GRAMMYs

Amara La Negra 

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Amara La Negra Will Keep Talking About Her Afro-Latina Identity Until Things Change

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Meet Amara La Negra. The Miami-bred singer is captivating music lovers with her pop-infused, hip-hop and Caribbean sound, while also challenging the mainstream pop world's notion on what a Latina looks like
Jennifer Velez
GRAMMYs
Sep 25, 2018 - 3:39 pm

If you don't know who Amara La Negra is, you need to catch up. The singer, who was raised under the spotlight of Spanish-language media, has become the most powerful voice in the English-language pop music world when it comes to Afro-Latino identity.

Amara La Negra On Her Afro-Latina Identity

Her music is pop-infused R&B and hip-hop, with a touch of Caribbean sounds. Her songs are infectious, the kind you can find playing at clubs during the summer in cities like Miami or Los Angeles. As a cross-over artist, she is gaining fans in English and Spanish, and is challenging the cookie-cutter image of a Latina pop star in media; Latinas come in all shapes and colors and can be black too, La Negra announces with her hair and dark skin.

"My mom made sure that I always did know that I was beautiful, that there is nothing wrong with me, that there was something wrong with the people who saw me as if I wasn't beautiful enough," she told the Recording Academy's "On Location" host Charlie Travers, about growing up and being treated differently from other Latino children because of her dark features. "A lot of people think it's annoying that I keep talking about it, but I'm going to keep talking about it because I haven't seen any difference."

Amara La Negra's real name is Dana Danelys De Los Santos and was brought up in Miami in a Dominican household. As a child, she appeared on Univision's popular Spanish-language "Sabado Gigante" hosted by iconic host Don Francisco and shared the stage with GRAMMY-winning Afro-Latina salsa legend, Celia Cruz. Now as an adult and reality TV star, La Negra has been very open about her cross-over journey as an Afro-Latina, sharing the ups and the downs, including being criticized on her appearance for not fitting the typical, media-driven "Latina" look on national TV. 

"A lot of people want to see change and they just want to sit back and wait for someone to go through the struggles and go through it and make the change happen," La Negra said. "In my case, I'm willing to stand up, because I do get bashed all the time, I'm willing to take that responsibility to open doors and opportunities for other women like myself, other children like myself that have been ignored for so long."

Learn more about Amara La Negra's sound below:

"What A Bam Bam"

In this single, La Negra samples Sister Nancy's reggae hit "Bam Bam" and adds a dembow beat. The bilingual song is an anthem about being single and having fun.

"Insecure"

La Negra takes a break from having fun, to get real and personal in "Insecure." "You say I’m loca, crazy/ Said I been tripping lately/ I wanna know baby/ Does that make me insecure, mi amore," La Negra sings in one of her most vulnerable songs.

"Dutty Whine"

Using bilingual lyrics once again, La Negra's "Dutty Whine" pays tribute to the Jamaican dance of the same name. "If you do that dutty whine/Make her do that dutty low, low low/Dutty whine! Dutty low!" she sings in this dancehall, pop song released in June.

GRAMMYs

Maluca Mala

Photo: J. Grassi/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images

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How Maluca Mala Is Flipping The Script With Her Daring Sound

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Meet the Bronx-born, Dominican singer who has been mixing Latin genres like merengue with dance beats and female-empowering lyrics
Jennifer Velez
GRAMMYs
Sep 21, 2018 - 6:31 pm

Maluca Mala's stage name carries weight. Meaning "bad woman" in Spanish, Maluca took a name that has a derogatory history and turned it into a powerful statement.

"I grew up being called Maluca. It was a very endearing name," she said in an interview with Latina. "But one time I searched its meaning, and I learned that it’s used in Latin American countries to describe a Black woman, or really like a woman in blackface, which is obviously bad and has a negative connotation. But, for me, it’s always been positive, never a way to put me down."

The singer, who is Bronx-born with Dominican roots, paired "maluca" with "mala" or "bad" in English—inspired by urban culture's use of bad as being powerful or "daring" as she told Latina—and became Maluca Mala.

Her sound is daring too. Throughout her career, Maluca has meshed genres like hip-hop, merengue – a musical genre deriving from the Dominican Republic – with electronic dance music and has been at the forefront of other genres like "tropical punk" and "ghetto techno." With lyrics in simultaneous English and Spanish, or Spanglish, she denounces European beauty standards, empowers Afro-Latinas to be confident with who they are, reclaims gender stereotypes or just sings about love with a fun and innovative beat.  

While being in the underground scene for years, Maluca has collaborated with big names in pop culture. She has been associated with Mad Decent, a L.A.based Record Label headed by GRAMMY winner Diplo, and been featured on tracks by GRAMMY-nominated singer Robyn and electro-music project Mexican Institute Of Sound.

Listen to the music below to learn more about Maluca Mala's sound:

"El Tigeraso"

The story goes that "El Tigeraso" was made after Maluca met Diplo at a karaoke bar. The song has a merengue influence that comes together with electro and lyrics boasts to men about "having it all."

