I know a lot of you probably already get Davey D's newsletter...but for those who don't, here's an interesting article...
-----
LATINOS ARE HIP HOP'S BIGGEST SUPPORTERS
by Davey D www.daveyd.com
The largest purchasers of rap music in the US are Hispanic/Latinos.
This revelation was made last Wednesday [Jan 15th] in NY during the
Media and Advertising panel at Jesse Jackson's 6th Annual Wall Street
Project. This was a well attended panel that featured a number of
distinguished guests who are at the top of their field like: former
Vibe Magazine CEO Keith Clinkscales of Vanguarde Media, Carol H
Williams of Carol H Williams Advertising, Thomas Burrell of Burrell
Communications, Samuel Chisholm of the Chisholm Group, James L Winston
of the National Association of Black Owned Broadcasters and Daisy
Exposito-Ulla of the Bravo Group which is the country's largest
marketing and communications group that targets the Hispanic/Latino
market.
The main focus of the panel was 'exploring ways in which minority
owned business can best leverage advertising dollars earmarked for
broadcast media to achieve their bottom line. Within the context of
that discussion was a break down of the role and market share held by
various subgroups and ethnic minorities. When Ms Exposito-Ulla of the
Bravo Group spoke about the growing importance and the purchasing
power of Latinos that her revelations about the Latino community
purchasing more rap records than both whites and African Americans
were made. She noted that her firm had done research and came to that
conclusion.
Because this wasn't a Hip Hop panel, Ms Exposito-Ulla's remarks were
not met with much fanfare and hoopla, but nevertheless they are
significant on many levels. To start, as the word gets out about the
purchasing power of Latinos with regards to Hip Hop may lead record
companies, radio stations and other media outlets to refocus, redouble
or completely rethink their marketing campaigns. Unfortunately, in
many circles, large parts of the Latino community have been
stereotyped as only being into dance, house and freestyle music and
not rap. Even sadder is the fact that far too often folks overlook
the pioneering role many Latino's in particular Puerto Ricans played
in the evolution of Hip Hop. DJ Charlie Chase, Whipper Whip,
Rocksteady Crew, TBB, Tony G are a few people and crews that
immediately come to mind.
As the Bravo Group's findings become more widespread, this could mean
everything from seeing an increase in street team campaigns to the
barrios and other large Latino neighborhoods. It could result in
companies placing a greater importance on marketing Hip Hop in large
Latino urban centers that we hardly ever associate with rap and Hip
Hop like Phoenix Arizona, Modesto California, San Antonio Texas or
Albuquerque New Mexico to start. Of course alot of 'underground Hip
Hop artist already know the deal and have been aggressively touching
down in such areas for years...As the music industry attempts to
resurrect its economic slump, it will be interesting to see if major
labels devote extra resources to push to popular Latino Hip Hop
artists like Fat Joe who was just nominated for a Grammy, Tony Touch,
The Arsonist, Angie Martinez, The Beatnuts, or Frost.
Long time activist and KPFA radio host Miguel Molina of the popular
low rider show La Onda Bajita noted that he wasn't surprised by the
findings. He explained that there is along history of Latinos
embracing and supporting Funk and soul music. He explained that many
of the 'old school' acts that fit these genres have known for years
that probably their biggest fan base and support has been within the
Latino community. He pointed out the music make up of his show and
explained how OGs from the barrio have always listened to old school
funk and soul. Hence he was not surprised to see the trend continue
with Hip Hop. The sad part is that far too often this hasn't been
openly spoken about and recognized. He also noted that outside
factors in particular the music industry itself has done things in the
area of marketing to create the illusion that Latinos and African
Americans are somehow separate.
It will also be interesting to see if major labels and commercial
radio continue their nasty practice of racial separation. I always
remind people that once upon a time Hip Hop was together with all its
participants under one umbrella. In the mid 80s you started to see a
separation when industry folks started labeling uptempo Hip Hop as
'Latin Freestyle' even though most of it would've come under the
umbrella of what Afrika Bambaataa originally called Electro-Funk.
Suddenly this music genre along with popular groundbreaking deejays
like the Latin Rascals weren't seen as being part of Hip Hop.
