Hip-hop artist Olmeca gives voice to the changing face of America with an uplifting celebration of the Latino community.
Los Angeles-based Tepehuane emcee Olmeca is a deft lyricist and a dedicated activist. He's been a longtime advocate for Latin@ rights and his latest single "Browning of America" speaks directly to the rise of the Latin@ community in the U.S., the struggles of undocumented workers against deportation, and the fight for immigrant rights. "The revolution will not be televised", he raps, "we're marching in."
We caught up with him to talk about the song, the struggle, and what we can learn from the Zapatistas.
What Indigenous nation and community do you represent?
I represent the Indigenous diaspora from Mexico. My mother is Tepehuane from the state of Durango, but lost her roots during forced migration within Mexico.
How does your indigeneity figure in your art and music?
The idea of identity in the United States is crucial in the survival of a people. The colors, the vibrancy of culture, the food, the music and our cultural understanding of the world through indigeneity are very much present in my music.
Can you tell us a bit about the song "Browning of America" and the movement you're speaking to with it?
"Browning of America" is about the undeniable fact that the U.S. is becoming more "brown" or "latin@". The demographics are changing and with it its culture. There is a part of the immigrant rights movement that inspires me. One that is fearless and is led by the undocumented "other". The women, the queer community, the youth and those who are most marginalized. I try to respond to that bravery with this song by placing the facts that are often hidden from mainstream media.
You produced the video in collaboration with the National Day Laborer Organizing Network (NDLON) and PUENTE Vision. How did you link up with them?
I've been working with NDLON for years now. I've been working with PUENTE the longest. Both organizations have been on the front lines and I'm honored to be on their scope given the tremendous amount of work they have been doing.
We heard you got up with the Zapatistas and have been a longtime supporter of their movement. What do you think we can learn from them in our movements for liberation here in other parts of Turtle Island?
I first visited Zapatista communities in 2001. That movement is one that looks at the political reality through Indigenous principles. It allows for culture to take its proper place and focuses on justice beyond the economic. This means that the poor and rich dichotomy is only part of the struggle, but humanity, is holistic and that is what I feel they truly represent... that is... a movement for humanity where 'a world where many worlds fit' and one where we are constantly looking at our privileges to ensure the dignity of those around us.
What's next for you? Any new releases planned for 2015?
I am in production mode and working with Dos Santos from Chicago and Principe Cu from Texas for production. In the meantime, we will be releasing more videos via my website www.olmeca.us.
All over the globe, Indigenous MCs and hip-hop artists are using the furious force of rhymes to express, represent and revitalize their original languages and cultures. And Mayan MCs, like 22-year-old Pat Boy, are no exception.
For Pat Boy and other artists building the burgeoning Mayan hip-hop scene in the Yucatán Peninsula, rap is a way to bring Indigenous language and culture to a wider audience and for Mayan artists to recover a deeper sense of their own indigeneity. "Through rapping in Maya," Pat Boy says, "I better understand my culture".
The Indigenous music renaissance is making it not only acceptable, but cool for native artists to represent themselves and their culture — and the resurgent wave is spreading beyond Turtle Island. By Pat Boy's count, at least 40 rappers are following in his footsteps—and people of all ages are coming to his shows. As he stated in a recent interview, "Old people like it for the language. Young people like it for the genre."
Rap keeps bringing it back. "Interviews tell us that 'the Maya collapsed'", he says, "which is a lie because the Mayans are here, just evolved and doing new things".
To get a better sense of where he's coming from and why is music is resonating so deeply with his audience and fellow Natives, we did a quick google translate of a Spanish-language interview Pat Boy recently did with VICE Mexico (so excuse the crude algorithmic translation) where he talks about his introduction to hip-hop and how the community has responded to his music:
INTERVIEWER: Hi, Pat Boy, you come from a community where the Mayan language is spoken, what was your first introduction to hip-hop? Pat Boy: Yes, the Mayan language is the first thing you learn as a child, I am native of my native José María Pino Suárez. My first approach to hip-hop was thanks to my brother, as he traveled to complete his studies in Felipe Carrillo Puerto, and every time he returned to my village he had CDs and videos of singers like Kinto Sol, Akwid, Control Machete, Vico C and rappers from abroad like 50 Cent, Lil Jon, Cam'ron, Lil Wayne, etc.. From there we started rapping and writing our own songs, then bought a computer from the old ladies in which you could only record 60 seconds and so we started making our own rolas rapping in Spanish.
And where does the name Pat Boy come from?
From the Pat out of my last name, which in Mayan means to shape somethingor create something new.
What did people in your community think when you told them you wanted to be a rapper?