"Mala"

Maluca embraces her blackness and her bold personality in "Mala." "I wrote the record as a way to highlight all the negative things people told me about myself," she told V Magazine. "You have bad hair, you're crazy, you're too tough...and embrace them. Yes, my hair is nappy and I look like a witch and I'm crazy, but you love it! I've had self-esteem issues for many years and now that I'm in my 30s I'm just really f***ing feeling myself."

"Trigger"

In "Trigger," Maluca sings about love over a raggeton beat: " Don't care what they all gonna say/ I just want a magnum love everyday/ Coming like a bang and you know I'm not afraid/ To pull that trigger, gonna pull that trigger."                                                        

 

Lary Over

Lary Over 

Photo: John Parra/Getty Images

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"On Location: Miami": Meet Latin Trap Artist Lary Over

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The rapper from Puerto Rico explains the difference between trap and Latin trap
Jennifer Velez
GRAMMYs
Jul 3, 2018 - 5:49 pm

You've heard of trap, but have you heard of Latin trap? The Spanish language music genre is adding a Latin touch to the trap scene in the U.S. While we were "On Location" in Miami, we met up with Lary Over, one of the rappers who left his home in Puerto Rico to join the growing music scene in Miami.

Lary Over "On Location: Miami"

Host Charlie Travers sits down with the rapper to get the low down on what Latin trap is and how artists embody the genre through their style. Over describes the major differences between trap and Latin trap and gets into his own musical influences.

"I feel like Miami has been a second home to trap," Over says. "Trap music started in the south, in Atlanta and part of Miami as well. I feel like Miami, New York and Puerto Rico they are all capitals of music."

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Amara La Negra

Amara La Negra

Photo: Bennett Raglin/Getty Images

List

Amara La Negra To Pitbull: 9 Songs That Celebrate Miami Music

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In honor of the recent release of the first episode of our music and travel series, "On Location," get inspired by these Miami-based artists
Renée Fabian
GRAMMYs
Jun 26, 2018 - 3:00 pm

The Recording Academy recently launched the inaugural episode of its first original music and travel series, "On Location: Miami," where our host, Charlie Travers, takes us on a one-of-a-kind tour through the Miami music scene, catching up with native artists such as Trina, Amara La Negra and Walshy Fire.

'On Location: Miami' Series Premiere Episode

But we want to hear more. So to take us a little deeper into the unique Miami sound, we've compiled a playlist of nine tracks from Miami artists you'll want to hear, from XXXTentacion, Lil Pump and Pouya to Deaf Poets, Pretty Ricky, Pitbull, and more.

Amara La Negra, "What A Bam Bam"

Amara La Negra is a breakout star on the TV show "Love & Hip Hop: Miami," a series that follows her and other artists as they try to make it in the music industry. While La Negra's faced discrimination in the Latin music industry in particular because of her darker skin, that isn't stopping this powerhouse singer/songwriter. In March, La Negra released a catchy new track titled "What A Bam Bam." The dancehall-inspired song features a sample from the reggae classic "Bam Bam" by Sister Nancy, and the video captures the glory of a Miami beach party.

Pouya, "Suicidal Thoughts In The Back Of The Cadillac Part 2"

Pouya isn't one to shy away from difficult topics, including mental health. Straight off his 2018 album, Five Five, "Suicidal Thoughts In The Back Of The Cadillac Part 2" is one such track. On it, the Miami-based rapper lays it down without holding anything back: "Everything I did is crumblin' beneath my feet/I'm feelin' lonely, feelin' like I'm only stuck with memories/Take me back to what I was, take away what I've become/Take away the grayer days, take the bullet out my brain." Pouya's candid style is one we can certainly get behind.

Deaf Poets, "Celestine"

We'll let Deaf Poets — comprising vocalist/guitarist Sean Wouters and vocalist/percussionist Nico Espinosa — explain their brand of music: "Our music is the embodiment of hard-hitting drums with distortion-soaked guitars." As a result, the Miami-based rockers have been cranking out tracks like 2017's "Celestine," off their album Lost In Magic City, for years to the delight of the Miami rock scene. The city awarded them Best Band of Miami in 2014.

Walshy Fire And The Expanders, "Top Shelf"

Jamaican artist/producer Walshy Fire may be best known as a member of the power production trio Major Lazer along with Jillionaire and Diplo, but he's also a staunch mainstay in the Miami music community in his own right. Working with artists such as Bunji Garlin, Garmiani, Queen Omega, and the Expanders, he's blended his Jamaican musical roots with the unmistakable sounds of Miami neighborhoods such as Little Haiti and Hialeah. In fact, he told Travers in "On Location" that he considers himself one of the original Miami artists who "won't bend."