Because of this industry inspired separation many of us have forgotten
that in many parts of the country 'Latin Freestyle' music was listened
to and enjoyed by both African American and Latino audiences. Joyce
Sims, Shannon, Hashim, Debbie Deb, Freestyle, Lisette Melindez, Lisa
Lisa, TKA, K-7 are some of the artist I routinely heard in both Black
and Latino niteclubs as well as urban radio stations that reached both
communities. We even forget that many opf these artists and their
records were staple items in the crates of all Hip Hop deejays. A
quick listen to some old New Music Seminar tapes from the mid 80s
during the Deejay Battles for World Supremacy easily bear this out.
This separation trend continued in the late '80s and early 90s, when
rap music was broken down further and we started to see a new
categorizing of music where you suddenly had 'Latino rap' and
'regular' rap. Soon you rarely saw popular Latino artists at the time
like Lighter Shade of Brown, The Mexicanz, Cypress Hill and even Kid
Frost performing on the same stage or played on the same radio station
as their African American rap brethren.
In many cases Latino Hip Hop artists were used as caveats on radio
stations as a way to attract the Latino audience and separate
competing radio stations that are now owned by the same company in the
age of consolidation. I recall vividly seeing marching orders handed
down by corporate big wigs that forbade us at KMEL from playing
certain Latin Hip Hop artist that were being embraced our competing
sister station KYLD whose mission was to target the Latino community.
Suddenly groups like Lighter Shade of Brown, Kid Frost, Funky Aztecs,
Aztlan Nation, The Mexicanz and others could no longer be heard on our
airwaves because we were supposed be targeting an African American
audience. I recall how much drama was caused when we started to play
groups like Cypress Hill and how things really became a sore point
when they actually began hosting a show. If that not enough there was
even an issue made when some of our Latino deejays like [Chuy Gomez]
would speak Spanglish on the air. The corporate edict was very clear.
One station for Blacks the other for Latinos.
I also remember having numerous conversations with some of these
Latino Hip Hoppers and hearing how frustrated they were with radio
station politics. Many of them saw themselves as emcees and Hip
Hoppers first and the music they made was for everyone. They resented
being segregated on the airwaves especially since many of them had
strong ties in the African American community. For example The Funky
Aztecs did a song with 2Pac [Slipping Into Darkness]. Kid Frost has
done songs with artist like Daz and was no stranger to African
Americans during LA's early Hip Hop scene. In fact he primarily
rapped in English and was encouraged to flip rhymes in Spanish by
another Latino pioneering emcee-Whipper Whip of NY's famed Fantastic
Romantic Five.
Frost in turn was produced by Tony G who was pioneering deejay who was
part of the Mixmasters from LA's legendary rap radio station KDAY
which was a fixture in the African American community. Also on board
was another talented Latino deejay named Julio G. Old KDAY listeners
will recall that it was a Latino named MC O [Orlando] was the host of
that show. After KDAY died out one of the more popular Hip Hop shows
that emerged on LA's Power 106 was hosted by some Latino Brothers
known as the Baka Boyz who kicked up dust and made noise with their
show Friday Nite Flavas.
In spite all that interaction, in many places there was still music
segregation. You had Latino Hip Hop and regular Hip Hop. It was
artist like Big Pun who helped close that gap. In fact I recall
speaking with Pun and him telling me that he was very much aware of
the Black-Latino separation in Hip Hop music. That was one of the
reasons he chanted 'Boriqua-Morena' [Puero Rican-Black] in his hit
song 'Still A Player' He wanted to create a sense of unity and remind
people that Blacks and Latinos have always been down with one another.
His partner Fat Joe has also been a strong advocate of keeping
everyone together. He has supported that commitment with his actions
like showing up at Minister's Farrakhan's Hip Hop Peace Summit in '96
after the Notorious BIG was killed and addressing that issue. He
later followed suit at Russell Simmons Hip Hop summit in 2001 and
voiced similar concerns. Unfortunately racial politics and
segregation are still a reality in the marketing schemes of radio
stations and the music industry. Perhaps it will one day be
completely eliminated.
