RADAR Artist Villano Antillano Delivers Her Magical' Brand of Latin Rap to Fans Around the World
07/12/2022
Spotify's RADAR program spotlights emerging talents from around the globe, and in partnering with Villano, we're also amplifying an incredible talent from a largely underrepresented community within the urban music scene in particular.
Born in Bayam n, a suburb of San Juan, Puerto Rico, Villano generated early buzz with tracks such as Pajara, Culo, and Mu eca, the latter of which was recorded with nonbinary rapper Ana Macho.
In 2021, Villano enjoyed viral success with the release of her single Vendetta, and went on to feature on Bizarrap's Bzrp Music Session, Vol. 51. She then released the single KLK, which has generated more than 900,000 global streams to date, was featured as a panelist at the 2022 Latin American Music Conference, and was named one of its 2022 Wonder Women of Latin Music.
And just last week, Villano celebrated the release her debut album La Sustancia X, a project that embodies the beauty and horror of growing up queer in the Caribbean.
As part of the RADAR program, we will be releasing the first live recorded performances of Villano's new tracks, Kaleidosc pica and C scara de Coco.
For the Record had a chance to talk with Villano to learn more about how her experiences and inspirations are reflected in her music.
What are you looking forward to most as Spotify's latest RADAR artist? I think being highlighted as Spotify's latest RADAR artist is an affirmation of progress and a shift towards raw authenticity. At a personal level I feel very blessed and empowered because I have had to overcome so much to be here. It's nice to look back and see that, after everything, I have remained victorious. I want the up-and-coming generations to have as many diverse role models as possible-and I believe that myself and a number of other queer artists are heralding a new era.
I want to reach as many people as possible with a message of power and defiance; I want to wake them up and to have them ask themselves the big questions in the pursuit of happiness.
For new fans, how would you describe your music? I'd say my music is tantric. It's a buildup. It flares you up and makes you feel sexy and in control, but it's also very political and concise. I think that if you pay attention, I play into the conventionalities of pop music and exaggerate elements of consumerism and vanity as a form of critique while also admitting that I partake in some of these things as well.
I'd say my music is just human, admitting to your shortcomings and rising above them with prowess and without guilt. From the trap/reggaet n perspective my music is also very dark and antagonistic; it's also subversive and upsets the delicate egos of a lot of powerful men. I take that into account in my creation process.
Who inspires you, musically? Sade, Gustavo Cerati, Willie Col n, Rub n Blades, Silvio Rodr guez, Buika, Myrta Silva, La Lupe, Bebe, Tego Calder n, H ctor El Father , Ivy Queen, Frankie Ruiz . . . the list goes on. Nicki Minaj has also been one of, if not THE biggest inspiration in my musical development. Maybe it's a Caribbean connection, but the way we bend colonially imposed languages and adapt them to us, we both speak in very magical ways. To me she's a writer, and a lot of people don't catch half of the metaphors or puns Nicki crafts into her verses. She elevates anything she touches and I admire and respect that a lot.
Many of your projects touch on the realities of growing up as a queer person in the Caribbean. Can you tell us a bit about that? The Caribbean is a magical place-anyone that is actually from here can attest to that. But all of the islands have a horrible history of atrocious abuse, colonialism, and enslavement. Puerto Rico is still to this day a colony of the United States with absolutely no sovereignty, and growing up in a place without freedom is confusing.
There is a lot of poverty in the Caribbean, and most queer youth end up living in difficult and inhumane conditions. We survive as a community, help each other in the ways we can, and hold each other's hands when there is nothing we can do. I think this pushes us to exercise and perfect our magic and crafts, because as Puerto Ricans, we are very proud and resilient, and LGBTTQIA+ youth on the island are the most revolutionary of all demographics.
I have a beautiful story to tell because as an artist, I employ realismo m gico to showcase very terrible things that need to be discussed with urgency in a more palatable way. It's all about awareness. I had to leave home at 17 because of my identity and sexual orientation. I did everything I could to survive and I held on to my friends when I thought I couldn't keep going or didn't see the point in doing so. All I can say is that growing up queer in the Caribbean is dangerous, painful, emotionally unbearable, almost always tied to poverty and living under the constant hunt of the church (which is basically the government) and many other terrible things.
But I would not be anything else. I am where I have to be with the people I have to be with, and in so much chaos we have crafted for ourselves a network of happiness and strength that is the only peace I've known, and the only one I need.
How important is it to represent queer voices in Latin rap? We are at a pivotal moment in history. Women are at the forefront of the push for change. Men are starting
LINK: | https://newsroom.spotify.com/2022-12-07/radar-artist-villano-antillano... |
See more stories from spotify |
Europe Stories
04/08/2024
Dalet Appoints Santiago Solanas as CEO to Lead Next Era of Growth and Innovation
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, is excited to announce Santiago Solanas as its new Chief Executive Officer (CEO)....
03/06/2024
Dalet and Veritone Reach Agreement to Distribute, Transact and Monetize Media Archives
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, a...
