ever going to release together. It's one of my favorite songs in the world.

"Selena: The Series" Star Christian Serratos On Playing "La Reina" & The Importance Of Latinx Identity In Hollywood

GRAMMYs

Nathy Peluso

 

Photo: Leo Adef

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Nathy Peluso Talks 'Calambre' & 2020 Latin GRAMMYs nathy-peluso-interview-calambre-2020-latin-grammys

Nathy Peluso Talks 'Calambre' & 2020 Latin GRAMMYs Debut

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Just days away from her Latin GRAMMY debut, the Argentine singer talks to GRAMMY.com about her eclectic album, establishing her sound and more
Jennifer Velez
Latin GRAMMYs
Nov 17, 2020 - 7:06 pm

Nathy Peluso is days away from making her Latin GRAMMY debut, and, understandably, she's excited. On stage, the Argentine singer-songwriter is a jolt of energy—her dance moves and improvised body movements could be a show of their own.

On a Zoom call from her home in Argentina, Peluso, dressed in loungewear, unveils a relaxed demeanor. At the heels of her first performance at the 2020 Latin GRAMMYs, where she is set to share the stage with Argentine icon Fito Paez and is also nominated for the first time—she's up for the Best New Artist and Best Alternative Song categories—she is eager, even if circumstances will be different. This year, due to COVID-19, the Latin GRAMMYs will not return to their usual broadcast home, Las Vegas, and will instead be based in Miami with performances based all over the world. 

"It is something that I did not expect at all. It is an experience that I want to take care of and that I want to pamper with my heart because I know that it will be something to remember," she says. 

The singer, who moved to Spain as a child and went on to study physical theatre, has placed that same kind of thoughtful care into her first full-length album, Calambre, meaning electric shock. On it, Peluso, a fan of Dr. Dre, Missy Elliott, Earth, Wind & Fire, jazz, and bossa nova, among other genres, shows a dislike for genre boxes; The album features salsa, R&B, hip-hop and classic Argentine pop sounds. The singer researched every genre she featured to make them "sound organic and genuine," she says. If she's going to take on a genre, she has to do it right, she feels. 

But Peluso makes it clear—she does not define her music, she lets the music define her. She talks with GRAMMY.com more on how she lets the music speak for itself, growing up an immigrant in Spain, her debut album, being nominated for a Latin GRAMMY for the first time, and her performance at the show. 

First of all, congrats on your nomination. Where were you when you got the news?

I was out. They called me on the phone and it took me by surprise. I started running around on the street. I called my mom. I did not expect it, really. It was like a very unexpected call for me. I wasn't waiting to see if they would tell me something, I did not expect it at all.

Was your mom the first person you called? What did you tell her?

Yes. I thought she would be very excited. I told her the news. I said, "Mami, mami, I'm nominated for a Latin GRAMMY." And she said, "Wow. Nathy, that doesn't surprise me, because you deserve it." She said very nice things. It was an exciting moment.

You’re nominated for Best New Artist. That’s big. What does the nomination mean to you?

For me, it means [a lot coming] from the music industry, from the academy, from my peers. Like very important inspiration for me to push forward and continue to represent Latin music with a lot of love. For me, it gives me a sense of pride and honor to be able to be there representing so many musicians, our culture, our music. It’s incredible.

What was the process like creating your debut album Calambre?

It was a very organic process. Songs started coming out melodies I was recording and I was sketching them out until I figured out how to evolve all of them. I knew I wanted it to be called Calambre from the beginning because I came onto a very inspiring, energetic point. It was interesting because it was very powerful learning that I did professionally and personally. I learned a lot and had to face several new situations, I worked with artists and musicians that I admired a lot. It was artisanal work because there was deep research around each musical genre in which I embarked in on the album because there are many. It was a very delicate and interesting process that I came out of very enriched.

What did you do to learn more about each genre?

The truth is, I embarked on research that also included finding the people who represent the genre, arrangers, musicians, or producers, to also give credibility to that sound from someone who has a lot of experience working on it. The wind arrangements or the salsa arrangements, for example in “Puro Veneno.” If I was going to do a salsa track, I wanted to do it for real. The whole band behind it, the arrangers, the choristers, all are from Puerto Rico. The song is played live in Puerto Rico. That was a learning experience, getting information about the roots of each genre and also being able to do the artisanal work which can be challenging because the truth is, I felt it as a challenge to do all those genres that are not normally heard in Spanish, like hip-hop or the neo-soul or certain ballads. Making them sound organic and genuine in Spanish, in Castilian, that was a task I learned a lot from as well.

You've talked a lot about your love for different genres. You wanted your debut to be something that really shows who Nathy Peluso is?

With Calambre, it was no more than just intention. My intention was not to do something homogeneous, to represent me as only me and my persona because, really, I organically improvise my persona. The music is what guides and represents me, I don’t represent it. I found it interesting letting myself go through music, and then have that represent me as Nathy Peluso and my sound.

I was never afraid of it not sounding homogeneous between all the songs or how can I make people know me with this album? No, I just flowed, I did everything I felt I had to do musically speaking. I wrote all the lyrics with what I felt I had to write them, regardless of respecting a rule or something, I just wanted to flow.

In the root of that as well, I let go, I trusted, I put confidence in the music and in my fans so that it accommodates and settles as it has to settle. The search was not so much as towards my ego or towards my persona, but towards making good music that represents music, that pays respect and worships music and I contributed a grain of sand so that many people enjoy musical quality.

Read: Meet This Year's Best New Artist Nominees | 2020 Latin GRAMMY Awards

You’re an animated performer. You studied physical theatre. Do your studies influence you as a performer?

Yes, without a doubt. I believe everything we learn throughout life influences us, be it in our studies or in life experiences. It’s obvious, it makes me a better version of myself because it is something I learned and it helps me access —obviously, we can all get to that point, but certain doors have to be unlocked, certain doors [have to] open to access all that. Above all, to me, to my career, it taught me the incalculable power of improvisation and the power of movement, of body expression, of what we can say at the root of a persona; It nurtured me a lot and gave me tools to be able to defend certain things on stage.

