Rebel Diaz - Revolution from the Bronx to Santiago

From Chicago to the Bronx to Santiago and beyond, Rebel Diaz spits powerful rhymes of freedom, empowerment and social consciousness that recall the earlier proactive messages of Hip Hop culture.

We first discovered Rebel Diaz back in the Bronx at the Rebel Diaz Arts Collective - a center the Hip Hop trio created to empower their community through art and awareness. Rebel Diaz took the stage that night at RIPPED IT UP. Rhyming and singing in both English and Spanish, the passion emanating from these 3 emcees was undeniable.

Rebel Diaz is made up of Chilean brothers RodStarz and G1, and Puerto Rican songstress Lah Tere. Origianlly from Chicago, Rebel Diaz really came to be in the Bronx, NY. After first performing at an immigrant rights march in New York City in 2006 in front of a half million people, the bilingual emcees have taken the international community by storm. The group’s versatility has allowed them to share the stage with the likes of Common, Mos Def, and Public Enemy, to acts like Rage Against the Machine, and Mala Rodriguez. Recent tours in Spain, Germany, Guatemala, Venezuela, and Chile, have only solidified their international appeal.

Earlier this year the trio split, with Lah Tere and the Venegas brothers going their separate ways. But both have brand new releases planned for 2011. Lah Tere will be releasing her debut solo album, Made of Honor, with a powerful style reminiscent of bilingual Queen Latifah or Lauryn Hill. RodStarz and G1 have retained the name Rebel Diaz, and will be releasing their first album as a duo this year as well, continuing to put out the politically conscious rap that Rebel Diaz has become known for.

Here's a video from when the trio was still together. Entitled Libertad, the video was shot in Chile, and exemplifies Rebel Diaz's bilingual, politcally motivated, fierce style of Hip Hop.

Wanlov the Kubolor - Ghana's Pidgin Music

Barefoot, in nothing but a t-shirt and mud cloth wrap, wandering the world singing about the life of the people in his native Ghana - Wanlov the Kubolor lives up to his name.

Kubolor means vagabond, truant, bush man - a soul who answers to no one, but leaves his mark on everyone. Born in Ploiesti, Romania Wanlov grew up in Accra, Ghana. He grew up in a very musical household, but it wasn't until he went to college in Texas that he fully immersed himself in a musical career. It was there that he released his debut album, Green Card, fusing hip hop, reggae, afrobeat, afro-pop, hiplife, and highlife.

He calls it “Pidgin” music. "To me Pidgin is the right language. It is the everyday person’s language. Whether the person is a carpenter or all the way to a bank teller or managing director, everybody speaks Pidgin.”(ghanabusinessnews.com)

Wanlov has taken his unique sound around the world, performing at numerous universities, theatres, & club venues throughout the United States; with radio play in Africa, Europe, Australia, North and South America.

Here's a music video of his shot in Ghana - the home he returned to after his stint in the US. His clothing, his vibe, his sound - everything captures the essence of his Kubolor spirit.

TRoy - UK Producer Goes Afro

In every major city in the world, it seems like everyone is being influenced more and more by roots music from Africa, especially when it comes to dance music. With his new release, Bush Meat, TRoy brings us that Afro flavor, with his native London vibes.

After setting up and establishing the UK Hip Hop label Cafe Recordings in 1999, TRoy decided it was time to expand. "I can’t confine myself to one particular genre of music as I have been exposed to so much diversity", and so he went searching deeper into sound by giving birth to his own label, Broadcite, in 2000. The label reflects his broad musical tastes, including his own style of Afrobeat, Hip Hop, Future Funk , Broken Beatz and various forms of Nu Jazz - all of which can be found in his productions.

His music has taken him around the globe, with travels through nearly every continent, and releases in Belgium, Portugal and Italy to name a few. His latest project released under the Broadcite imprint, Bush Meat, reflects the new generation of African rhythms, something that TRoy is calling "AfroTech".

He explains, "Afrotech is a fusion of contemporary African groove and post-modern electronic frequency, the cultural sounds clash to form a harmonic and rhythmic blend, connecting tradition with technology"

This pulsating hybrid, inspired by sounds from South Africa, Nigeria, Ghana, Gambia all with an overt London twist, brings the listener the sound of today's experimental Afro fusion. Here's a video for the single Bobo, featuring Wumni. African style with distinctly London tech elements - an exciting example of cultural fusion taking world music to the next level!