28/04/2024
Mediahaus delivers the first SRT live-streaming sports production over 5G with URSA Broadcast G2
Mediahaus delivers the first SRT live-streaming sports production over 5G with U...
19/04/2024
How Spotify Approaches Safety With Sarah Hoyle, Global Head of Trust and Safety
Spotify's mission is to unlock the potential of human creativity by giving a million artists the opportunity to live off their art and billions of fans the ...
19/04/2024
Spotify and Taylor Swift Create a One-of-a-Kind Library To Celebrate THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT'
It's a beautiful day to be a Swiftie. Today, Taylor Swift dropped her 11th s...
19/04/2024
How 1185 Films created the VFX on new horror, All You Need Is Death
Simon Wilkinson, head of VFX at 1185 films, talks about the technology behind the newly-released horror By Matthew Corrigan Published: April 19, 2024 Simo...
19/04/2024
Could Sony be preparing a bid for Channel 5's parent company?
The global electronics company is said to be considering joining forces with investment firm Apollo Management to bid for Paramount Global By Jenny Priestley ...
19/04/2024
EBU report highlights contribution of free-to-air sport broadcasting
The report broke the economic footprint of EBU member sports broadcasting into three main areas By Matthew Corrigan Published: April 19, 2024 The report b...
19/04/2024
Rohde & Schwarz and VIAVI support European OTIC in Berlin for O-RAN conformance certification
Rohde & Schwarz and VIAVI support European OTIC in Berlin for O-RAN conformance ...
19/04/2024
Riedel launches Bolero Connect for seamless integration with PunQtum
Wuppertal April 19, 2024 Riedel launches Bolero Connect for seamless integration with PunQtum A pioneer in the field of digital intercom, Riedel has recently ...
19/04/2024
2024 ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING OF KUDELSKI SA
Ad hoc announcement pursuant to Art. 53 LR Cheseaux-sur-Lausanne, Switzerland - April 19, 2024 - The Annual General Meeting of Kudelski SA (SIX:KUD.S) was held...
19/04/2024
RT NEWS ANNOUNCES SAMANTHA LIBRERI AS NEW EASTERN CORRESPONDENT
RT News is pleased to announce the appointment of RT journalist, Samantha Libreri, as Eastern Correspondent. Samantha will be reporting and providing analysis...
19/04/2024
Documentary Murder of a GAA Chairman' sheds light on the unanswered questions of the family of Sean Brown
Documentary Murder of a GAA Chairman sheds light on the unanswered questions of ...
18/04/2024
First Look: Tom Durant Pritchard joins the cast of crime drama Miss Scarlet for its fifth series
Tom Durant Pritchard as Alexander Blake Thursday 18 April 2024 Tom Durant Prit...
18/04/2024
How today's storage and memory decisions underpin future creativity
Ann Keefe, Regional Director - UK and Ireland at Kingston Technology, explains how storage and memory decisions made now are underpinning creativity in the futu...
18/04/2024
Escape Studios obtains UKVI licence to support international students
The newly acquired UKVI licence enables Escape Studios to recruit and retain international students By Matthew Corrigan Published: April 18, 2024 Updated: ...
18/04/2024
NAB 2024 popular among first time visitors
Attendees from more than 163 countries were present, including 34 delegation buying groups from around the world By Matthew Corrigan Published: April 18, 202...
18/04/2024
2024-04-18
Apple has reduced its overall greenhouse gas emissions by more than 55 percent since 2015, the company shared today in its 2024 Environmental Progress Report. T...
18/04/2024
Thales secures three major contracts to modernize the Portuguese railway infrastructure
Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Thales alongside partners SISINT and CONECTICABO...
18/04/2024
RT Prime Time experiment reveals disturbing content recommended to 13 year old TikTok users in Ireland
In response to growing concerns raised regarding the adverse impact of TikTok co...
18/04/2024
Remembering Alf McCarthy and Larry Masterson
We were saddened to learn this morning of the passing of our friend and former colleague, Alf McCarthy who died yesterday. We remember Alf as a popular present...
17/04/2024
Spotify's Michael Krause Talks Industry Trends Ahead of Our Music and Podcasting Summits in Germany
On April 18 and 19, experts from across the audio industry-including artists, pu...
17/04/2024
Spotify Brings Entrepreneurs and Trailblazers Together to Talk the Future of Tech in the UK
With its particular combination of talent, ambition, culture, and, of course, wo...
17/04/2024
NextGen Partners With Howard University Professor Nikole Hannah-Jones on Student Podcasting Course
At Spotify, we want to equip student creators with the tools and resources neede...
17/04/2024
Colorfront showcases upgrades across product range
Colorfront has introduced AI vision-analysis tools to assist master QC operations with detecting framing anomalies, dead pixels, bright titles and sparkles By ...
17/04/2024
Meet the Founder and director
By TVBEurope Staff Published: April 17, 2024 Updated: April 18, 2024 Rory Springthorpe, founder and director at outside broadcasting company Vivid Broadc...