You were born in Argentina, but as a child, you moved to Spain with your family, how did that affect you musically?

I do not know. I feel that I got to know many cultures. Being an immigrant, I linked up with many [other] immigrants who brought me closer to salsa, for example, Colombians. Many Colombian friends taught me to dance salsa. I had the opportunity to be in a Cuban choir for many years, learning from Cubans. Then my schooling was at Alicia Alonso's high school, who was a well-known Cuban dancer, and all my teachers were Cuban too. It gave me the rare opportunity, because I was in Spain, to connect with a deeply rooted Latin world because the people who had left their [countries, had] roots and had to promote them elsewhere. I learned a lot about the Latin culture and it made me look for a great friend, a great partner in music. Perhaps for a girl emigrating, it is something a bit difficult. Having music always accompanying me made me like having a faithful friend who never left me.

In the album you have a song dedicated to Buenos Aires, was it important for you to include the song honoring your homeland?

Yes, the truth is that it was a name that came up after making the song. It was not on purpose, but it sounded so much to me like the city, it sounded so much like the sound of nostalgia that it reminds me of my roots, that I decided to give it this name. Because I felt that many people, by closing their eyes and listening to that song, could travel wherever they wanted, because the sound is like a time machine, like the sound of beautiful nostalgia, the sound of feeling part of something. Obviously for me, when I closed my eyes, I listened to my city, it was something special, a special ritual.

You’ll appear at the Latin GRAMMY Awards, and I know they’ll be different because of COVID-19, but is there something your most excited about?

I am very excited because I am going to perform. It is something that I did not expect at all. It is an experience that I want to take care of and that I want to pamper with my heart because I know that it will be something to remember. It is my first time performing at the Latin GRAMMYs and it is such an immense opportunity that I am very grateful and very eager for.

What can you tell us about your performance?

They won’t let me, I can only say that I am preparing it with a lot of love and that I promise to do my best.

The 2020 Latin GRAMMYs will air on Univision on Thursday, Nov. 19, at 8 p.m. ET/PT (7 p.m. CT). The broadcast will also air on TNT (cable) at 7 p.m. (MEX)/8 p.m. (COL)/10 p.m. (ARG/CHI), and on Televisa on Channel 5. 

Learn more about the 2020 Latin GRAMMY Awards via the Latin Recording Academy's official website.

2020 Latin GRAMMY Awards Nominees Announced: See The Complete List

GRAMMYs

Andrekza

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Meet Andrekza, Dim Mak En Fuego's First Lady andrekza-wants-connect-people-who-think-differently

Andrekza Wants To Connect With People Who Think Differently

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The Venezuela native talks to GRAMMY.com about her enchanting debut single "TÉ," what being part of Steve Aoki's label means to her and what she wants to accomplish through music
Jennifer Velez
GRAMMYs
Oct 8, 2020 - 10:18 am

There's a lot in a first impression. Press play on Andrekza's first-ever single "TÉ," and you'll understand why Dim Mak En Fuego, Steve Aoki's newly launched Latin music label, has enlisted her as their first female artist. 

The song's intriguing beat will grab your curiosity first, but it's really just the beginning. The track, a song about letting walls down with a romantic interest over tea, is your introduction to Adrekza's magic. A thoughtful songwriter, she captures the beauty of a moment that could easily be nerve-wracking so invitingly; poetic verses disarm you and invite you in warmly. "Vamos a tomar una tazita de te/ Maybe con el azucar se va la timidez," she sings. "Let's go out for a cup of tea/ Maybe the sugar will drive our shyness away."  

Adrekza's gift for writing is a result of having to cope with bullying when she was younger. "When I began writing poetry as a child, that feeling that I expressed on paper, was mine only and it was like that friend who when something happened to me [I confided in]," she told GRAMMY.com recently via Zoom. "It was just that notebook and me because nobody else knew about my lyrics, about my things."

The Venezuela native, a huge art lover who loves expressing herself through fashion and runs her own content creative house LOTUS VISUAL ARTS, signed with Warner Chappell and now has joined forces with Dim Mak En Fuego to launch her career as an artist. 

She spoke to GRAMMY.com about her influences, what inspired writing a song about tea, working with Cassius Corrigan on the Get Out-inspired music video, what being a part of Steve Aoki's label means to her and what she wants to accomplish through music.

Before singing you were a songwriter. Did you like to write for other people?

Yes, I have always liked it but I haven’t had the opportunity to write for other artists, I’ve only written for myself and I really like writing poetry.

When you started with Warner, you didn’t write for other artists?

No. I started with Warner as a composer, for my project. And I am writing for other artists, but mainly I am an artist and creative director.

What do you like about writing for other artists? How do you know when a song is for you and when a song is for another artist? 

I think you feel that. When you are making a song and it vibrates with you, you connect with that feeling that is suddenly so unique and so personal. Sometimes the songs just talk to you and I think that the moment you make songs for other artists, it's the same when you kind of enter the world of that artist and write especially for that person. You feel like that person and you try to express all that feeling in the way that you think that person can. I think that's a super cool power like interpreting the feelings of other artists and other people. That's what I like the most about writing and being able to collaborate with other artists as well.

I read that you write to an imaginary friend, an alter ego. Tell me more about that.

When I started writing and making music, at some point I suffered from bullying. I was bullied by people about making music or for personal reasons that were happening at school and things like that. I suppressed my writing and didn’t share it. I wrote only for myself. When I began writing poetry as a child, that feeling that I expressed on paper, was mine only and it was like that friend who when something happened to me [I confided in]—I opened the notebook and wrote absolutely everything I felt and everything that happened to me. It was just that notebook and me because nobody else knew about my lyrics, about my things. Until I had the opportunity to do a recital in Venezuela and win an award. There it all started with writing and all that.

