Alt-Chilean songstress with NYC-underground tribal hip-hop and Afro-Caribbean electronica
The fearless frontwoman of New York’s rising star collective Princess Nokia is Destiny Frasqueri (once known in some subterranean circles as Wavy Spice), an urban monarch of mixing genres and styles. Her mind-blowing hybrid sound is a seamless blend of trip-hop, rap, R&B and drum & bass, underlaid with transportive tribal beats. Her principal album, 2014’s Metallic Butterfly, highlights her ability to fuse tradition with the starkly modern and even the metaphysical. Vice magazine raved the record to be “one of the most exciting and ambitious… of NYC underground.” Two years later, she released 1992, and a tidal wave of praise followed, as Rolling Stone listed it as one of the 15 Greatest Albums You Didn’t Hear in 2016. This release features the potent knockout “Tomboy,” a transgressive track that celebrates female individuality, a roaring speed-read of a rap anthem. Reclaiming femininity with a powerful tribute to her ancestry is “Brujas,” a bewitching million+ viewed YouTube hit. Destiny also leads a feminist art collective, Smart Girls Club, that empowers women of all backgrounds to excel in the arts.
Created by the Puerto Rican musical sage Otura Mun, ÌFÉ is a gallant new compilation of original music stemming from the island. Mun is an ordained Ifá priest, known as a “Babalawo” in the Yoruba faith, and he has been orchestrating authentic Puerto Rican sounds since the 90’s. Working in conjunction with the most prominent indigenous talents, like Mima, Cultura Profetica and Calma Carmona, Mun has produced numerous, critically well-received records. ÌFÉ represents his first solo effort, and has garnered instant acclaim. The track “Umbo (Come Down)” is an intensely poetic tribute to the higher powers of Yoruba, invoking incantations of ancient praise songs. ÌFÉ represents a positive experience in utilizing religious practices to connect with the musically uplifting aspects of the soul and surrounding environment.