17/04/2024
HMS Networks completes a placement of 3,500,000 shares, raising proceeds of SEK 1,400 million
To read about the placement of shares, please confirm your location...
17/04/2024
Putting the spotlight on Global Shading Day
Posted on 17 Apr 2024 Creating traction and momentum around Global Shading Day was a key objective for the British Blind and Shutter Association in 2024. The ...
17/04/2024
HMS Networks explores the conditions to carry out a directed share issue of approximately SEK 1,400 million
To read about the directed share issue, please verify your country...
17/04/2024
ASTRA Media Factory has won Best of Show 2024 Award at NAB!
ASTRA Media Factory has won Best of Show 2024 Award at NAB! We are pleased to announce that our product ASTRA Media Factory has won in this year's Best of...
17/04/2024
2024-04-17
Apple today announced new progress to expand clean energy around the world and advance momentum toward Apple 2030, the company's bold goal to be carbon neut...
16/04/2024
A Spirit Between Worlds
Directed by H l na Klotz, La V nus dargent (aka Spirit of Ecstasy) presents the tale of Jeanne Francoeur (played by Claire Pommet), a young woman striving to es...
16/04/2024
Adobe previews generative AI tools to streamline professional video workflows
New generative AI tools will enable users of Adobe Premiere Pro to streamline editing all videos, including adding or removing objects in a scene or extending a...
16/04/2024
Atomos appoints Daniel Moore as new chief technical officer
Moore has led the development effort for over 20 products in the AV space By Matthew Corrigan Published: April 16, 2024 Moore has led the development effo...
16/04/2024
UNIT deliver picture post and colour grade for new BBC1 drama series
Coles enhanced colour separation, adding shape and depth to the characters through the use of a soft highlight and shadow roll off, and embracing the natural te...
16/04/2024
MAGYAR TELEKOM (THE COMPANY) HELD ITS ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING (GENERAL MEETING) ON APRIL 16, 2024.
MAGYAR TELEKOM (THE COMPANY ) HELD ITS ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING ( GENERAL MEETING...
16/04/2024
IRALTA VR's New Immersive Experience: Dive into the Galapagos Islands with Mistika VR
Published On: April 16th, 2024 data-orig-src=https://www.sgo.es/wp-content/upl...
16/04/2024
Interim report 2024, January - March
First quarter Net sales for the first quarter reached SEK 616 m (773), corresponding to a decrease of 20%. Currency translations had a negative effect of SEK 3...
16/04/2024
HMS Networks realizes immediate cost synergies and launches cost saving program to streamline the organization
Following the closing of the acquisition of Red Lion Controls ( Red Lion ) on Ap...
16/04/2024
Rodeo FX expands into colour grading with new Baselight suite
Article courtesy of Post Read the article Toronto's Rodeo FX has expanded its offerings into colour grading with the recent opening of a new Baselight gra...
16/04/2024
FilmLight's Nara connects creative teams
Article courtesy of Digital Media World Read the article FilmLight's Nara gives post-production facilities, VFX houses and other media professionals immed...
16/04/2024
Jigsaw24 partners FilmLight on its media tool Nara
Article courtesy of Televisual Read the article FilmLight has chosen Jigsaw24 Media as the first global and exclusive UK partner for its new content managemen...
16/04/2024
La Gran Carpa Catedral reaches new audiences across Europe and MENA thanks to Eutelsat Group satellite coverage
Photo credit: GETTY IMAGES Press release - 16 April 2024 10:45 La Gran Carpa...
16/04/2024
Operation and Further Development of the AOK Website
Arvato Systems Takes over Operation and Further Development of the AOK Website Digital Transformation in the Healthcare Sector Arvato Systems wins tender fro...
16/04/2024
2024-02-29
Apple today announced an expansion of Self Service Repair for MacBook Pro and iMac models powered by M3, with support available today. Since April 2022, Self Se...
16/04/2024
2024-04-16
Today Apple announced it will open Indonesia's fourth Apple Developer Academy in Bali, expanding on its investment to increase opportunities for developers,...
16/04/2024
Bots Now Make Up Nearly Half of All Internet Traffic Globally
Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Automated and malicious traffic rises for a fifth consecutive year Bad bots account for 32% of all internet traffic 44% of all...
15/04/2024
SiliconCore adds to XR range with new 1.2mm XR LED Display
SiliconCores patented Common Cathode driver chip delivers frame rates of 240 Hz and a refresh rate of 7680Hz, enabling slow motion, multi-camera view and multip...
15/04/2024
Naphtali Cave joins MOOV
The UK-based virtual studio, sports and events graphics company has appointed Naphtali Cave into a newly created role to drive technical innovation and creativi...
15/04/2024
Finalists Confirmed for 2024 RT All Ireland Drama Festival, as RT Celebrates 20 years as title sponsor
Three plays never-before performed will feature in the finals of the 2024 RT Al...