Up until now, Spanish-language hip-hop has only been on my radar in a very peripheral way. And there, mostly in the context of bilingual US-american emcees. Sparked by my recent journey to learn the language, and using music as a means of advancing towards that goal, I decided to look a little more closely.
And… whoa. Talk about opening the floodgates. I don’t know why it didn’t occur to me before, but nearly half a billion people speaking one language and dispersed over several continents is an extremely fascinating exercise in the acquisition and expression of hip-hop culture.
I tried to make a mix of some of the artists I’ve been listening to as of late. Right now, my understanding of the music is still on a very superficial level. I like the way it sounds, but my understanding of the lyrics is still rather limited. It’s sure to be a hodge-podge of accents, dialects, and flavors.
Chances are good that I’ll revisit this particular subject more than once (maybe showcasing artists from particular countries or regions).
Comments