When you started, you didn't necessarily start wanting to be an artist, you did many other things. What called you to want to be an artist, write your songs and also perform them in front of the world?

Since I can remember, I said that I was going to dedicate my life to art, I come from an artist mother. I think that art has always kind of been inside me. The theme of music at the moment is simply the way I am expressing myself, I have expressed myself in many other ways. I have expressed myself through art, painting, photography, I made a film last year as a cinematographer. I think it's a journey that I'm [spending through music] at the moment, but I think that art is [something you go for]100%. I believe that it is simply a method of expression and I am expressing it that way at the moment. I obviously want to bring this feeling to people who connect with me, who vibrate and feel the same way as me. I can give you this energy that I want to give you and that I know is going to be incredible when I can perform my album in front of people.

How would you describe your energy?

I believe my energy is always positive. I think I always try to find a solution. I think that beyond engulfing ourselves in our problems —I think if we focus or spend a lot of time thinking about the problem or how to solve it, we would look for a solution, I think everything would be much easier. Since I was little my mother has told me that life is imaginary and I think that this way I have spent my energy, I feel that things are magical and that if you dream it and work it, you can achieve it. I think that is the energy, love and that center that you can have within yourself.

What music has influenced your sound?

I like a lot of genres, but I identify [with] a lot. I really like artists like Julieta Venegas, Natalia Lafourcade, I really like those rhythms. But obviously I also really like Latin rhythms and everything happening at the moment, urban and everything. I also identify a lot with that and I like it. Then there are [artists] like Frank Sinatra, I really like Michael Jackson, Reik. Those are some of the artists that I constantly dance to. [Laughs.]

Your single, "TÉ," is now available. It's your first single ever. How do you feel now that it’s out for the whole world to hear?

I feel very happy, very fortunate to be on this journey with Dim Mak En Fuego by Steve Aoki. It has been a blessing to be able to release “Té” with them. The video is already on YouTube, the song is on all digital platforms … and the support I have had has been incredible, I am very grateful to all the people, also to my team who has been working very hard with me and I think it is a team effort that has been very sweet. The song is cool and they have to go listen.

I want to talk to you a little bit about the lyrics because I feel like there is something very calming about meeting someone you’re romantically interested over tea. Usually, people say, "Let's grab coffee, let's get to know each other." Tell me, what inspired the song?

I don't drink coffee, I drink tea and all my life I've had tea and I think that—I believe in energy a lot and I meditate a lot, and tea helps me a lot in many ways. When I discovered that tea had a connection with me beyond—why do I say beyond? Because I feel that the moment you drink tea or the moment you have coffee, so to say if you’re a coffee drinker, you are connecting that energy in that moment just by being present at tea time, and it doesn't matter what you're thinking, but that you’re focusing that energy on that. If you are with a person and you invite him to have tea, it is to know each other intimately because no one else will be there but you and that person looking at each other, basically, drinking tea because that’s how you drink tea. It connects you like that and calms you that way.

Tea, depending on what type of tea you drink or how the tea is prepared, tea has incredible things that help your body a lot and your energy. And sometimes even in the way you carry your day or your life. That’s what tea has meant to me. I think I have such a great connection with that moment and with that feeling and with the ritual, so to speak, of having tea. In the morning I get up, make tea, drink tea, start my day, think, meditate on what I'm going to do and everything starts there. I find it very interesting, being able to invite someone to have tea and invite this person, lovingly, to meet you because I think that at this moment with everything that is happening in the world and how we have developed, how this new generation has grown and formed, I feel that women are sometimes afraid to say what we feel. Sometimes we wait for the other to express a feeling first. I think with this song I was able to express everything I felt. I think that's super cool when you can simply take what you have out of yourself and invite a person to have tea or tell a person that you like each other and that you want to share things with them, you want to see them and you want to get to know them. I think that is super valuable too. There is a feminist theme and many other things that I wanted to touch on in the song.

With everything going on now, how are you taking care of your mental health?

I think the connection with yourself is very important. We were just talking about tea—tea is a moment in which you connect with yourself. It is the connection with yourself, it is not losing focus, it is working for your dream and moving forward, to understand everything that is happening and to be supportive and how from within you can make an improvement for humanity and for society. I also believe that it is super important for mental health and when we know ourselves and when we are also aware that we are not alone in the world and that it is as important to take care of ourselves as it is to take care of the world, other people, the planet.

You are Dim Mak En Fuego’s first female artist on which is super big. Congratulations.

Thank you very much.

Are you going to use this as fuel to help you succeed?

I believe that this is a great blessing that came into my life and it is a great support that I have. Steve is a very important person in my career, who I met a few months ago. I connected a lot with his art, I connected a lot with his way of understanding creativity. He is a man that I admire very much for all his developments, in the business world as well. With Dim Mak En Fuego it was an opportunity to release my album Cassette, which is not done yet. This is the first chapter, "TÉ", but it is a part of an album called Cassette, which has two sides, side A of the cassette, side B of the cassette. It will come with a visual component that is its own world, it is a complete world that intertwines one video with another. We are going to release 12 songs throughout all these months that are left in the year and will go into next year. Without a doubt, I think that this will be a very big boost for me because it is a beautiful opportunity that came to my life and I hope I can take advantage of it and be able to be at the level of commitment that it is.

I also wanted to ask you about the concept of the "TÉ" video that is inspired by Get Out, how did that come about?

It is very interesting. The video in my project, visually, I am co-directing with this incredible director named Cassius Corrigan. He directed, acted and wrote his movie Hurricane, which is currently on HBO. When I teamed up with Cassius, I had all these creative and visual ideas, "Look, I want these colors, I have this idea," he comes up and says, "What if we left him in shock of everything that he is living and experiencing with you, you’re giving him this tea, that he knows tastes different and he is suddenly hypnotized by you. We begin to see him hypnotized. Then he is engulfed in this world and does practically everything you want.” So we developed the idea from there. Get Out is a movie that I love so much. We connected with that and we said, "Okay let's give it a different narrative," and that's what we tried to do, like showing my personality, my colors, but always giving it a narrative there.

