Citizendia

Orishas

Background information
OriginFlag of Cuba Havana, Cuba
Genre(s)Latin Hip-Hop
Hip-Hop
Alternative Hip-Hop
Years active1999-present
Label(s)Universal Latino Label
WebsiteOrishas Official
Members
Ruzzo Medina
Yotuel Romero
Roldan Gonzalez
Former members
Flaco-Pro

Orishas is a hip-hop group whose members had emigrated from Cuba. Havana ( IPA: aˈβana officially Ciudad de La Habana, is the Capital city, major port and leading The Republic of Cuba (ˈkjuːbə or) consists of the island of Cuba (the largest and second-most populous island of the Greater Antilles) Isla de la A music genre is a categorical and typological construct that identifies musical sounds as belonging to a particular category and type of music that can be distinguished from other Hip hop is a cultural movement which developed in New York City in the 1970s primarily among African Americans and Latinos. In the Music industry, a record label can be a Brand and a Trademark associated with the Marketing of music recordings and Music Universal Music Group (UMG is the largest Business group and family of Record labels in the Recording industry. Yotuel Omar Manzanarez Romero (born October 6 1976) is an Singer, Actor and Musician current lead singer and co-writer of the 2003 Hip hop is a cultural movement which developed in New York City in the 1970s primarily among African Americans and Latinos. The Republic of Cuba (ˈkjuːbə or) consists of the island of Cuba (the largest and second-most populous island of the Greater Antilles) Isla de la They were first called the “Amenaza” [1] meaning "menace" and appealed to the Cuban youth who were hungry for American pop culture which consisted of hip hop and rap. The Orishas delved into a realm of music in which they challenged “Castro’s ideal of a colorless society” and created a black identity that the younger generations could relate to. They tackled important and obvious issues that dark skinned Cubans faced everyday though the government refused to recognize. [2] Their music describes social problems on the peripheries of Havana which were largely a result of the end of Soviet subsidies to Cuba in the early 1990s. The Special Period in Peacetime ( Período especial en tiempo de paz) in Cuba was an extended period of Economic Crisis that began in Havana ( IPA: aˈβana officially Ciudad de La Habana, is the Capital city, major port and leading The Republic of Cuba (ˈkjuːbə or) consists of the island of Cuba (the largest and second-most populous island of the Greater Antilles) Isla de la [3]

The group is very popular in Europe (especially France and Spain) and Latin America. This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. Spain () or the Kingdom of Spain (Reino de España is a country located mostly in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Yotuel and Ruzzo, two Cubans who moved from Havana to Paris as part of an international studies program, joined Roldan and Flaco-Pro to form the band in 1999. Yotuel Omar Manzanarez Romero (born October 6 1976) is an Singer, Actor and Musician current lead singer and co-writer of the 2003 Havana ( IPA: aˈβana officially Ciudad de La Habana, is the Capital city, major port and leading Paris (ˈpærɨs in English; in French) is the Capital of France and the country's largest city Year 1999 ( MCMXCIX) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1999 Gregorian calendar) Their work is influenced by the hip-hop movement as well as both Latin and Cuban rhythms. As of May 2008, they have produced a total of 3 studio albums and a greatest hits album.

The name “Orishas” refers to the set of deities worshipped in African-based religions that were brought to the Americas by slaves of the Yoruba people in West Africa. These religions, parts of the Yoruba mythology, include Santeria in Cuba and Candomblé in Brazil. Santería, also known as La Regla de Lukumi (Lukumi's Rule and The Way of the Saints is an Afro-Cuban religious tradition derived from traditional beliefs Candomblé (pronounced /kɐ̃dõˈblɛ/is an African-originated or Afro-Brazilian religion practiced chiefly in Brazil. These orishas, or deities, each represent a natural element (such as the ocean or leaves) and exhibit a human characteristic (such as motherhood or love). [4] The choice of this name for the hip hop group is a way of creating a direct link between this band and the African diaspora. This link is evident in the lyrics to "Nací Orichas" and "I Sing For Elewa and Changó". Creating such obvious references to Africa was an interesting choice as the band ultimately based itself in Europe. This success is a statement to both the international appeal of the group itself as well as the global popularity of Cuban culture. [5]

Currently the band consists of only three members, Yotuel, Ruzzo and Roldan. Yotuel Omar Manzanarez Romero (born October 6 1976) is an Singer, Actor and Musician current lead singer and co-writer of the 2003 Flaco-Pro left the group in 2002 before the release of their second studio album, Emigrante[6]. Emigrante is the follow-up to the well-received début Album, A Lo Cubano, by the Cuban hip hop band Orishas.

