GUALA (Urban Grime Reggaeton)
One of London’s most promising male artists, Guala fuses hip hop, reggaeton, grime, and afrobeats. His song ‘You’re not there,’ the first ever grime song in Spanish, was played on BBC1 Xtra and has over 47k views on GrimeDaily platform. His song ‘Reggaeton’ has over 53k views on YouTube.
“I grew up amidst forests, rivers and farms in Ecuador. When I came to the UK, all the forests and river adventures became blocks and council estates. My parents worked to save and go back home. This left me plenty of time to be in the streets with no authority.
My father was a DJ, he played everything from dance, reggea, salsa, merengue, cumbia and old school reggeaton, even before it was titled that. I’ve been influenced by a huge range of artists; from Celia Cruz, Willie Colon, Compay Segundo, Hector Lavoe, Oscar De Leon to El General, Vico C, Immortal Technique to Biggie Smalls, 2Pac, Bob Marley and Skepta.
I figured out how to rap by the age of 11 and I started writing bars and Mcing in the playground. I was the only one in my school that could rap in Spanish and English.
Growing up in Tottenham was tough; I was surrounded by gangsters and criminals. Most of my friends where in and out of jail, and some I’ve lost to gun and knife crime. I was in a dark place with limited opportunities and negative influences.
Things changed dramatically when I was 18. I was kidnaped for two days and thought I would die. It took me 7 months to recover from the trauma, but the change had to come from within me. I decided to go to college and get into education. I began to record songs.”
Now my life is mental. I work hard; sleep late and rise early. I make music daily as I go, everwhere. I have written over 70 songs and want to produce an album by the end of summer. I want to make hits that become classics and create music that makes a difference.
I work with young people who are growing up in violent environments and try to guide them towards positve paths. I work doing what I love, making music and helping others.
I am Latino, I love London and yes, I am proud to say that I represent both.”
DESTA FRENCH (Future Latin RnB)
Hailing from Camden, Desta French released her debut single 'Shame', which accumulated over 1 million plays on Spotify and got extensive radio play in Colombia, where she was also interviewed by Julio Sanches Cristo, one of the most highly recognized journalists in Latin America.
“My Abuelita Carmen would come for long stays from Colombia so she played a big part in raising us. At the same time I am very North London; I get emotional when I hear ‘Careless whisper’ by Goerge Michael!
My influences are Toto La Momposina, Gloria Estefan, Nathalie Laforcade and Herencia De Timbique but also George Michael, Cass is Dead and Sade.
I was always writing songs as a kid, I just never thought about transforming them into something solid because I wasn't musically trained. When I met Jamal Hadaway, who is the first producer I worked with properly, I discovered a new form of expression and found my voice and creative vision.
From the moment I recorded my first song, 'magazine', I knew had to make music for the rest of my life. It just seemed clear really quickly.
It’s difficult finding the balance between making the right decisions and going with the flow. You can't get in the way of your creativity, but then these days you have to be a business person also, and understand where you are going with what you are doing.
I hustle 24/7. I want to have the best tools, the best musicians and the best producers. At the moment I'm working on an EP in English and Spanish.
Spanish is my first language because that's how I've always spoken to those closest to me and it takes me closest to where I wanna be. I felt like I was leaving something out not singing in Spanish.”
Rene Alvarez (Salsa)
Rene Alvarez (Musical Director, composer, arranger, trombonist, pianist and vocalist) Is one of Europe’s most succesful touring Salsa artists in Europe. His band, The Cuban Combination, won the LUKAS in 2018 in the category of Tropical Act and he has recorded 3 albums to date: ‘Camina como yo (2010), ‘Ya eres Grande’ (2012) and ‘Abriendo los Caminos’ (2017)
“I grew up in Santiago de Cuba. I loved sports and was the national junior swimming breast stroke champion.
I never imagined being a musician, even though I came from a muscal family. But I remember distinctly Carnaval in Santiago in July 1993 and everything changed.
I wouldn’t say one person influenced me, infact the world around me has influenced me. I learned lots of things from lots of different people. My mother’s seond husband taught me the importance of feeding your mind.
I started trombone and singing and graduated from the Conservatory in Santiago de Cuba. When I was 17 I took part in six international choral festivals alongside national choirs from Sweden the US, Canada and Denmark.
From 2001 to 2007 I was the lead trombonist in Sur Caribe, one of the most famous groups in Cubat the time.”
BERDC (Urban Latin)
Alex is a member of BERDC, London’s foremost Reggaeton crew, which won the 2018 LUKAS for Urban Latin Act of the year and recently sold out its first ever headline show in the o2 Islington.
“I arrived to London when I was 5 years old and I’ve learnt to love everything about it. I grew up in Brixton (South London) with a lot of cousins to enjoy. We were always going on family trips and family parties.
I fell in love with music at a very young age. At 16 I got myself on a music production course and saved to buy myself a home studio. I have been making music ever since.
Music is my release. When I’m stressed I go to the studio and let it into the music. It’s like therapy. I know other music makers can relate to this; it’s more than just music.
The biggest challenge in my life has been staying away from crime, which has been around me from a very young age. A lot of my friends have been sent to prison for very serious crimes and I recently lost one of my closest friends, something that I will never forget. I had to step out of that world in order to achieve what I want in life and I also have my children to think about and provide for.
Recently, I was in a cue talking to a friend about a new song I was working on, the guy stood behind us asked ‘What do you guys do?’ and we told him we make music. It turned out he is a big drill producer and we ended up exchanging numbers and have been in contact ever since. He is helping us make other contacts within the scene.”
Valenciz (Reggaeton)
Valencis is a Colombian born Reggaeton artist, who has opened concerts for Pitbull, Arcangel, Jowell & Randy, J Alvarez and Don Omar. His latest singles '’Passion’ , ‘Teaser’ and Spanish trap song ‘Prendido’ are gaining traction amongst Latinos in the UK.
“I grew up in Santa Rosa de Cabal (Colombia), where I spent most of my time outdoors playing football or marbles, with music blasting in the background from either my house or our neighbours.
My Father is a dreamer. He wanted a better life for us so he came to the UK without us to test the waters, before being able to bring us over.
I came to London when I was 8. I remember my father handing me back some school work, decidedly unhappy, and telling me: ''if you're going to do something, either give it your best or don't do it at all.'
I always enjoyed singing. When I went back to Colombia in my teens, I got inspired by the music that was being produced there. I wanted to be part of the reggaeton music scene so I began to pursue it.
Now, I’m producing my own reaggeton tracks, at the moment working on a track with B-Poly called '’Tempo’, a track which fuses afro and Latin and in both Spanish and English, to be released in June, with an EP for early next year.
I found my sound in music so I am very excited for the future. The fact that Latinos are still a minority here and underestimated as a culture drives me to work harder.”
You can see all these artists perform live at La Clave Fest 2019, London’s Free Latin Festival, on August 3 in Finsbury Park, London N4 2DHwww.laclavefest.co.uk
