The Guatemalan Hip Hop has a new powerful icon that brings us coolest tunes mixed with emotional, personal, political and social lyrics.
Her name is Rebeca Lane, a charismatic and energetic young singer that has showed us that music is a tool for heal ourselves into a big mess nation. Her sixth album, called “Obsidiana” is a sweet example of solid and reflexive music.
Hip Hop is a not a new thing in Guatemala, but has been underrated for almost two decades against mainstream music like international pop, reggaetón and post-grunge local movements.
With all this opposite way of thinking, it has survived with help of under independent local movements all around Guatemala, specially, in cultural venues at “El Centro” that is our historical and bravest zone, that has the largest amounts of followers and groups that believes in local music.
One of the greatest things is that Rebeca Lane is a poet, and poetry is an answer for the people who truly needs to believe in something. An also, that she’s been sharing all of her sociopolitical ideas into diversity amounts of Guatemalan young groups: natives, feminists, minor politicians, intellectuals and artists.
She has shared scene with some of the greatest Hip Hop local musicians like Bacteria Soundsystem Crew, Kontra, Jeff Tucker, Lou G. and N.D.R. But her proposal is completely different. She speaks from herself and from all women against sexist ways of stupid thinking. The leitmotif? She is also a sociologist.
Her lyrics are wonderful and her music trips around Hip Hop basics mixed with Caribbean beats, tunes with Marimba – our legacy percussion instrument – and R&B Pop tunes that lets us mind blow away with lyrics inspired by Mala Rodríguez, Ana Tijoux, Bomba Stereo and no one else, just Rebeca, sharing all of her thoughts.
The song that opens the album “Obsidiana” is an autobiographical Cumbia. A great song that show us what is coming next: “In social media they call me hairy, they call me lesbian, they call me ugly, they call me atheist. Always a bad herb/weed”.
And then, the sounds are very particularly. In the song “Crece el río” the beats are very Latin American southern and ancestral. A lot of Charango guitar, Quena flute and Inca drums. And the opposite occurs in “Tzk’at” that brings us the greatest slow DNB with surprising lyrics and spoken poetry that show us women empowered and intense ways of healing and being. Simply amazing!
For me is not a surprise, cause the record was produced by a talented friend of mine that understands the compromise of producing music. His name is basico3 and has an amazing background with local musical culture. And is not an ordinary thing that her album has a lot contributions from musicians of Peru, Ecuador, Chile and Argentina. The album, also, was mixed in Argentina and mastered by people who have worked in 10 Grammy albums.
Take a trip into Rebeca’s new proposal. She’s actually touring and has dates in big cities all around Europe.
The song “Llora el cielo” reminds me the voice of the amazing Mexican Ely Guerra but “hiphoply” singed with authority and sweetness by the tenderly voice of Rebeca: “The only thing that keeps me into myself, is the hug of the moon”.
Enjoy her sixth album! It’s a must from Guatemala and also very global.
Stream “Obsidiana” LP on Bandcamp.
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Rebeca Lane on Soundcloud, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, www.