Lil Pump, "Gucci Gang"

While Miami may have an outside reputation as a hub for electronic music, in fact many genres of music are alive and well in the city, including underground hip-hop, thanks to artists such as Lil Pump. After the Miami rapper made a name for himself on SoundCloud, he released his self-titled debut album in 2017. Lil Pump included the track "Gucci Gang," which skyrocketed the hometown hip-hop hero into the national arena when it peaked at No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100. 

XXXTentacion, "Sad!"

A born and raised Miami native, XXXTentacion typically cut deep with what Hot New Hip Hop dubbed "emo hip-hop." The single "Sad!" off the rapper's sophomore album, ?, is no exception with poignant lyrics such as, "I gave her everything/She took my heart and left me lonely/I've been broken, heart's contentious/I won't fix, I'd rather weep." While the song had previously peaked at No. 7 on the Billboard Hot 100, following the rapper's tragic death on Jun 18, it rose to the No. 1 position.

Pretty Ricky, "Grind With Me"

Let's take a quick trip down memory lane to the 2005 release of "Grind With Me" from the Miami-based R&B/hip-hop group Pretty Ricky. The sultry track from the group's debut album, Bluestars, struck a chord with listeners — the track reached No. 7 on the Billboard Hot 100. Though most of the song's lyrics are NSFW, at the very least we can follow Pretty Ricky's advice to "relax your mind, take your time on me."

Trick Daddy Featuring Trina, "Nann"

Trina did Miami proud when she became the first female hip-hop artist to go national, launching a career that's included recent releases such as her sixth studio album, 2018's The One. But it all started for Trina back in 1998 when fellow Miami rapper/producer Trick Daddy featured her on "Nann" off his second album, www.thug.com. The track was a big hip-hop smash, and by 2000 Trina was Da Baddest Bitch in Miami, the start of many good things to come.

Enrique Iglesias Featuring Pitbull, "Move To Miami"

We wouldn't have a playlist from Miami without mentioning Mr. Worldwide himself, Pitbull. On the 2018 track "Move To Miami," the native hip-hop/reggaetón artist pairs up with Latin sensation Enrique Iglesias (who also grew up in Miami) for a catchy track that warns, "She gon' make you move to Miami." However, given the rich culture and vibrant music scene that Miami has to offer, who wouldn't want to move to Miami?

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Music Festival AUS

Photo: Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images

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Australia's Pill Testing Debate Heats Up Following Music Festival Deaths

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Authorities have threatened to cancel future music fests in order to decrease accidental on-site deaths, but others say pill testing could do more
Jennifer Velez
GRAMMYs
Jan 2, 2019 - 1:19 pm

The conversation over whether pills should be tested at Australian music festivals is intensifying after two recent deaths.

A man died on Dec. 30 of a suspected overdose at the Lost Paradise music festival in New South Wales, and another man died on Jan 1. of a suspected drug overdose after attending the Beyond The Valley festival in Victoria.

Pill testing is one possible solution to the overdose deaths continuing to happen at music festivals in Australia, according to medical experts. But the option has been met with resistance.

Although the Australian Bureau Of Statistics can provide date on the number of people who have died from drug-related cases, the data does not show how many occurred "at large scale public events," according to the Sydney Morning Herald.

In 2016, there were 1,808 drug induced deaths in the country, according to the Australian Bureau Of Statistics. Illicit drugs increased that year, with the death rate from Psychostimulants quadrupling since 1999.

Authorities have threatened to cancel music festival events; the New South Wales Premier Gladys Berejiklian said she would do "everything we can" to shut down the Defqon.1 festival after two people died in Sept.

READ: Music Fans Traveled The World For Live Events In 2018

But some say shutting down festivals is not a realistic way of keeping people from taking illicit drugs and welcome pill testing as a way to decrease deaths.

In the past, Berejikian has had a zero tolerance stance on pill testing, stating: "Anyone who advocates pill testing is giving the green light to drugs. That is absolutely unacceptable."

But as other leaders in parts of Australia rule out pill testing at music festivals, following the recent deaths, the Premier is warming to the idea.

"If there was a way in which we could ensure that lives were saved through pill testing, we would consider it—but there is no evidence provided to the government on that," Berejiklian said, according to the Guardian.

READ: Hearing Clinics Help Make Summer Festivals Rock

The country held its first pill test trial at the Groovin the Moo festival in Canberra in April. Participants were able to provide a small sample of their pill(s) or powder to volunteers, who then analyzed the m in a mobile laboratory.

Former Australian Federal Police commissioner has said that the governments have to consider all available evidence to save people's lives, including pill testing.

"Pill testing is not a silver bullet, but it's a proven and positive way to help prevent this kind of tragedy, has majority support from Australians and must be at least trialed on a pilot basis —if it doesn't work, then stop it," Palmer told the Australian.

After the death of the man in New South Wales, Brisbane Water Police district commander Acting Superintendent Rod Peet said, "the best safety message is don't take drugs."

ABC Triple J conducted a survey of 11,000 young people that showed 55% have brought drugs to a festival and 83% would use pill testing, if available.

2019 Music Festival Preview: Noise Pop, Ultra & More