Right now, there are many eyes and ears on Latin music. What are your goals? Would you be happy dominating music in Latin America, or do you want to also be massively heard in the United States, and not just by Latinos?

I want anyone to listen to me. I want the person who connects with me through my music or through my art to be feel bordeless, without limits, without barriers. I believe that we are all the same. I believe that there is no difference between Americans and Latinos. I believe that if we connect with love, and music is love, I believe that that is worth everything. Connecting is the most important thing to me and obviously I want to connect with as many people as possible, but for me the most important thing is that I can get there and really connect. Not only can I come in and say, "I dominated this market and I'm here dominating. Cool, I'm being played. People listen to me because I'm getting plays," but I would really like people to connect and say, "Okay. I connect with this, I Like this". Not all of my songs on the album are going to be liked by everyone immediately, that's why we call it a mixtape, because it's kind of super varied. That is the idea, that I can connect with people who have different thoughts, who have different ideals, who like different music. I believe that this crossover is going to be achieved with the energy and with this essence that we have been talking about, which is beyond a music or a song, but a feeling I think.

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GRAMMYs

José Feliciano

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José Feliciano On 50 Years Of "Feliz Navidad" jos%C3%A9-feliciano-50-years-feliz-navidad-new-album-behind-guitar-hitting-big-screen

José Feliciano On 50 Years Of "Feliz Navidad," New Album 'Behind This Guitar' & Hitting The Big Screen

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The GRAMMY-winning musician talks honestly about his career, including his riskiest move and future aspirations
Jennifer Velez
GRAMMYs
Sep 29, 2020 - 11:57 am

It's been 50 years since José Feliciano came up with the 19 words that make up one of the most popular Christmas tracks, and arguably, the most popular song sung in English and Spanish of this century. 

"I don't know how 'Feliz Navidad' became such a favorite," Feliciano admits in a recent Zoom interview with GRAMMY.com. His guess, beyond its simplicity, is the song's bilingual lyrics and embodiment of Puerto Rico's soul during Christmas time channeled through the cuatro, an instrument that derives from the guitar and is at the center of Puerto Rico's caroling called parrandas. 

"I think, because it has that Puerto Rican feeling [it has]," he says, adding. "No radio station could turn me off on the grounds that it was too Spanish, or let's say, the Latino community, couldn't say, 'It was too much English and we can't play it.' So they're stuck." 

For many, there is no Christmas time without "Feliz Navidad"—it continues to earn a spot on top Christmas lists, invade holiday streaming playlists and land on Billboard charts. 

The GRAMMY-winning Puerto Rican singer/songwriter features the hit on his latest album released earlier this year, Behind This Guitar, his latest work since releasing As You See Me Now with Jools Holland, featuring songs like the title track and "I'm America" that dig into his identity as a guitar player and connection to this country. The album also showcases Feliciano's predeliction for infusing new life into past pop hits—catch him covering Fleetwood Mac's "The Chain," for example.

On top of releasing a new album and celebrating a major anniversary, Feliciano's long musical career and life story are being highlighted in a documentary called Jose Feliciano: Behind This Guitar, which is now premiering at the Nashville Film Festival after the cancelation of SXSW this year. 

After all these years, music is still everything to him, he says. "When I'm in bed, I'm always moving my hands, tapping my fingers, imagining that I'm playing chords. I'm music through and through, and it's a wonderful drug to be addicted to. I'm music through and through, and it's a wonderful drug to be addicted to."

Feliciano spoke to GRAMMY.com on the longevity of "Feliz Navidad," why he’s proud that he made it bilingual, how romance drew him to the guitar, his career and the new film documenting it, as well as his most risky moment as an artist.

You've got one heck of a year going on. You released an album earlier this year and you're also celebrating the 50th anniversary of "Feliz Navidad." How are you feeling about it?

Well, I'm excited. I don't know how "Feliz Navidad" became such a favorite. But, I would like to say, that I think what made "Feliz Navidad" such a favorite is the simplicity of the song. The song, in total lyric-wise, because it's bilingual, has 19 words.​

19 words.

19 words. And I think, because it has that Puerto Rican feeling, I think it lent itself. Neither I, or the producer who helped me with—we didn't know. We thought it might be a hit because it had all of the ingredients. Making it bilingual, I think really strengthened the song in the sense that nobody—When it comes to Christmas, no radio station could turn me off on the grounds that it was too Spanish, or let's say, the Latino community, couldn't say, "It was too much English and we can't play it." So they're stuck.

The song is on a bunch of Christmas lists. One Billboard list has you top five with Mariah Carey's "All I want for Christmas Is You." What do you think of her song?

I think it's a great song from Mariah Carey. It doesn't have the longevity that mine does, but that's another story.

Your song is the only Christmas song that is teaching people who don't speak Spanish, to speak Spanish. How do you feel about that?

I feel great about that because I remember, as a kid going to school in New York, when me and friends who only spoke Spanish would congregate and we'd hear "English, English, speak English here! No español!" And, it bothered me because Spanish was the only language that I knew. I came from Puerto Rico in 1950 when the big migration was happening. So [speaking Spanish,] it didn't make me anti-American. If anything, it told me, "Jose, you're in a different country, you must learn the language," which is something that disappoints me about Latinos from everywhere. [Editor's Note: According to Pew, "About six-in-ten U.S. adult Hispanics (62%) speak English or are bilingual, according to an analysis of the Pew Research Center’s 2013"]. They don't want to learn to speak English. And that's terrible. I'm proud to be a Caribbean-American. And, I thank the Lord for where I'm at.

I have a Christmas children's book [now on "Feliz Navidad"], and there's a video as well. And I think it's really cute. It tells a story of, "Feliz Navidad", that I never imagined. I think it's a wonderful little story. And it's in English and Spanish.