-----
LATINOS ARE HIP HOP'S BIGGEST SUPPORTERS
by Davey D www.daveyd.com
The largest purchasers of rap music in the US are Hispanic/Latinos.
This revelation was made last Wednesday [Jan 15th] in NY during the
Media and Advertising panel at Jesse Jackson's 6th Annual Wall Street
Project. This was a well attended panel that featured a number of
distinguished guests who are at the top of their field like: former
Vibe Magazine CEO Keith Clinkscales of Vanguarde Media, Carol H
Williams of Carol H Williams Advertising, Thomas Burrell of Burrell
Communications, Samuel Chisholm of the Chisholm Group, James L Winston
of the National Association of Black Owned Broadcasters and Daisy
Exposito-Ulla of the Bravo Group which is the country's largest
marketing and communications group that targets the Hispanic/Latino
market.
The main focus of the panel was 'exploring ways in which minority
owned business can best leverage advertising dollars earmarked for
broadcast media to achieve their bottom line. Within the context of
that discussion was a break down of the role and market share held by
various subgroups and ethnic minorities. When Ms Exposito-Ulla of the
Bravo Group spoke about the growing importance and the purchasing
power of Latinos that her revelations about the Latino community
purchasing more rap records than both whites and African Americans
were made. She noted that her firm had done research and came to that
conclusion.
Because this wasn't a Hip Hop panel, Ms Exposito-Ulla's remarks were
not met with much fanfare and hoopla, but nevertheless they are
significant on many levels. To start, as the word gets out about the
purchasing power of Latinos with regards to Hip Hop may lead record
companies, radio stations and other media outlets to refocus, redouble
or completely rethink their marketing campaigns. Unfortunately, in
many circles, large parts of the Latino community have been
stereotyped as only being into dance, house and freestyle music and
not rap. Even sadder is the fact that far too often folks overlook
the pioneering role many Latino's in particular Puerto Ricans played
in the evolution of Hip Hop. DJ Charlie Chase, Whipper Whip,
Rocksteady Crew, TBB, Tony G are a few people and crews that
immediately come to mind.
As the Bravo Group's findings become more widespread, this could mean
everything from seeing an increase in street team campaigns to the
barrios and other large Latino neighborhoods. It could result in
companies placing a greater importance on marketing Hip Hop in large
Latino urban centers that we hardly ever associate with rap and Hip
Hop like Phoenix Arizona, Modesto California, San Antonio Texas or
Albuquerque New Mexico to start. Of course alot of 'underground Hip
Hop artist already know the deal and have been aggressively touching
down in such areas for years...As the music industry attempts to
resurrect its economic slump, it will be interesting to see if major
labels devote extra resources to push to popular Latino Hip Hop
artists like Fat Joe who was just nominated for a Grammy, Tony Touch,
The Arsonist, Angie Martinez, The Beatnuts, or Frost.
Long time activist and KPFA radio host Miguel Molina of the popular
low rider show La Onda Bajita noted that he wasn't surprised by the
findings. He explained that there is along history of Latinos
embracing and supporting Funk and soul music. He explained that many
of the 'old school' acts that fit these genres have known for years
that probably their biggest fan base and support has been within the
Latino community. He pointed out the music make up of his show and
explained how OGs from the barrio have always listened to old school
funk and soul. Hence he was not surprised to see the trend continue
with Hip Hop. The sad part is that far too often this hasn't been
openly spoken about and recognized. He also noted that outside
factors in particular the music industry itself has done things in the
area of marketing to create the illusion that Latinos and African
Americans are somehow separate.
It will also be interesting to see if major labels and commercial
radio continue their nasty practice of racial separation. I always
remind people that once upon a time Hip Hop was together with all its
participants under one umbrella. In the mid 80s you started to see a
separation when industry folks started labeling uptempo Hip Hop as
'Latin Freestyle' even though most of it would've come under the
umbrella of what Afrika Bambaataa originally called Electro-Funk.
Suddenly this music genre along with popular groundbreaking deejays
like the Latin Rascals weren't seen as being part of Hip Hop.