Fauna - Trippy Nu Cumbia from Argentina

The electro cumbia movement has been taking over South America, and now the world. With bands like Bomba Estereo getting worlwide acclaim, the genre is blowing up. Meet 2 pioneers in this exciting scene - Fauna.

Fauna is a musical duo made up of Color Kit (Christian del Negro) and Catar_sys (Federico Rodríguez), both on vocals and beat production. They were amongst the first to define the electro cumbia sound back in their home of Mendoza, Argentina. They released their first album La Manita de Fauna, in 2008 - a project that pushed boundaries while maintaining a playful and fun attitude.

With a hot album on their hands, the duo set off on a busy South American tour through Chile, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela and Brasil. However, at the end of the tour, in the fall of 2010, tragedy struck and Catar_sys unexpectedly passed away. The future was unclear for Fauna after suffering such an enormous loss, but Color Kit decided to continue what Fauna had started.

Now Fauna is getting ready to drop their long-awaited second album, to be titled Manshines, on ZZK Records. Mixed and produced by Andrés Oddone and Frikstailers, this new album brings not only cumbia, but dubstep and kudoro rhythms as well, taking Fauna's sound further than ever before.

Para mí is the first single off Manshines and its freshly released video has both members of Fauna in it. We love the neon colors and trippy visuals!

Sexion D'Assaut - Parisian Rappers Roll Deep

Not since Wu Tang Clan has a crew of rappers rolled this deep...

It all started in 2002, when Sexion D'Assaut had a crew of 22 rappers. 22 rappers! But only the most thoroughbread fellas stuck it out, and over the years, it's dwindled down to 8 core members, with other rappers coming in and out along the way...

Over the years, the collective has released various albums with various members making appearances on each, but it wasn't until 2009 that the crew released their first full group album, The Head Crash, as a mixtape on the streets. The Head Crash had them touring all over France to packed houses. They have that hardcore energy and street savvy lyricism that amps up the crowd.

The School of Vital Points was the group's official debut album, released in 2010. The album went triple platinum and brought Sexion D'Assaut mainstream success. They are among the first French artists (with Daft Punk and David Guetta) to surpass one million fans on Facebook.

In 2011, they are releasing a free underground track from one of their crew members once every 2 weeks...And this week, their song Paris Va Bien is at the top of the Urban Charts in France.

Here's the video for Paris Va Bien - we love the French style and panache they exude in this video...ooh la la - nothing like a gangsta in a finely tailored french suit...

Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs - UK's Electro Showman

Experimental yet catchy, the mastermind behind Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs (TEED) has found that fine line between underground oddity and mainstream danceablity and has made a budding musical career out of it...

While Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs is a very long and silly name, so is (his real name) Orlando Higginbottom. But this one-man show likes to be silly. In fact, when asked about the topic, he replied, "I got kind of fed up with the scenes that were going on and everyone taking things very seriously and thinking they had to be cool and into the next sound. I just decided to do something a bit fun and not about street cred or being trendy or anything like that." (Spinner.com) Well, 'a bit fun' is an understatement. His live electronic show is full of crazy costumes, bizarre instruments, glitter cannons and yes - dancing dinosaurs.

He's been steadily blowing up is his native UK and all over Europe, and was recently named one of the Top 100 acts at SXSW 2011. His second EP, the All In Two Sixty Dancehalls EP, released on Greco- Roman, has thrust TEED into the spotlight. The lead track Garden, featuring vocalist Luisa from Lulu and the Lampshades, has been picking props across the board.

Here's the video. Check it out and see what we mean. No doubt it's weird, but it's so damn fun and melodic that damn near anyone will want to dance to it...

Afrobeta - Play House: New Music Video!!

You know how much we love them. Miami's own...Afrobeta!

We featured this amazing electronic duo during our coverage of the Ultra Fest 2011. Miss Angelina sat down with Afrobeta for an exclusive interview, in which they discussed the making of their new video, Play House.

Well...it's here! The Play House music video was officially released yesterday, and it is on the next level...

Afrobeta, made up of singer Cuci Amador and synthesizer/production master Smurphio, told us all about their adventures working on this video over in Amsterdam with an entirely European crew. Cuci talked to us about the avant-garde artistic style of their collaborators, and boy was she right. Set is some sort of futuristic space home, Afrobeta's intergalactic music video matches their supersonic sound.

Miami STAND UP!