You've got a catalog of amazing songs. You're a singer-songwriter, but you also interpret. Is there one that you prefer? 

I like both. I like writing my own material, but I like re-interpreting other songs and doing them better than the original. I mean, that's the goal. If you're going to re-interpret something, if you can't do it better, leave it alone.

Is there a specific topic you like singing and songwriting about the most?

No. Although, I've written some really great protest songs. I wrote a song entitled, "Killing's Not the Answer" when 9/11 happened. And of course, because I'm pro-life, that song now really has a different meaning for me, killing is not the answer.

There are a lot of protests going on. How do you feel about that?

Well, protests have been going on for decades. This is not the only time. And I think, it's good to protest something, but the looting part of it, I don't agree with. I don't think you have to mess up somebody's business, something that they've spent their whole life to have a livelihood for themselves. I think it's wrong for people when they protest, to loot.

Going back to your music, you have music in both English and Spanish, some bilingual. Did you feel like you had to choose or did you organically just always do both?

I never felt like I had to choose. I enjoyed, for example, rock and roll, since its beginnings. And I always enjoyed writers like Bob Dylan. And so, it just all fit in with me.

Earlier this year you released, Behind This Guitar. Your title track is essentially your story. What drew you to the guitar specifically?

Well, I think what drew me to the guitar was its portability. I mean, it's very hard to serenade a woman with a piano. You can't get the piano inside the window.

In "I'm America" you sing, "I'm proud to be Puerto Rican-American." What inspired that song?

Well, that song was a song that was suggested to me by my producer, Rick Jarrard. We're still working together. And, Rick was in a club in Nashville and he heard a guy sing the song. And he went over to the person and he said, "Listen, I'd like for you not to give the song to anybody right now, because I know an artist who this song fits perfectly." And he was talking about me. And when I listened to the song, I said, "Boy, that's my life story. That's me." I used to sit up hours and practice and practice. And I remember school teachers sometimes telling me, "Mr. Feliciano, if you don't do your homework, you're not going to amount to very much." And I never answered my teachers back, but inside of me I was saying, "Oh yeah, that's what you think." And that's why I practiced 14 hours a day, that's why I pushed myself as far as I could.

In a Huffington Post interview, you say, regarding the song, "I think it's time that people started realizing that they love this country." Tell me more about what you meant by that.

Well, what I meant by that is, you never miss your water till it's gone. And I sometimes think that because we are free and we're allowed to say what we think and whatever, that we take those things for granted. And, I love this country. I love it very much. And, that's what that song was about.

Was that song also influenced by your Puerto Rican background? 

I don't know if it was, truthfully. For me, I love America, and this is what I am, a Caribbean-American, and I'm proud of it. And when we first came to America, from Puerto Rico, we weren't really wanted here because at the time, in 1950, if you look up in your history books, you will see that some dissidents tried to kill President Truman. And, of course, there was a lot of dissension, but you got to go beyond that and you got to go forward and you got to realize that, life isn't always what it seems to be. 

What you think of the new generation of artists from Puerto Rico like Bad Bunny. Have you heard him? 

I've heard, yeah, artists like Bad Bunny. I'd rather not say.

Do you have a message for any Latin artists trying to make it?

Learn your craft. If you're going to be a singer, don't be mediocre. And if you're going to write, write things that really deal with romance, don't deal always with, getting laid, or those kind of things. You could say the very same thing subtly and romantically.

You're an old-school romantic. Tell me what you love about romance and singing about it. 

Well in my early life, I didn't have really very much romance except in my mind, which is the reason that I used to do these Spanish torch songs, like the boleros. And when I recorded the boleros in Argentina, I was the first artist to use a guitar as an orchestra. Most people who sort of play the guitar, use .... They're strummers. They're not guitarists. And since I couldn't move my hips, let's say, like Elvis or whatever. I had to learn to play the instrument. 

Your story is documented in Jose Feliciano: Behind This Guitar, a documentary. Looking back, what will you remember most about your career?

Everything, because even though there are special moments, I think one of the real special moments for me and for Susan, was when we got the Murph (Helen Murphy) in our corner. Once that happened, everything else has been a piece of cake. Helen's not going to like this. She's going to say, "Well, shouldn't have said those things about me." love this woman. I think she's, ingenious, I think from the time this woman wakes up till the time she goes to bed, she's got ideas. That brain is working and it's an inspiration to me because that's how I am. And even when I'm in bed, I'm always moving my hands, tapping my fingers, imagining that I'm playing chords. I'm music through and through, and it's a wonderful drug to be addicted to.

When you were a little boy, did you ever imagine that all this would happen?

Nah, I was just a little boy. How could I imagine such a thing? When I was a teenager, well, that's a different story. I did imagine me being on TV, recording records. And I was so excited when I was contracted by my friend. And you'll see this in the documentary if you haven't already. I met a guy by the name of, Jack Summer, and, Jack Summer came to Gerde's Folk City, and he was the one that had me signed to RCA. Now, can you imagine a kid of 19 knowing that he was signed to the same label that one of my heroes, Elvis Presley was signed to? I was 11 years old when Elvis had the song, "Heartbreak Hotel."

You're an artist that has really been opening doors for other artists who don't have their sight. I'm sure that a lot of, of young people and people of any age definitely see you as an inspiration. Do you wish the music industry had more talent like you on stages?

I don't know. That's a hard question. I was inspired by, Ray Charles. When I heard, Ray Charles, and found out he was blind, I said, "Well, hey, if there's a place for, Ray Charles, there's got to be a place for Jose Feliciano." I went through a lot of things in a sense because somebody in the record company wanted me to change my name, and Americanize my name, and I wouldn't it because I didn't want to dishonor my father ...  They wanted me to change my name to, Joe Phillips. 

That's so, so different.

Yep.