Today, the band members live distributed in Europe (Roldán in Paris, Ruzzo in Milan, and Yotuel in Madrid). Milan (Milano Milan (listen) is one of the largest cities in Italy, located in the plains of Lombardy. Madrid (pronounced in English in Spanish and colloquially in Spain) is the Capital and largest city of Spain. In total, after producing three albums, the group known as Orishas has sold more than 750,000 copies of its albums in Europe and has received two Grammys. The Grammy Awards (originally called the Gramophone Awards)—or Grammys —are presented annually by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences In 2007, they contributed with Puerto Rican group, Calle 13, on the song "Pa'l Norte" (featured on the album Residente o Visitante). Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Puerto Rico (ˌpwertoˈriko officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ("Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico" {{lang-en|"Associated Free State of Puerto Rico"}} Calle 13 is a five-time Latin Grammy Award and Grammy Award -winning Puerto Rican Hip hop and alternative- Reggaeton duo formed by half-brothers Residente o Visitante is Calle 13 's second album released on April 24, 2007. The song won a Latin Grammy for Best Urban Song. The Latin Grammy Awards were launched in 2000 with a telecast aired on CBS.

Cosita Buena will be the fourth studio album by Orishas set to release June 3, 2008 as noted on their myspace website.

Contents

Origins and Rise of International Popularity

Orishas, originally named Amenaza (Threat), began as a Cuban rap group in the early 1990s. Led by Joel Pando, Orishas became the first rappers to address issue of racial identity in Cuban society. [7] This was especially important because Fidel Castro’s government promotes a colorless society in which racial differences are to be ignored. Although Castro administration tried to promote unity through the genre of Cuban hip hop the Orishas pertained to, the Orishas brought to light the bigotry that dark skinned Afro Cubans endured, namely the assumpetion that Afro Cubans had an affinity to crime. The Orishas brought pride to Afro Cubans in Cuba as they were one of the first Afro Cuban hip hop groups to shed light on the bigotry that hid under the facade of the Castro administration. [8] In 1998 the members of Orishas traveled to Paris to perform and accepted a record deal with a European label. [9] The transition to Europe was critical in their musical career, as many rap groups in Cuba lacked the resources for professional recordings. In fact, of the hundreds of rappers in Cuba, Orishas is the only group that achieved international acclaim. [10] But despite their international acclaim, the Orishas were somewhat of a disappointment to the Afro Cuban community in Cuba as they began to add rhumba and salsa beats to their music. By doing so Afro Cubans believed that the Orishas became sellouts instead of maintaining their political musical edge that represented the pride of the Afro Cuban community of being both African and Cuban. [11]

Their first album ‘A Lo Cubano’ was released in Spain in May 1999. In the summer of 1999, Orishas began a two-year tour across Europe and the United States, which brought them great international attention. In December 2000, Orishas returned to Cuba to perform two concerts, attracting tens of thousands of young Cubans. [12] As one of Cuba’s pioneer rap groups, Orisha earned international fame at both home and abroad.

Orishas never returned home to Cuba; the members of the trio currently live in different European cities, with the band based in France. [13] They have also incorporated traditional Cuban beats such as salsa and rumba into their rapping, an angle that brings appeal to older Cubans but makes today’s aspiring young Cuban rappers “look at them with both awe and disappointment” for “selling out to commercial pressures to evoke Cuban nostalgia. ” [14] Roldan of Orishas himself, however, has a tendency towards traditional Cuban music, and purposely distances his music from stereotypical characteristics of hip-hop, such as the treating of women purely as sex objects and “everything [else] you do in U. S. hip hop shows”. [15]

Controversy

Within the Cuban Hip-hop scene, and particularly in regards to a well-known band like the Orishas, there is a lot of controversy concerning the exploitation of traditional Cuban music, rhythms, and beats to a foreign, American audience. Hip hop is a cultural movement which developed in New York City in the 1970s primarily among African Americans and Latinos. After the band relocated to Paris to begin recording their music, they began to add salsa and rumba beats to a style of music that had originally contained neither. [16] Also referred to as 'selling out', the Orishas have been accused of commercialization and capitalism at the cost of their authenticity. [17] Examples of such actions include selling their songs to Hollywood. "Represent, Cuba" was featured on the soundtrack of the 2004 movie 'Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights. ' [18] But the Orishas themselves do not feel they are selling out, rather, they are claiming that it is hard to break out into the American music scene. Although turnouts at their concerts all over the world are numbering in the thousands, in an interview, the members of the band expressed a difficulty in connecting to their foreign and global audiences. [19]

