Los Rakas
Los Angeles, California, United States | SELF
Music
Press
"Though Latin alternative music has plenty of party songs, they usually arrived alongside more serious messages, whether delivered in hyperfast triple-time raps or set to dancehall reggae and funk by Los Rakas, a group from Panama relocated to Oakland, Calif.; both performed at the Bowery Ballroom on Thursday night." - NY Times
"Los Rakas are single-handedly taking back reggaeton to its Panamanian roots." - National Geographic
"Cousins Dun Dun and Rico AKA Filthy Rich were dope all three times I saw them with the highlight being their Bowery Ballroom show alongside a killer live band. And apparently I wasn’t the only one who though so, they were awarded the LAMC “Discovery Award.”" - KEXP (Seattle)
"Tienen todos los elementos para atacar el mercado urbano latino que tan estancado está." - AOL
"While it is not the first rap group to use Spanish lyrics or foreground Latino identity, Los Rakas stands out for doing it really, really well." - East Bay Express
Discography
Panabay Twist (mixtape) - 2006
Panabay Twist 2: La Tanda Del Bus (mixtape) - 2008
Photos
Bio
There are groups that come along and change the way we listen, appreciate and connect to music. Hailing from Panama but now residing in California, Los Rakas blend Hip-Hop, Reggae and Dancehall music with Spanish and English lyrics, creating songs that leave your head noddin’ and body rockin’. Los Rakas (DunDun and Rico AKA Filthy Rich) tag team the mic with a tenacity reminiscent of old school veterans in the game and the passion of the newer artists on the scene.
2010 has been a flagship year for the group, winning the Latin Alternative Music Conference’s (LAMC) Jack Daniel's ‘Discovery Artist’ prize in New York City (an award that goes to the most promising group at the conference and the first time awarded to an urban group), with endorsements from Gibson Guitar and SHURE; culminating with their breakout and lauded performance at The Bowery Ballroom with a 6 piece band which made news in The New York Times. The group has also shared the stage with hip-hop greats like Ice Cube, Snoop Dog, Mos Def, Talib Kweli, Murs and continue to teach spoken word workshops in Oakland's public school system through the organization, Youth Speaks.
Tastemakers like The FADER, XLR8R and Okayplayer to more traditional outlets like previously mentioned The New York Times & National Geographic have hailed the group. Their hit summer single, ‘Abrazame’ ft Favi (Uproot Andy Hold Yuh), a Latin take on the Gyptian ‘Hold Yuh’ smash, is currently in rotation at 106 KMEL (San Francisco), La Mega 97.9 'After Party' w/ DJ Polito Jr and DJ Bacan (New York City) and spreading fast.
Links