In the documentary, Carlos Santana, Gloria Estefan, Emilio Estefan, talk about your influence on pop culture. How was it for you hearing all these big names, talking about how you've left such a big impact?

I was very honored by them. For them to mention my name and most terms, I don't think that I opened as many doors for them as they opened for me. I love Emilio Estefan, I love Gloria. They're good people and I'm grateful to have friendships like that. 

You've done so much. What do you want for yourself, going into the future?

I don't know what I want for myself. I just want to be happy. I want my wife to live for a long time. That's the only thing I'm afraid in my life, that I will go before she does. And she'll be alone. I don't like that. 

I have a hit record. It's called, Behind This Guitar. It's my new album. And I thank our record company for that. I thank Helen for that. And Rick Jarrard, my dear friend, who I say is, the George Martin, of our times. We used to experiment and do things. We used to like, for example, putting a backward guitar on a guitar solo because it sounded strange. And it was, "Hey, we're creating something!"

That makes me wonder. What's the riskiest thing you've done with your music?

I would have to say when I did the "Star-Spangled Banner." It was risky, but I didn't know at the time that it was risky, I was just expressing how I felt about the U.S and, I didn't want to sing it straight, without any feeling. I think I put my Latin influence and I put soul into it because for example, on the Detroit Tigers, I think, sure, the non-Black players liked it, but it really got to the Black players. People like Willie Gordon, people like ... Oh my goodness, so many. And I appreciate their support because I did it with them in mind and I wanted the Anthem to be different.

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GRAMMYs

Johnny Ventura, Lido Pimienta & Jean Dawson

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In The BLM Movement, Latinx Artists Look Inward amid-black-lives-matter-conversations-black-latinx-artists-urge-non-black-latinx-do

Amid Black Lives Matter Conversations, Black Latinx Artists Urge Non-Black Latinx To Do Better

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Jean Dawson, Lido Pimienta, Johnny Ventura and more talk anti-Blackness in the Latinx community and how music can be one of the greatest catalysts for change
Jennifer Velez
GRAMMYs
Jul 13, 2020 - 5:51 pm

"I am not free as long as one person of color remains chained. Nor is anyone of you," writer and poet Audre Lorde cautioned during her keynote speech addressing racism at a Connecticut women’s conference in 1981. Her message was clear: Racism cannot be dismantled until every person fights to eliminate it—that included women who, in world ruled by white males, faced oppression because of their gender, but benefited from whiteness. 

Almost 40 years later, the late writer’s words are even more far-reaching. 

As the U.S. faces trials brought forth by systemic, societal and cultural racism ignited by George Floyd’s killing at the hands of police, the Latinx community, multi-faceted and multi-dimensional, as described by Pew Research Center, are now turning inward to evaluate their own role in a conversation about race, privilege and anti-Blackness. 

The Latinx community is extremely diverse, comprising indigenous, Black and white people (among others). Though it is often unified by the Spanish language, many members are now saying that the community must reckon with its own history of anti-Blackness. Being Black, no matter your cultural background, can more than likely mean experiencing heightened racism such as police brutality—a privilege light-skinned and white-passing Latinx don’t have to worry about. 

As the music industry goes through its own discussion on systemic racism, music leaders are calling for change, in and out of the industry. But how? Latinx have to acknowledge a history of anti-Blackness, rooted by colonialism, to understand why this is a question in the first place, they say.

A history of anti-Blackness

Half Black and half Mexican, Jean Dawson grew up an anomaly to many. He was born in San Diego to a Black father and a Mexican mother, but raised in Tijuana after he and his mother moved there. 

"I was in Mexico and people didn't know what I was," the singer/songwriter says over Zoom. "There was a whole lot of stuff."

Some Mexicans would call him "Kalimba," he recalls. Kalimba, an Afro-Mexican singer, was a part of an influentially successful pop group called OV7 in the ‘90s. He and his sister, M'balia Maricha, were two Afro-Mexicans in a predominately light-skinned Mexican group, and as scarce as hen’s teeth in the overall industry. 

Dawson commuted to San Diego every day for school, something not so uncommon in a border town. He now lives in Los Angeles, though he says that life in the U.S. isn't much better than it was back home. "Police in the United States don't see me as a Mexican man. Even if they do, they see me as a threat," he says. "They see me as all these things rather than being a 24-year-old college-educated musician."

And he isn’t the only music artist with accounts of discrimination. In and out of the U.S., the latest Black Lives Movement protests have Black and Afro-Latinx artists sharing their own personal stories of racism.

In a livestreamed conversation with the newly formed Conciencia Collective, a Latinx group of music professionals addressing race issues, ChocQuibTown’s Goyo shared she’s been taken off a bus in Colombia because she was Black. 

In an Instagram post, Legendary merengue and salsa musician Johnny Ventura recounted a trip to the U.S. that quickly became uncomfortable when an airport immigration officer wouldn’t believe he was staying at an upscale hotel in New York. The officer stopped asking where he was really staying only until after a Puerto Rican co-worker let him know who Ventura was.

Dawson and Goyo’s accounts solidify two facts: No matter who you are, if you’re Black, you’re a target. Also, there are undeniable microaggressions and discrimination towards Black Latinx in the culture. 

Across Latin countries, whether in North, South America or the Caribbean, microaggressions show up in casual expressions. For example, there's the phrase "Hay que mejorar la raza" or "We have to better the race," while family members issue constant reminders to not get too much sun in order to keep skin as light as possible. Such microaggressions perpetuate anti-Black and anti-indigenous ideologies that go unquestioned. 

"There [were] people in my family that when they met my father through my mother immediately were like, 'No, you can't be with him because he's Black,'" Dawson says. 

Light skin, light eyes, light hair—the closer a Latinx person comes to whiteness can often equate to a higher perceived desirability within the culture.

Roughly 130 million people of African descent live in Latin America, according to a 2016 report by Princeton University’s Project on Ethnicity and Race in Latin America. Slavery by the Spanish and Portuguese plays a role in that number. Despite Black Latinx making up an estimated quarter of the population now, their Black identity continues to be belittled and erased through language and racial identifiers.  

