Latin Rap
tagStarted 1981Peak 1990-2000Last big hit still activeFrom Latin AmericaSung in Spanish
Located in 2 routes
US Latino rap that switches fluidly between English and Spanish, often barrio-rooted and bilingual within a single bar. Chicano West Coast lowrider funk and Nuyorican boom-bap collide: B-Real's nasal whine over DJ Muggs' eerie loops, Big Pun's machine-gun multisyllabics, Spanglish hooks, congas and oldies samples. Pride in raza, neighborhood, and code-switching identity.
History
The Mean Machine's bilingual 1981 'Disco Dream' opened the lane. Cuban-born Mellow Man Ace's gold 'Mentirosa' (1990) and Kid Frost's 'La Raza' made Latino MCs crossover stars; Cypress Hill became the first Latino rap act certified platinum (1991). The Bronx's Big Pun and Fat Joe carried it through the late 90s, the first Latin solo MC going platinum.
Defining artists
Essential listening
Sources
- https://www.udiscovermusic.com/stories/mellow-man-ace-feature/
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cypress_Hill
- https://americansongwriter.com/from-mellow-man-ace-to-bad-bunny-latin-hip-hop-throughout-history/
- https://hiplatina.com/latinx-rappers-hip-hop-songs/