Pocos Pero Locos

Monday, Sep 10, 2007
Posted on Sun, Sep. 09, 2007

Latino hip-hop hits a note

In Wichita, young fans are turning out and tuning in to a new sound that combines urban rap with lyrics from the barrios.

BY ICESS FERNANDEZ
The Wichita Eagle

The opening bars to summer's popular song "Lean Like a Cholo" scream over large loud speakers as a sold-out crowd of teen and tween fans sing along at the Orpheum Theatre. Waiting in the wings, wearing a long black T-shirt, is Down aka Kilo, the artist whose song is creating the frenzy. He stretches and drinks from his water bottle before walking on stage, yelling into the mike...

"Who wants to lean like a cholo?"

The question is a call to arms, and the crowd's roar increases by several decibels.

The song by Down, a California rapper who performed recently at radio station 93.9's Back to School concert, is the station's most requested among 16- to 25-year-olds. At radio station KZCH-FM, 96.3, it's in the top 10.

The popularity of Latin hip-hop is growing nationwide, evidenced in part by artists who are usually not signed to major labels getting strong radio airplay.

Down and other artists such as Amanda Perez and Mr. Capone-E are used to performing and getting airplay in places like Los Angeles and Houston.

Wichita, though, is a little different.

In the Midwest, the Latino hip-hop sound is still scarce. But in Wichita, the music is finding not only a fan base but also acceptance among races and ethnicities, say those in the radio and music business here.

And national players are starting to take notice.

"Wichita is at the front end of this," said Sam Hernandez, vice president of promotions for Mix Matters, a music promotion and distribution company in Los Angeles. "There are a lot of artists that are not picked up because it's a West Coast thing, but it works in Wichita. If given a chance, they do well."

Fans say Latino hip-hop speaks to them in the same way its older cousin does about life in the neighborhood, love woes and cultural pride.

"It's, like, from my perspective," said 15-year-old Nicky Sourivong, who is Asian. "It's how I grew up."

Coming to Wichita

Two years ago, Greg Williams, program director at 93.9 and a radio veteran of 28 years in Wichita, wanted the station to find a way to reach Wichita's growing Hispanic population.

Through networking with other radio DJs around the country, Williams learned about a young Latina singer from Corpus Christi, Texas, named Paula DeAnda who was burning up the charts in Texas.

He started playing DeAnda's music. The response, he said, was strong.

"When we played her, we got listener calls wondering who that was," he said. "Music from Latin people is getting a reaction, and that's a beautiful thing."

As the sound rippled through Wichita airwaves, more listeners started requesting it. According to 93.9's market research, the three most-requested songs by 16- to 25-year-olds in July were Latino hip-hop artists -- Down, Amanda Perez and Baby Bash.

"It's something fresh. It's unique. It's melodic," Williams said. "A lot of hip-hop has stumbled into mediocrity."

Sammy Suarez, program director at KZCH since March, also saw the trend toward Latin hip-hop emerging here.

Suarez had worked in other markets where the genre did well.

"I know that if you put it out there, it works," he said. "So I sprinkled it and it immediately got a response."

History

Latino hip-hop got its start in the mid-1980s when the larger hip-hop genre was grade-school age. Kid Frost's song "La Raza" (1988) is the Latino equivalent of Sugar Hill Gang's "Rapper's Delight," which has been identified by hip-hop historians as the song that gave birth to the genre.

As the Hispanic population, specifically the Mexican-American population, grew in places like California, Texas and Arizona, first- and second-generation kids began to look for a sound that was different from what their parents were listening to, said Khool-Aid, host of a nationally syndicated radio show for Latino hip-hop called "Poco Peros Locos."

"Once hip-hop boomed, they evaluated what they were hearing," she said. "Then they put it in their words."

The genre combines urban rap sounds with lyrics from the barrios, or neighborhoods. Some songs used Spanish slang words, or Spanglish. Early on, the fan base was small and the quality of songs wasn't good enough to get radio play consistently, Hernandez said.

In the past five years, however, more artists have emerged, generating more and better music, he said.

"What's happening with Latino artists is that they are really digging in," he said. "Now, they're serious about getting in and producing."

And now it isn't just Hispanic kids jamming to the music.

"People wanted the music," Khool-Aid said. "It's their music, their voice. Black, white and Asian kids are exposed to this."

Cutting-edge Wichita

Wichita's acceptance of Latino hip-hop isn't surprising to Williams. The genre's lyrics often reflect the fans' reality, he said.

"The audience says of the music, 'Someone understands me. Someone knows my culture,' " he said. "How great is that?"

For example, Down's song "Lean Like a Cholo" is simply about what the artist sees at parties.

"The song is about the dance that the homies do at the backyard parties," Down said. "They don't dance; they just lean side to side."

Suarez said the explosion of Latin music in the late 1990s that introduced Americans to artists like Ricky Martin, Enrique Iglesias and Shakira has contributed to the growth in Latino hip-hop.

"It's just been hidden for awhile," he said.

Artists at the Back to School concert weren't sure what to make of Wichita's embrace of their music.

"I've never been here before," Down said. "To call the cholo out here, that's big."

Fans hope they keep coming.

"I just love them," 12-year-old Taya Hord said of Down and Amanda Perez while in line for the concert. "I like the beat and the rhythm. And you can dance to it."

With Latino hip-hop playing in places such as Wichita, Hawaii and Puerto Rico -- where Reggaeton, another Hispanic musical genre, is king -- Hernandez predicts that within 10 years its artists will be as accepted as their mainstream hip-hop counterparts.

"It's going to come to a point where it's not a Latino artist -- they're just a rapper," Hernandez said. "It's coming. It's coming soon."
Reach Icess Fernandez at 316-268-6544 or ifernandez@wichitaeagle. com.