Many people laughed at me and made fun of what I was doing, said I had nothing to do, that I would not get anywhere, but at that time they had not heard what I sang. Now when I took my first album, titled In Ya'ax xin baal, my people began to identify with the phrases of a song called "U kuxtáal mayaoob" (Maya lives), which speaks of the current life of the campesinos.
With a legion of fans, and inspiring his fellow Natives to reclaim their culture, Pat Boy seems an appropriate ambassador for hip-hop as a revitalizing force:
my songs tell a little of everything, of me and what I see happening every day, how life changes in Mayan villages technology, pollution and acculturation. I talk about peasant life, how we have to get up early to go to work in the fields, go out and find other ways to live because the land no longer gives crops. I also sing about the holidays, customs of each people, always encouraging young people to do something positive. Tell them all we can achieve what ever we want and when we work and maintain humility, respect and peace. Anywhere you go you should not forget where you come from, your people and blood in your veins.
At 22, Pat Boy is already three albums deep, has multiple videos posted on his YouTube channel, and his SoundCloud is constantly being updated with new joints. We've highlighted the video for a feel-good crew track "DECIRTE TODO", which features El Maya & El Poeta & Victor Santo Barrio, and a recent Clipse-style minimalist rap track "PLASMANDO MIS RIMAS" that's available as a free download.
Hip-hop is the force, Indigenous experience is the spirit. And through both we keep revitalizing ourselves, one beat at a time.
Estrella Hood and Anand Parmar, partners in life and music, are the love behind World Hood.
I caught up with Estrella Wood, once her voice had recovered from the mayhem of SXSW where Estrella and her partner performed under World Hood at a community venue. They are also the founding members of the Sol Collective, an arts, culture and activist centre in Sacramento. The centre offers everything from music production classes to graphic design to silk screening. They also provide a space where different groups can come in and host cultural activities. They are right near the state capital and run an activist school making sure people are aware of different issues.
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Marika Swan: The discussion about identity is always interesting and I find that this is sometimes different with the Indigenous folks down south. How do you talk about your roots?
Estrella Hood: Yeah it's definitely interesting and it's always different in different places and it really hit home when I was in Canada just in the different ways that people do identify. You know growing up, we're Mexican, so we're Mestizo or Mestiz. I always knew about our Indigenous roots. My grandpa on my mother's side is Matlazinca, Indigenous people from Mexico and he made it a point to let us know where we came from. My dad's side of the family was always proud that their bloodline was Spanish, mainly because of the racism created due to the hacienda system in Mexico. Growing up, I would hear family members on that side say things like she’s the “daughter of the Indian”. I don’t think they meant it in a good way, but I was always proud of that, and I’m glad that they did not allow me to forget. On my mom’s side of the family, her eldest brother still spoke the Indigenous language. They still had their traditions. As I got older and many of them came to California it became less and less throughout the years, with assimilation. Definitely as I got older I wanted to look into that and really get a good grasp of who we were. I had a lot of conversations later with my grandfather.
In California there’s a lot of politics around being Native. A lot have to do with the politics around casinos, specifically where I live. There is a bit of a divide in the community around folks that are Mestiz and folks that are full-blooded Indian, who can say they are Native and who can’t. I think some of these tensions have risen because some people have right to money from casinos and some people don’t. So even though we’re not Native from California, I still felt that tension around cultural identity.
When I went to Canada to see Indigenous people from all over the place and Mestiz people from all over the place it was very interesting to learn about the politics of cultural identity outside of my own community.
MS: When did music become a big part of the work that you do?
EH: I think I've always had that as an outlet. When I dropped out of high school and I hadn't told my parents yet - I would take off and go to my friends place and we would record music. Its always been a way of expressing myself and getting my thoughts and my ideas and my energy out. Recently with the World Hood project it's the first time I've really put it out there and allowed other people to hear it.
MS: And this is a music project with your partner? It sounds so romantic.
EH: (laughs) Yeah, he's a producer and an amazing beat-maker so it's convenient because we have a studio set up in the house. We have two children so when they go to sleep we can work on a project together. He's East Indian, his family is from India and he was born in Africa so he brings a whole different cultural element. We go back and forth with the sound, adding different elements of who we are. It's been fun working with him.
MS: How did your show go at SXSW?
EH: It was cool, it was a little difficult 'cause we were organizing the event. As a band, it was difficult because we were doing way too much as usual. We were on the sound and hosting the guests. So that part was hard to put myself in the role of now I am going to perform because I was running around but as far as the show itself it was a wonderful experience. We got to invite all of the different artists who's music we really respect. It was nice to meet face to face with people who have similar music or similar ideas around activism. And represent some kind of cultural element in their music. That we're not trying to assimilate, we're trying to keep our culture intact out here. So everyone had some kind of cultural element to their music which I think is really important.
