SOMOS PACÍFICO, Choc Quib Town, Colombia
Polen - Zafra
Are we witnessing the birth of another great hip hop Latin band?
During the last decade the scene of hip hop in Spanish has undergone a major revolution, which includes for example, the development and evolution of reggaeton as a dominant genre in the Latin American music industry. In the same way many bands have appeared in different geographic locations that have defined the latin sound of hip hop as Orishas, Los Violadores del Verso, El Sindicato Argentino del Hip Hop, and recently Calle 13.
During the last decade the scene of hip hop in Spanish has undergone a major revolution, which includes for example, the development and evolution of reggaeton as a dominant genre in the Latin American music industry. In the same way many bands have appeared in different geographic locations that have defined the latin sound of hip hop as Orishas, Los Violadores del Verso, El Sindicato Argentino del Hip Hop, and recently Calle 13.
Now the revolution continues in the black Colombia, the forgotten Colombia with Choc-Quib-Town, a group that mixes the taste of their rhythms with the social complaint, in a rap cadence with Pacific folklore.
When people think about Colombian folklore, they immediately think of Cumbia and Vallenato, but that is just a fraction of the full cake. For example, the Caribbean has La Cumbia, La Tambora, El Fandango, El Bullerengue, El Porro, la Gaita, El Vallenato, La Champeta, and El Mapalé, among others. The Tropical Andes have El Bambuco, La Guabina, El Pasillo, La Guasca, etc. The eastern plains have to El Joropo. While the Pacific Litoral, the blacks area, has El Currulao, El Chandé, La Salsa, and La Chirimía, and from there comes Choc-quib-town.
This indie band, which first appeared in 2006 in the Latin Alternative Music Conference compiled album, is produced by Ivan Benavidez (Carlos Vives) and Richard Blair (Peter Gabriel, Sidestepper, Jorge Villamizar), and already won two Nuestra Tierra Colombian Music Awards on the urban field. Now they are introducing the reissue of their debut album “Somos Pacífico” originally launched in late 2006, but this time with some new songs and sound mastered in London. Undoubtedly, this is the best album from a Colombian artist released the last year (only compared with “Son… para el mundo”, by Jorge Celedón), that contrasts with the weakness of their videos, very low budget and quality of implementation.
It is not the same rap that is done in New York or Paris but made in the black pacific. Thus we come to hear a song as “Pescao Envenenao”, where they launch a warning about politicians and other people in society that are responsible for sowing fear and mislead the people, saying something such as - I do not like what you say, I do not believe it - Through an analogy with fish when they reach a not coastal city, like Bogota, where they are no longer so fresh, so they are not edible. A song with a strong theme with a happy chorus that turned into a veritable feast, played featuring the revelation of Salsa music: Orquesta La 33.
One of the most seductive pieces is "San Antonio," an old traditional song in a Currulao rhythm, this time converted into hip hop. In "Si ", they make an apology to Latin American rap, which called ghetto, and confirm their eclectic sound with phrases like: "Me gusta el Ragga, Reggae and R&B, y eso lo mezclo con la música de aquí”. While, "Alguien como tú", we find a song full of romantic lyrics, with a slow beat and surround.
But we can’t ignore the song that gave the album title "Somos Pacífico", which uses fragments of an old theme of Grupo Niche. A song that calls for greater attention to a region and one race, and carries a cry that is heard from the bottom of Darien’s jungle: “Colombia es más que coca, marihuana y café” (Colombia is more than coca, marijuana and coffee). Choc Quib Town is our artist of the week.
Numeric Rating: 92/100