Don’t Cry For Me: Hip-Hop in Argentina Posted by Lucas Garrison on 10/24/13 | Filed under Opinion

Writing about Kanye’s vocal changes, "GTA V", and Dr. Seuss books can be stressful, which is every bloggitty blogger needs a few days away from the internetz to unwind. Last week I took a break from the rap game to take a vacation to Argentina for a wedding. It was really weird to not be connected to the rap game 24/7, but a hip-hop head's job is never done, so of course I was on the prowl to for Argentinean hip-hop. Amidst the wine, red meat, and absurd amount of pastries, I found time to figure out just what the music scene down there was. We all get so consumed with our world and the music of the good ol‘ U.S of A that we often forget that there is different music from all parts of the world, and just because something is big here doesn’t mean it is universal.

I was pretty surprised to find that hip-hop wasn’t very popular in Argentina. Walking around Buenos Aires, I head everything from Reggaeton, to a cover of “Stand By Me”, to Spanish versions of Rihanna; the synthy pop and electronic stuff is huge over there—guys like Skrillex are a household name—but there was a severe lack of hip-hop.  For example, when I finally got the chance to chop it up with some similarly aged locals, I found that guys like Kendrick Lamar are unknown. It was crazy to me to mention his name and get a blank stares. Considering he is one of the most popular rappers in the States, I figured he would also be popular elsewhere (typical American point of view right?) but nobody knew anything about him. Now just because hip-hop is not as big as Messi, doesn’t mean that Argentina doesn’t have its own dope music scene. I did find a few things that are definitely worth checking out.

The first is the only Argentinean hip-hop group I came across. I am sure there are more, but this is the only one I was able to find. Illya Kuryaki And The Valderramas are a hip-hop duo that has been on the scene since 1991. While they took a brief hiatus, they reunited in 2011; if they have been around for 20 years, they definitely are important to the scene. My Spanish isn’t great, so I can’t tell you what their content is like but their sound is very diverse, They blend a little bit of everything and the result is a funky, interesting listen. Their earlier works, specifically “El Mover El Coolo” (move your ass), are, um interesting to say the least. The video for the song is one of the weirdest things I have seen. As for their more recent works, the 2012 album, Chances, is actually a pretty cool listen. I was impressed at how well they blended about a million different flavors and styles.

Granted, I had a small sample size, but I think that pop rules the roost in South America and Argentina specifically. However the pop they have is not like Justin Bieber and Katy Perry. Guys like Manu Chao, give new meaning to the pop genre. Thanks to my 7th grade Spanish teacher, Manu Chao has been a long time favorite of mine, but I had totally forgotten about him until I went to Argentina. I think you would be hard pressed to find a more universally loved pop artists than him. Seriously, everybody down there knows him, even a few people in their 60s were singing “Me Gustas Tu”. Manu has such a cool sound, he sings in English, French, and Spanish, and his production is so unique; he sounds like an international Gorillaz, because he does such interesting things with the instrumentals. I highly recommend taking the time out to really dig through his collection because there are some real gems.

Sneakily one of my favorite songs ever:

So there it is, a brief look at Argentina’s music scene...I know you were all dying to know. I had a lot of fun playing music detective and it isn’t every day you get to check out a totally different music scene. I guess the biggest thing I took away is that hip-hop isn’t the end all be all. Sure it is our lives, but there is so much out there that is unrealistic to expect everyone in the world to have "GKMC" or be excited whenever Kanye blows his top. Still, just because hip-hop might not be the pinnacle of a country's music scene, doesn’t mean they don’t have anything to offer. It is also pretty cool that I was able to bond with a couple of people over music even though we don’t speak the same language; music is a powerful force.

See Also:  Global Game: Paris for the Hip-Hop Traveler (Video)
See Also:  Global Game: Brazil for the Hip-Hop Traveler