Ana Tijoux: Hardcore, Poetic Hip Hop

I've been telling you guys about some of my favorite artists that are kind of on the outside of widespread recognition like Dubstep influenced violinist Lindsey Sterling and Hip Hop/Blues fusion musician ZZ Ward. And I have another artist to tell you about: Ana Tijoux.

The first time I heard Ana Tijoux was episode five of season four of Breaking Bad. The show always has great music but, the scene in the episode Shotgun when Mike takes Jessie on his rounds featured a song that entered my obsessions immediately. I saw the scene and ran to the internet to find the artist. This scene here:

The song is 1977 by Ana Tijoux off the album of the same name. Tijoux is a Chilean rapper born in France where her parents had fled Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet. She returned to Chili in the 1990's and dove into music. She was a member of some groups in the late 90s and early 2000s, her solo breakout came with the Latin Hip Hop album 1977 in 2009.

It is hardcore, poetic hip hop. Like the best writers, Tijoux's songs move between the micro and the macro, the personal and political. The song Shock from 2011 La Bala album is an a great example of that melding of ideas and emotions. I have not been this excited about a rap artist is years. It is refreshing to have rap music that is about people and ideas, not about strippers and cars. She is reminiscent of late 80s/early 90s Public Enemy in tone but, the sound is mixture of urban Hip hop and Latin music sounds.

Here is a quick interview with Ana: