Puerto Rican rapper Residente, winner of 31 Latin Grammy’s is known for not holding back when it comes to expressing himself in life and in his music. On his explosive new track “This Is Not America,” He points out how the U.S. calling itself “America,” when that term also applies to two entire continents, saying, “America is not just U.S.A., papa, this extends from Tierra del Fuego to Canada.” The video for the song intensifies his message with brutal image after image of the suffering caused by the U.S. He evokes painful family separations at the border, profiteering off the land of indigenous people, and corporate and commercial greed.
The track, which features vocals from the French-Cuban twin duo Ibeyi, is a blistering, heated rejection of U.S. imperialism and the country’s history of exploiting and erasing people from across Latin America and the Caribbean. “For a while, since you guys arrived, the prints of our shoes were already here,” Residente raps.
The visuals are gritty and expose abuse by those in power, for example one scene seems to show the memory of the slain Chilean artist and activist Victor Jara, as it shows a musician being shot in the head.
And though it might feel like a shock to some, “This Is Not America” is a look at the inequalities so many people have been fighting for decades.
In a verse Residente raps; “Tupac is named Tupac after Túpac Amaru from Peru “ and “If you don’t understand the data, then I’ll throw it at you with cumbia, bossanova, tango or ballenato”, while vindicating the great Latin musical richness that he combines with his most aggressive rap. In a single clip, Residente makes a harsh visual references on Puerto Rican activist Lolita Lebrón’s fight for independence, the Aztec sacrifice; Mexican children caged on the US border; the shoe shine revolution in Bolivia; the 43 Mexican students disappeared and murdered in Ayotzinapa; Bolsonaro and the deforestation of the Amazon with the disappearance of indigenous tribes.
Facebook
Instagram
RSS