Because of this industry inspired separation many of us have forgotten
that in many parts of the country 'Latin Freestyle' music was listened
to and enjoyed by both African American and Latino audiences. Joyce
Sims, Shannon, Hashim, Debbie Deb, Freestyle, Lisette Melindez, Lisa
Lisa, TKA, K-7 are some of the artist I routinely heard in both Black
and Latino niteclubs as well as urban radio stations that reached both
communities. We even forget that many opf these artists and their
records were staple items in the crates of all Hip Hop deejays. A
quick listen to some old New Music Seminar tapes from the mid 80s
during the Deejay Battles for World Supremacy easily bear this out.
This separation trend continued in the late '80s and early 90s, when
rap music was broken down further and we started to see a new
categorizing of music where you suddenly had 'Latino rap' and
'regular' rap. Soon you rarely saw popular Latino artists at the time
like Lighter Shade of Brown, The Mexicanz, Cypress Hill and even Kid
Frost performing on the same stage or played on the same radio station
as their African American rap brethren.
In many cases Latino Hip Hop artists were used as caveats on radio
stations as a way to attract the Latino audience and separate
competing radio stations that are now owned by the same company in the
age of consolidation. I recall vividly seeing marching orders handed
down by corporate big wigs that forbade us at KMEL from playing
certain Latin Hip Hop artist that were being embraced our competing
sister station KYLD whose mission was to target the Latino community.
Suddenly groups like Lighter Shade of Brown, Kid Frost, Funky Aztecs,
Aztlan Nation, The Mexicanz and others could no longer be heard on our
airwaves because we were supposed be targeting an African American
audience. I recall how much drama was caused when we started to play
groups like Cypress Hill and how things really became a sore point
when they actually began hosting a show. If that not enough there was
even an issue made when some of our Latino deejays like [Chuy Gomez]
would speak Spanglish on the air. The corporate edict was very clear.
One station for Blacks the other for Latinos.
I also remember having numerous conversations with some of these
Latino Hip Hoppers and hearing how frustrated they were with radio
station politics. Many of them saw themselves as emcees and Hip
Hoppers first and the music they made was for everyone. They resented
being segregated on the airwaves especially since many of them had
strong ties in the African American community. For example The Funky
Aztecs did a song with 2Pac [Slipping Into Darkness]. Kid Frost has
done songs with artist like Daz and was no stranger to African
Americans during LA's early Hip Hop scene. In fact he primarily
rapped in English and was encouraged to flip rhymes in Spanish by
another Latino pioneering emcee-Whipper Whip of NY's famed Fantastic
Romantic Five.
Frost in turn was produced by Tony G who was pioneering deejay who was
part of the Mixmasters from LA's legendary rap radio station KDAY
which was a fixture in the African American community. Also on board
was another talented Latino deejay named Julio G. Old KDAY listeners
will recall that it was a Latino named MC O [Orlando] was the host of
that show. After KDAY died out one of the more popular Hip Hop shows
that emerged on LA's Power 106 was hosted by some Latino Brothers
known as the Baka Boyz who kicked up dust and made noise with their
show Friday Nite Flavas.
In spite all that interaction, in many places there was still music
segregation. You had Latino Hip Hop and regular Hip Hop. It was
artist like Big Pun who helped close that gap. In fact I recall
speaking with Pun and him telling me that he was very much aware of
the Black-Latino separation in Hip Hop music. That was one of the
reasons he chanted 'Boriqua-Morena' [Puero Rican-Black] in his hit
song 'Still A Player' He wanted to create a sense of unity and remind
people that Blacks and Latinos have always been down with one another.
His partner Fat Joe has also been a strong advocate of keeping
everyone together. He has supported that commitment with his actions
like showing up at Minister's Farrakhan's Hip Hop Peace Summit in '96
after the Notorious BIG was killed and addressing that issue. He
later followed suit at Russell Simmons Hip Hop summit in 2001 and
voiced similar concerns. Unfortunately racial politics and
segregation are still a reality in the marketing schemes of radio
stations and the music industry. Perhaps it will one day be
completely eliminated.
