Maximum Respect
Rap, Tapes and Photocopies
Free, until full capacity is reached. Doors open 30 minutes before the concerts
Maximum Respect. Rap, Tapes and Photocopies sets forth a collective reflection on the origins and pathways of rap in Spain, and also serves to present the research project Proposals, Archives and Communities in the Origins of Rap in Spain, which aims to study, document and catalogue activities related to the self-management and self-release of Spanish rap from its beginnings.
The activity gets under way with a conversation between different leading figures from the local underground rap scene, shaped in its early days by independent tape releases (a format commonly called “demos”). Upon the conclusion of the talk, the event will move over to the Sabatini Building Garden, where, in a festive summer atmosphere, demo performances and concerts will unfold, conducted by Elphomega and Templo Negro, before concluding with a session by DJ UVE.
The research project looks to propel an archive of DIY recordings — in both physical and digital formats — and a repository of audiovisual memories through interviews with some of the founding members of the hip-hop movement in Spain.
Participants
Sonia Cuevas is the co-founder of the record label Zona Bruta, a reference point in Spanish rap. She also has vast knowledge of the 1990s scene and the intricacies of the birth of Spanish hip-hop. She was one of the first women to release a rap single in Spanish, on the compilation Rap De Aqui (Ariola Records, 1990), with the duo Sony & Mony.
Dobleache is an MC and journalist. He is a member of Jazz Two, with the recently deceased Dave Bee, with whom he released three demos that were precursors to rap with jazz influences in Spanish, and later released further productions as Jazz Two and solo works. He has been the director of the magazines Hip Hop Life and Hip Hop Nation, and a judge and jury member on the Red Bull Batalla de Los Gallos.
Elphomega is an MC and formerly a ghost-writer with the band Nazión Sur. His second demo, Con 40 De Fiebre (1994), which he wrote in its entirety, is one of the most relevant in the 1990s rap demo scene. He is also behind some of the best-known records in Spanish rap, for instance El testimonio Libra (Zona Bruta, 2007), Phantom Pop (BOA Music, 2011) and Nebuloso (Navaja Suiza, 2016).
DJ UVE is a DJ, producer and MC. He is a member of Falsa Identidad and the Costa Norte (with Fusión Klan and Pareja de Ases) collective, who defined the Cantabrian sound in the 1990s. He is also a dedicated disseminator and digger i.e., a researcher and collector of rap and its original ingredients (jazz, soul, funk, etc.). He manages 1L Records and has published work with Falsa Identidad, Chinatown, Priteo, Mítiko, Arrabal, Visión Nocturna (his MC alias), Van Deep and Burbu, his latest project with rapper Ludovico.
Templo Negro is a group formed by Zemo Ese in instrumentals — one of the most prolific beat-makers in Spain, and a member of Elements and 7 Notas 7 Colores — and Negra, one of the heavyweight MCs in today’s scene. H.A.N.A.M.I. is their first joint work.
Programme
7:40pm Interlude with demos
8pm Templo Negro
8:45pm Interlude with demos
9pm DJ UVE