Especially for us, physically we’re outside of Mexico and going into the next generation. My kids are the second generation. They say that by the third generation children will completely assimilate and there is basically no trace of where we’re from. So the cultural centre is a way for me to combat that. To try and keep our culture intact as much as possible for our generations to come.
MS: Was there any other music that just blew your mind out there?
EH: One show that I just loved was 3BallMTY from Mexico. It's three DJs that are super young, like 17-19 years old and they mixed a lot of different styles of music. From traditional to Indigenous sounds and electronic so its just such a great mix of music. It totally blew me away. It was amazing to to see them. I really feel like they are a good representation of Mexico today, of who we are from our roots until now. Who we are as a people and how we are continuing to move forward and evolve as a people.
MS: What's coming up for you?
EH: We have a new EP with 5 tracks coming out in the next month and dropping a full length album in the summer.
MS: Wow you are a such a busy woman!
EH: Yeah we are always doing too much. Life is short so you have to live out all your dreams and everything that you feel inspired to do. Everything that you visualize, move forward on it.
MS: I think it's so key to mix the activism with the arts and music. It's so important to have that balance.
EH: Music and art are such powerful tools to communicate with people across culture or boundary or gender. Images and sound are able to move people in a way that words aren't. They are such an integral part of our culture anyways.
Aztlan Underground released a new music video this week with a tailing mini-documentary about the making and meaning of the song Our Nature.
East Los Angeles' own Aztlan Underground brings us a new video for their track Our Nature. This is a great look into the creative process of the legendary band and a much awaited video project from the group.
Don't forget to check out our interview with Yaotl from Aztlan Underground as well as Zero from El Vuh in our latest podcast, RPM Podcast #014: “Mesoamerica”.
In the 14th episode of the RPM Podcast, host Ostwelve speaks with two musical architects of the Mexican Indigenous revival - Yaotl of Aztlan Underground and Zero from El Vuh.
On the flags of Canada and U.S.A. there’s nothing that speaks of pre-colonial times - nothing to symbolize the long history of Indigenous peoples on these lands. But look at the flag of Mexico and see smack in the middle a golden eagle with a serpent in its claws. That is an Aztec symbol.
Scholars like to talk about the Aztec civilization as though it’s a thing of the past, but as the flag suggests Aztec culture is alive and kicking with a rhythmic revolution.
Yaotl shares how being Indigenous has shaped his experiences, identity and music, and how he seeks to "see tomorrow". Zero describes the magic that happened when creating music joined his cultural knowledge and where to El Vuh has taken their work.
Check out their music and conversations with Ostwelve and share this post!
Big Dan (MeXIKANO) celebrates his immigrant Indigenous roots with the release of his second solo album All or None: The American Burden featuring Mi Tierra.
Big Danhas just released his second solo album All or None: The American Burden. He has been writing, recording and performing for over 7 years and describes it as a positive outlet: "It is my therapy...it is more than just to entertain people, it is to edu-tain."
A child of Mexican immigrants who grew up in the inner city projects of Oakland, he ended up in Juvenile Hall several times and wants others to learn from his mistakes. Having earned a degree in Ethnic Studies from from the University of California Berkeley, he works as a case manager for at risk teenagers and takes the opportunity to speak at youth centers, detention facilities and academic institutions all over the country.
With the multiple, intersecting layers of colonial history south of Turtle Island, Indigenous identity and language can become an interesting topic of discussion and debate.
Big Dan describes himself as MeXIKANO:"Around my parents and family I identify as Mexican; around my music and friends I identify as XiKANO. So I have just decided to put them both in and say MeXIKANO. This means that I know my history, culture, and about my people Indigenously."
For the first time he chose to write Mi Tierra (My Land), one of the title tracks on his new album, completely in Spanish. It is a special project for him because it shows the progress hip-hop has made as something that resonates internationally. The hook translates as:
“block by block,
and to all of my people putting in their positive efforts,
crossing borders,
not knowing if we will be back,
with this song,
I dedicate to my land”
Big Dan's latest album All or None: the American Burden is now available for sale on iTunes and check out officialbigdan.com for more info, free downloads and updates on his latest musical projects.
Here is the video for Mi Tierra (My Land) by Big Dan:
RPM Records
Revolutions Per Minute is a global new music platform, record label, and boutique agency for Indigenous music culture. RPM’s mission is to build a visionary community of Indigenous artists and to introduce Indigenous music to new audiences across Turtle Island and around the world. Our main site, RPM.fm, has featured the work of more than 500 Indigenous artists and shared their music across our social networks of more than 275,000 followers.
RPM Records is the first of its kind: a label for contemporary, cross-genre Indigenous music, run by Indigenous people. Selected by The FADER as one of “5 New Canadian Record Labels The Entire World Should Know”, RPM Records artists include Ziibiwan, Leanne Betasamosake Simpson, Exquisite Ghost, and Mob Bounce.
