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Latin Rap Conference 2005 | New York City | Photo Essay
New York City, New York - Bringing the Latin Rap Conference to New York
City, the birthplace of the Hip-Hop culture for the third installment in
this series of events was a complete success! On September 19th and 20th of
2005, the Latin Rap and Reggaeton industry came together for a momentous
occasion that exploded with enthusiasm and solidarity. Directly following the
festivities of Mexican Independence Day parades and parties that enveloped New
York on the weekend of September 16th, this Monday and Tuesday conference proved
to be inspirational and educational.
2MEX rocking the mic at SOB's NYC
Monday night was kicked off with a groundbreaking show/party at the legendary club SOB’s. Sano-In, of NY, hosted the stage ripping and brought together more than 20 acts to the mic for a true Hip-Hop session. Some notable performances came from groups like 2MEX, La Sinfonia, Don Abusivo, Fragment Crew, Dollar, Ese Loc, Capicu, Chavito, Illumination, Inti, Datin, Raze and Beibi Gee. Malverde of Machete Records, had an exceptional set and put the crowd in a frenzy with guests like Son Doobie blessing the stage at his side. The vibe was set on Monday night.
The next morning started with the mood of unity and an overwhelming sense of power that was, without a doubt, a result of the previous night’s amazing reminder of the talent possessed by the Latino Hip-Hop community. The more than 500 attendees came together for day two at the world famous Midtown Manhattan nightspot, Latin Quarters (aka LQ’s).
The first panel was set to discuss radio as it relates to our genre. Panelists included DJ Kazzanova, Khool Aid (Power 106/Pocos Pero Locos), Al Fuentes (KLOL), Ebro Darden (Hot 97) and Regla Gonzalez (Music Choice). This discussion was heated to say the least, but strong all the way through with people being able to vent their true feelings about certain key people and corporate radio in general. Attendees were eager to participate in the debate and informational session and it was a positive panel overall. Vince Pelligrino of S.I.N. was gracious enough to be the moderator for this panel.
Then, the LRC was pleased to have Linda Johnson of Mediabase on hand to give a presentation on the state of the Hispanic Urban format at radio. Following that, Leila Cobo of Billboard Magazine led a panel discussion on Corporate Marketing. This panel was filled with experts such as Flavio Morales (Mun2) and Adam Kidron (UBO) discussing the power of our genre and ever-growing marketing power.
Photo of Lil Rob, Boy Wonder, and Chingo Bling taken by fellow panelist Sal Rojas
After a lunch break, the conference continued with a panel discussion on Regional Marketing. This panel, led by Riggs Morales of Shady Records, included such names as Chingo Bling, Boy Wonder (Chosen Few), Lil Rob,Sal Rojas of BrownPride.com, Toy Hernandez of Control Machete/Machete Records, and Sam Crespo of Atlantic Records. The insight from artists and industry insiders who are becoming big names in the main stream as well as regionally were invaluable, arguably the best received panel of the day. When they all shared their stories of their struggles and successes you could hear a pin dropped, the moderator Riggs Morales weaved the discussion together masterfully. It was one of the most informative panels of the day.
Immortal Technique Representing BrownPride.com!
And what can be more informative than a Town Hall Meeting? The conference was blessed to have a Town Hall Meeting with young Latino consumers from different walks of life offering their opinions on the state of our genre. Panelists included Tony Touch from Rock Steady Crew, Gus Lopez of Machete Records, Jose Tillan of MTV, Domingo Ramos of Atlantic Records, Ray Acosta of Wu-Tang Latino, Cesar Chavez of Univision Records, and the talented and politically charged emcee Harlem’s Immortal Technique. They tackled serious issues like downloading music and heard from the young Latinos themselves, what they thought was hot and what was not.
Tony Touch of Rock Steady Crew
LRC was also pleased to be able to educate attendees through special workshop sessions held in a separate area of the venue. One workshop was aimed at teaching attendees all they needed to know about publishing. Alexandra Lioutikoff, of ASCAP, and Mirel Bravo, of EMI Music Publishing, headed this workshop.
Furthermore, another workshop was held to discuss labels and record deals. It was headed by industry attorneys Tim Mandelbaum (Selverne, Mandelbaum & Mintz) and Michael Reinart (Universal Music Group). Attendees were, once again, treated to invaluable information from experts in the field. Nowhere else could this kind of access be found, the LRC made it happen.
Once the seminars and panels were concluded, it was time to party. The night’s festivities were started with a happy hour sponsored by Hollywood Records. Jeanie Ortega performed and set the pace for a second night of unforgettable shows. Latin Rap Conference: New York was about to go to another level.
That night, Latin Quarters erupted with microphone wrecking by Voltio, Lil Rob, Gemstar and Big Mato, T-Weaponz, Noztra, Immortal Technique, Tru-Life and the King of the West himself, Lil Uno. Chingo Bling blessed the stage as a guest star and the LRC was amazed to see a surprise appearance by the legendary Big Daddy Kane.
From education to debate and from rocking stages and mics to moving crowds, the LRC in New York City was an inspirational event and it proved to be the premier forum for the growth and solidarity of the Latin Rap and Reggaeton music industry. Latin Rap Conference is the organization and the catalyst for our empowerment as a people.
Special thanks to Rich Isaacson, Jerry Blair (LRC Organizers) and everyone else at Fuerte and everyone at Rhythm Impact for all of your hard work in making the LRC series of events so special and powerful. Thanks to Audrey, Julie and David Rodriguez for your excellent work. See you all next summer…maybe in Las Vegas…maybe in Miami.
Thanks to all of our supporters at media and Internet sites. Thanks to Fred Sotelo of Viva Hollywood and Urban Network Magazine. Thanks to Daric B. of Southwest Bound Magazine. Special thanks to Sal Rojas of BrownPride.com. Thanks to ASCAP and BMI, Billboard, Fuego Magazine, hot 97, Mun2, New York Post/Tempo, S.I.N., Univision Online, Hollywood Records and Nielson Entertainment.
Go to www.latinrapconference.com to stay informed and to be up on game for the next event.
Enthusiastically Yours,
Jesse Perez pka Shysti
Latin Rap Conference - Founder/Organizer
Spanky Loco and 310 West at SOB's
Capone and Latin Jam Records at SOB's NYC
Gemstar and Chingo Bling at Latin Quarters
Immortal Technique at Latin Quarters
Tru-Life at the New, New York (Latin Quarters)
All Photos by Sal Rojas Photography
All photographs on this site (www.BrownPride.com) are
copyright protected by Digital Aztlan.
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