HANDS UP WORLD! August has been a heavy month…heavy-hearted about Eric Garner (whose death was ruled a homicide at the hands of police here in my hometown of Staten Island), Mike Brown & Ferguson, Sierra Leone, Edward Snowden (read this WIRED feature) and beyond! WHERE IS OUR GLOBAL HEART? As social entrepreneur Mark Gonzales aka … Read More
While Los Rakas prepare to play a FREE show in San Francisco this Thursday at the Converse flagship store, Raka Rich & Raka Dun just released a hot new remix (set to Wiz Khalifa’s “We Dem Boyz”) but with a Raka twist, “WE DEM RAKAZ” – produced by Stylo. Get it HERE. Along with the … Read More
There’s 12 kids out of the favelas, whose work are being valued around their world. Kids who usually are look down as black & criminal. — Zuzuka Poderosa (@ZuzukaPoderosa) July 25, 2014 So sad to miss Zuzuka Poderosa last week in New York City! I was up and away in California while she served as host for … Read More
Los Angeles-based DJ Raul Campos, highlighted Los Rakas last week on WBUR (Boston) Here & Now DJ Sessions. Tune-in to the show: I love what Raul (listen to his show on KCRW) said about Raka Rich & Raka Dun’s growth the last few years since he first met them as “Discovery Artist Winners” (and interviewed … Read More
“All of a sudden I’m like, oh my god, Carlos Castaneda is in my head. So, then I really did live psychedelic salsa.” – Maria Hinojosa Wow, La Mecanica Popular sounds really strong on their “Live In The Greene Space” performance for the dual program put on by NPR’s Latino USA and WNYC’s Soundcheck. The … Read More
Today Los Rakas released the Episode 3 of their #RakaLife webseries sponsored by GoPro: “Our Raka Uncle breaks down the definition of what it means to be Raka. Watch the full translated video on Youtube. Shot entirely on GoPro while in Belgium for the Afro-Latino Festival.” Check it: Their debut shows last month in Amsterdam … Read More
NYC, you so lucky, baby! It’s a week of Passinho next week: “Passinho is a creation of the kids in Rio’s favelas—a hybrid of pop, break-dancing and traditional samba, pagode, and frevo.” TUESDAY – David Rubenstein Atrium at Lincoln Center, check the trailer for the documentary A Batalha do Passinho about the exciting dance subculture … Read More
“We’re in a very early stage of technology, for consumers…” – Ben Horowitz with Steve Stoute (Translation) and Kanye West for theSTASHED.com. I hear Kanye wanting**** to really touch on the systemic, gender, racial and socioeconomic deficiencies between us because of historic circumstances and how that brings us to the dynamism and creativity of the … Read More
Listen in to this most recent Los Rakas interview with Music Times in New York City. Raka Rich and Raka Dun talk about their new album and videos, how the independent grind continues on a major label in the digital era, their collaboration with Blondie (Song “I Screwed Up“), being brave about telling stories ala … Read More
UPCOMING SHOWS IN NYC: Tuesday, July 8th: Webster Hall – 8 PM Los Rakas, THEiLLUZiON, Tecla & DJs: Nenas Rudas & Big Nito https://www.facebook.com/events/320030291494248/ Wednesday, July 9th: Starbucks @ 4761 Broadway (Washington Heights) – 7 PM Noches Culturales w/ La Mecanica Popular Wednesday, July 9th: Nublu – 10 PM Chicano Batman w/ Forro In The … Read More