Improvisational rap in Spanish in the United States is experiencing a period of expansion that breaks with decades of stigma and its association with criminality, and today consolidates ‘freestyle’ as a creative and professional path for young Hispanics and as a movement that today is defined as “much more than music”.
Puerto Rican Tito Giansante, one of the pioneers of Latin hip hop, places its beginnings in the late 1980s, when rap culture developed in informal and socially charged spaces. “That was already a very combative, very conflictive environment,” he recalls to EFE about those early years.
The change of improvised rap “battles”
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Moreover, according to him, to think of rap as a profession at that time was “impossible”.
“Although some were paid small amounts for singing at parties, there was no structure to sustain an artistic career,” he says.
The turning point came with the irruption of Red Bull Batalla, the largest improvised rap tournament in Spanish, which in its first editions was also known as ‘Pelea de gallos’, and which is currently organized in the U.S. and other parts of the world.
Diego González was a witness to that birth.
“I was there the first year it was done, it was in 2005, and when we started this, we didn’t know if it was going to go anywhere. We were four crazy people who improvised and, today, there are thousands of people who do it,” confesses Noult, his stage name.
The veteran freestyler stresses that these improvised rap “battles” have created an ecosystem of their own, where talent becomes visibility and, in some cases, a livelihood.
“There are extremely talented people who are making a living at it,” he says, something unthinkable when he started.
Noult describes this current genre as a hybrid discipline.
“It’s an art, but it also has its part of sport,” he explains, referring to the mental demand, preparation and competitiveness of the circuit.
This professionalization has also favored the opening of the genre.
“It’s still very much linked to men,” he acknowledges, but stresses that the presence of women is increasing.
“The fact that there are girls competing is very important,” he says, considering that freestylers are beginning to offer solid female references.
Even so, the stigma persists.
“It’s still there,” Noult admits, but more out of ignorance.
“You’re one click away from understanding that it has nothing to do with that,” he says, recalling that even in his own family he had to hide his beginnings until he appeared giving media interviews.
The growth of the circuit has not gone unnoticed by the major labels.
Andrés Shaq, Vice President of Artists and Repertoire at Warner Music Latina (WML), sees it as part of a broader process.
“It’s part of the culture,” he says, stressing that “over time it has become more professionalized and more commercial.”
Shaq also dismisses this as a fad.
Unlike other times when certain sounds were signed because of their “exotic” character, he argues that today there are “much heavier arguments”, supported by consolidated platforms and loyal audiences.
Tornillo: from neighborhood freestyler to record deal
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One of the most visible examples of this transition is Tornillo, a 22-year-old Mexican freestyler.
His story begins, like so many others, in the street.
“It was a hobby, I did it without expecting money in return,” he says.
He has already released his first album with WML, convinced that “rap is doing well”, although he believes that “there is still more to come”.
“Before, it was more about criminals, more about gangsters. Spanish rap is just now starting to shine,” he says.
He also perceives a change in the public.
“People are going to hear rhymes,” he explains, describing a calmer, more music-centric atmosphere, rather than the “violent” atmosphere of the past.
And it highlights a phenomenon that is increasingly seen in the United States, in non-Spanish-speaking attendees.
“Even if they don’t understand them, they like the sound,” he says.
Looking ahead is Christopher Hannier Berroa Aquino, a 22-year-old Dominican known as Exodus Lirical.
The young freestyler sums up the social impact of the genre with a phrase inherited from his grandfather: “better a microphone in your hand than a gun in the street”.
For him, hip hop was born as a protest, but its basis is “respect”, and this movement represents a path to the future. “I believe that we are the future of the urban genre,” he concludes.
Filed under: Rap in Spanish
With information from EFE