Dominican-American journalist Jennifer Mota noted that calling someone "Spanish" who may not be, as is sometimes done in Latin countries, is erasing their indigenous or Black identity, even if they speak Spanish.

"I am Spanish-speaking.... I was not born in Spain, nor were my parents," she wrote on her Instagram. "Spanish is both a language and a nationality, when you label someone Spanish & they are not, you are erasing their specific culture, nationality, and experience."

Colombian-Canadian singer/songwriter Lido Pimienta adds that doing so is erasing the fact that colonization ever happened. 

“People call me Spanish, I'm not Spanish, I'm Colombian. I speak Spanish, because I was colonized by Spain,” she says.“[Being called] Spanish is this negation, that there was ever colonization.”

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Beyond language, eurocentric beauty standards dominate media in many Latin countries. Travel to Mexico, Colombia or almost any other Spanish-speaking country and you’ll see street ads, television soap operas and other programming featuring light-skinned people.  

"Whatever is closest or with more proximity to whiteness in sound, in look, in aesthetic. That's the person that we want, and that's the person that's going to get the platform." Pimienta says of the media and entertainment mindset in Colombia, where roughly 10 percent of the population is Black, and traces of the country's only Black president, Juan José Nieto Gil, have been erased from history, including in books and portraits.

The cover of her recently released album Miss Colombia dismantles these notions of white supremacy, targeting beauty pageants (which are highly regarded in the country), where only two Black women from the country have won a Miss Universe title. Pimienta protests that reality when she, a Black, indigenous Colombian, stands front and center wearing a crown.

The Black erasure and whitewashing that happens in Latin countries is blatant and is a result of colonization, University of Florida assistant professor Jillian Hernandez says. 

"The Spanish basically [formed] a whole cast of different races, the exploitation of indigenous people and then of the enslaved Africans that were brought to Latin America," she says. "Because so many Latinx have light skin privilege, there has been the sort of ideology of white aspiration."

Even when it comes to music consumption, music with Black roots, like reggaeton, is minimized among some Latinx. 

"Black Latinx music [is] often looked down upon as a lesser form of Latinx music, even though it's clearly super popular and clearly super lucrative," Hernandez continues. "Those are again the same hierarchies that we get from the same racist colonialism."

Hernandez adds those hierarchies can also show up at award shows and "urbano" artists can become pigeonholed. "What cultural forms [of music] are ... taken the most seriously or given the most awards?" she asks. Both the GRAMMYs and Latin GRAMMYs have been critiqued for their urban categories. The GRAMMYs have renamed their urban contemporary category and the Latin GRAMMYs have added a reggaeton category. 

Unlearning Anti-Blackness 

Hernandez says these ideologies start at home: "In many ways, we're trained in our families to be anti-Black and anti-indigenous." Johnny Ventura, a 80-year-old singer/musician from the Dominican Republic, has for decades represented Afro-Latinos through salsa and merengue music, both of which derive from Black music. 

Off and on the stage, he’s made a point to celebrate Blackness. If Latinos, he believes, discriminate amongst themselves, they are enabling white Americans and Europeans that engage in racism.

For him, combating anti-Blackness meant teaching his children to love who they are. "In my home, the moment my kids were born, we called them 'Negrito lindo, negrito bello, negrito bello,'" he says. ("Negrito" is an endearing word deriving from "negro," or "Black" in Spanish.) Ventura took care to pair the word with "beautiful" when using it to refer to his kids.

He brought that same mentality to the stage: In Ventura's music, you’ll proudly hear him call himself negro often. "[I do it] justifiably to combat that," he says, referring to anti-Blackness. 

In the U.S., where one-quarter of all U.S. Latinos self-identify as Afro-Latino, Afro-Caribbean or of African descent with roots in Latin America (according to a 2016 Pew Research study), Latinx are outlining ways to bring these conversations to light at home. 

But in order to truly dismantle white supremacy in Latin culture, Latinx should not be seen as just one thing, Pimienta says. 

"Every [Latin American] country has their thing that they can do, because it's not a monolith," she explains. "And there's not one way of being Black."

University of California San Diego Ethnic Studies assistant professorJosé Fusté agrees that people need to be careful about seeing all Latinos as the same. "I'm Puerto Rican. We don't deal with ICE. We don't have that situation. We need to be very real about our privilege when it comes to that, even though we're colonial subjects," he says.

While he says someone from Central America may not necessarily relate in every aspect to someone from Cuba, many non-white Latinx share being made the "other" in the U.S. 

"We have common ground whether we like it or not. But we also have differences," he says. "I'll never know what it's like to be an Afro-Latino. It's my job to try to find out and understand it for myself and try to convey it to others. It's my responsibility."

Beyond holding conversations at home, educational programs like Ethnic Studies at colleges and universities can help dismantle racism, some argue. An option for those with educational resources or interest in education as Ethnic studies teaches the histories and stories of Black and people of color.  

Black and Latinx artists are using music as a way to educate for without access to Ethnic Studies. ChocQuibTown’s "Somos los Prietos" and Myke Towers’ recently released "MICHAEL X" highlight their experience and share their support for struggles faced by Black people in and out of the U.S.

Dawson released a song called “Policia” or “Police," which he wrote before Floyd’s death but decided to release after to raise funds for inner-city children, the wrongfully incarcerated and trans people. 

Ventura decided not to celebrate his 64th music anniversary this year after Floyd’s killing, which he took personally. "I usually celebrate, but this time I didn’t," he says. "Things that I thought stayed in the past haven’t and Floyd represents all Black people."

A Debt Is Due

The latest Black Lives Matter protests have sparked a wave of accountability that began with the police system and has swept through several corners of society, causing the music industry to experience its own wave of trials. Historically, the music industry has been complicit in systemic racism and erasure of Blackness. White gatekeepers, as Wesley Morris explains for The New York Times Magazine, have too many times determined a song to be "Too Black for certain white people." Or claimed genres for their own without acknowledging its Black roots. 