Discography

Studio Albums

Greatest Hits

Music Videos

Film Soundtrack

Band Members

Current

Former

References

  1. ^ Amenaza: Cuban rap
  2. ^ Wunderlich, Annelise. El Benny is a Cuban film released in 2006 directed and co-written by Jorge Luis Sánchez, his first feature length film Dirty Dancing Havana Nights is a 2004 musical and Romance film directed by Guy Ferland. Antikiller ( 2002) (Антикиллер Anti-Killer is one of the most famous Russian blockbusters Bad Boys II is a 2003 action - Comedy film directed by Michael Bay, produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, and starring Martin Yotuel Omar Manzanarez Romero (born October 6 1976) is an Singer, Actor and Musician current lead singer and co-writer of the 2003 “Cuban Hip-hop: Making Space for New Voices of Dissent. ” In The Vinyl Ain’t Final: Hip Hop and the Globalization of Black Popular Culture, ed. by Dipannita Basu and Sidney J. Lemelle, 168.
  3. ^ Baker, Geoffrey. 2005. "Hip Hop, Revolucion! Nationalizing Rap in Cuba. " Ethnomusicology 49, no. 3: 368-402
  4. ^ "Portal Orixás Afrodescendente" http://orixas.com.br/portal3/
  5. ^ Baker, Geoffrey. 2006. "La Habana que no conoces: Cuban rap and the social construction of urban space. " Ethnomusicology Forum 15, no. 2: 215-46
  6. ^ http://www.orishasthebest.com/Index2.html
  7. ^ Wunderlich, Annelise. “Cuban Hip-hop: Making Space for New Voices of Dissent. ” In The Vinyl Ain’t Final: Hip Hop and the Globalization of Black Popular Culture, ed. by Dipannita Basu and Sidney J. Lemelle, 168.
  8. ^ Wunderlich, Annelise. “Cuban Hip-hop: Making Space for New Voices of Dissent. ” In The Vinyl Ain’t Final: Hip Hop and the Globalization of Black Popular Culture, ed. by Dipannita Basu and Sidney J. Lemelle, 168.
  9. ^ Wunderlich, Annelise. “Cuban Hip-hop: Making Space for New Voices of Dissent. ” In The Vinyl Ain’t Final: Hip Hop and the Globalization of Black Popular Culture, ed. by Dipannita Basu and Sidney J. Lemelle, 168.
  10. ^ Wunderlich, Annelise. “Cuban Hip-hop: Making Space for New Voices of Dissent. ” In The Vinyl Ain’t Final: Hip Hop and the Globalization of Black Popular Culture, ed. by Dipannita Basu and Sidney J. Lemelle, 168.
  11. ^ Wunderlich, Annelise. “Cuban Hip-hop: Making Space for New Voices of Dissent. ” In The Vinyl Ain’t Final: Hip Hop and the Globalization of Black Popular Culture, ed. by Dipannita Basu and Sidney J. Lemelle, 168.
  12. ^ Orishas Biography. EMI Music Canada. Retrieved on 2008-02-06. 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common Events 46 BC - Julius Caesar defeats the combined army of Pompeian followers and Numidians under Metellus Scipio
  13. ^ Music
  14. ^ Wunderlich, Annelise. “Cuban Hip-hop: Making Space for New Voices of Dissent. ” In The Vinyl Ain’t Final: Hip Hop and the Globalization of Black Popular Culture, ed. by Dipannita Basu and Sidney J. Lemelle, 168-169.
  15. ^ Music
  16. ^ Wunderlich, Annelise. “Cuban Hip-hop: Making Space for New Voices of Dissent. ” In The Vinyl Ain’t Final: Hip Hop and the Globalization of Black Popular Culture, ed. by Dipannita Basu and Sidney J. Lemelle, 168.
  17. ^ Wunderlich, Annelise. “Cuban Hip-hop: Making Space for New Voices of Dissent. ” In The Vinyl Ain’t Final: Hip Hop and the Globalization of Black Popular Culture, ed. by Dipannita Basu and Sidney J. Lemelle, 168.
  18. ^ Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights (2004) - Soundtracks
  19. ^ Music

External links

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