The relationship between Black artists and the music industry is fueled by a historic dehumanization of Blackness that happens in the U.S. and Latin America.

There is a kind of obsession with Black culture, Fusté says. "There is a kind of love-hate relationship. There is an infatuation with it. There's an obsession with it at the same time that there's a dehumanization of it."

Blackface Minstrelsy happened in the U.S. but also other places like Puerto Rico, Cuba and Mexico, he notes. 

Online movements #BlackOutTuesday and coalitions like the Black Music Action Coalition have called for the acknowledgment of the industry’s exploitation and called for support for Black artists and music professionals. A similar coalition was created in the U.K.

Companies like Swedish music electronics company Teenage Engineering, which makes products used by dance music producers, plan to begin sharing its revenue with some Black musicians in the U.S. as a way to acknowledge their part in making their products popular. 

Sony Music Group, Warner Music Group and Universal Music Group have announced donations aiming to support social justice organizations. Sony and Universal also announced inside initiatives to support their Black employees.

Republic Records, under Universal, has vowed to drop the industry term "urban" in its genres and every other facet of the label. (The "urban" genre has been used as an umbrella term that boxes in Black artists and music industry professionals.)

Leading Latin music publication Remezcla, meanwhile, is taking the same pledge to stop using the Spanish equivalent of urban, or "musica urbana."

"There's so much power in the media, how they frame this," Hernandez says. "If Remezcla says we're not going to see ‘musica urbana,’ that is changing the discourse."

She continues: “It's not going to save anyone's life, but it will change how histories of popular music and culture are written because it is a moment. When inspired by a social movement, a group of people decide, 'You know what? We're going to change the discourse about this particular genre of music.'"

Beyond language, several aspects of the music industry need to rethink who it champions and promotes. In 2018, Amara La Negra explained to a bewildered Breakfast Club how colorism exists in the Latin music industry.

"They’ll always pick the lighter [skin tone]. The ones that look like... [the] J.Los and Shakiras and stuff before they look at us," she said.

There could be less stereotyping and a lot more support for Black artists, especially women and LGBTQ musicians who continue to face sexism and homophobia.

Closing The Gap: How Latina Artists Are Combating Gender Inequality In Urban Music

"The music industry is based a lot on stereotypes that at a marketing level that maybe are not opening doors for artists or for telling Black stories," Goyo said in a talk with Conciencia Collective. "We don’t see ourselves represented on T.V."

Prominent artists in Latin music genres are being asked to set an example, too. An Op-Ed by Katelina Eccleston published in Remezcla called “Why Urbano Artists' Scarce Comments On The #BLM Movement Are a Problem” called out the lack of response from some reggaetón and Latin trap artists who make music with Black and Afro-Caribbean roots. Eccleston referenced Bad Bunny in particular, an artist who is widely known for voicing his opinion on politics but was slow to speak up on #BlackLivesMatter. Bunny, who had been unplugging while Floyd’s death happened, eventually released a statement to TIME that called for educating friends and family on racism. 

"Urbano artists—especially those who aren’t Black—have a duty to speak up on behalf of racial injustice outside of when it’s trendy. It’s not only a crucial means of compensating for the exploitation of Black aesthetics, but an element of solidarity of the advancement towards racial equality in the U.S., Latin America and as far as their influence reaches," Eccleston writes. 

Pimienta says non-Latinx artists creating Black Latinx music should recognize their privilege if they perform Black music. "When you see it in culture, in music, in the music industry, and it's not questioned, we are, as an industry, perpetuating white supremacy."

Pimienta also argues that the industry needs to rethink branding Europeans as Latin. "When you have artists from Europe that break into the music scene, and they're branded as Latin, it is problematic."

RELATED: Ivan Barias On Silence As Complicity, Holding Major Labels Accountable & How To Be A Non-Black Latinx Ally

How popular culture can be a vehicle for change

Already, Latinx in the music industry have started conversations on privilege and solidarity, with Conciencia Collective and journalists—including Mota and La Gata—holding livestream talks. 

Fusté believes music and pop culture can lead the way on the necessary conversations that need to happen.

"We need to be honest about those things, and the music needs to reflect that. I think we're going there, honestly. I'm optimistic about it. Because I think, if anything, music is going to teach us that," he says. "There are people that will consume these videos, these talks. I think the artist can reach people directly in a way that's never happened before."

Goyo uses her platform to bring Ethnic Studies (she refers to it as Ethno-studies) to the world.

"Ethno-education is a powerful tool that goes from the university to other places to explain history," she said in her conversation with Conciencia Collective.

Meanwhile, the Latinx music industry is taking on race issues but also holding space for women and the LGBTQ community to talk about the intersections of race and other identities.

Goya and Pimienta have used their music to talk about their experiences being Black women. Pabllo Vittar, Lauren Jauregui, Tatiana Hazel and Urias joined the collective in a conversation about how gender and sexuality affect Black and Latinx of color.

Vittar says racism and homophobia affects Brazil; it's something the government doesn’t seek to improve and the media hardly shows.

"I always try to use my platform to show what’s happening in my country, what’s happening in cities with the Black Lives Matter movement,” he says in the conversation. “I want the media in Brazil to also show that there is also a lot of suffering from racism, homophobia and some many other things in Brazil."

While there is work that needs to be done in the industry, Pimienta says space for indigenous folk music and other music made by Black and indigenous artists—what she calls outsider music—that challenge identity norms is growing.

"I feel like we are now at this point where people are hungry for that. I feel like we've gone through the shiny and the perfectly packaged and the perfect ideals of womanhood…" she says. "I feel really good. I feel like finally I don't have to explain myself. That's where I'm trying to go."

How Black Trans Artists Are Fighting To Achieve Racial Justice & Amplify Queer Voices

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