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Mr. Kaliman Presents... Planamu Sound Roots & Cultura
I am Renzo Devia aka Mr.Kaliman the creator and producer of the TV shows Urban Latino TV, American Latino TV (www.americanlatino.tv), and LatiNation (www.latination.tv). As part of my career, I have had the opportunity to experience various talents and cultures. In late 2001, I visited Puerto Rico with a friend (Cesar N. Feliciano) whom introduced me to emerging genre of Reggaeton. During my trip I was able to interview DJ Nelson of Flow Music, Tempo, Buddah, and the rest of the production house Buddah’s Family as well as a pioneer in the business of Reggaeton, In The House Magazine’s publisher Richie Villanueva. During the interviews, they told us about their realities and the power they believed that their slept on genre truly possessed. I thought it was important to show this movement to my viewers in order to help it grow and introduce it to a wider audience. I knew I would be helping a movement that was being ignored by many. Our segment was one of the first to be aired and viewed by a national audience that represented the real consumers that would make this the genre marketable.
Being a TV producer, I have the opportunity to experience and discuss the trends and future sounds that are being made by a wide variety of artists. I was able to not only be part but also experience the growth and commercialization of Reggaeton during 2005. Because of this genre, Spanish language music and radio nationwide changed drastically. The power and following of Reggaeton opened the door for many Latin Rappers and for a pool of various supporting talent such as video directors, music producers, and models. Today Reggaeton is selling platinum albums per the American standard of 1 million not just the Spanish standard of one hundred thousand. It is filling up stadiums with fans worldwide as well as being embraced by American corporations and consumers. As much as it has grown and made an impact for Latinos, the music is still very new in its sound. Reggaeton’s unique sound is a Dem Bow (Beat & Drum Pattern used to speed up Reggae Roots making it Dancehall) that was originated in the late 80’s early 90’s called Poco . This beat pattern has been slowed and infused with Salsa, Merengue, Bachata, Cumbia, and many other types of musical genres from both Spanish and English genres to create what is currently today heard. Being that the music is mostly originating out of Puerto Rico and the youth of the genre in addition to the commercialization of the sound the music has tended to be repetitive at times. In addition, the lack of risk in developing the genre has made the genre’s songs very similar making them undistinguishable from one another. The genre is suffering from the influences of profitability and a slowed approach at innovation.
During 2005, I was handed and heard the demo of an artists called Malverde (www.Malverde.com). I was extremely impressed with his talent so I decided to travel to LA, CA in order to interview and cover the sound of this talented lyricist. During my trip, we spoke on the issues occurring in not only his career, but issues that are currently affecting many Latino rappers in general. A major obstacle in his pursuit of a recording contract was the lack of resources in order to produce a video that visually would allow fans to see his talents as well as hear him. Inspired by his struggles and the wealth of art that he was producing with little resources, I produced a music video and recorded a live performance in order to help his pursuits. I aired them as part of a segment that showed talented Latino rappers on my show LatiNation (www.latination.tv). In part to our efforts, Malverde was able to sign with Machete music (a subsidiary of Universal Music) and is working on his first full length album to be released soon.
In early 2005, I received a street mixed album entitled Planamu Sound "Mission 3". Due to the quantity of music that I receive from various labels and artists I did not expect anything that would show a distinct sound or genre. As I heard the album, I was impressed immediately. The music was off the hook! This particular album was distinct due to its perfect blend of Roots and Dancehall in a mix of Spanish and Patoi. The music was as unique as I remembered Reggaeton to be upon hearing it for the first time. Additionally, the artists where expressing more in depth a wide array of topics that range from revolution to family values, all done in a quality and artistic manner that made the music entertaining and not preachy.
DJ Selecta Broh was responsible for Planamu Sound which means (Platinum Sound) in Garifuna (a language of the culture of many Afro-Latino Central Americans). Hailing from Guatemala and Belize, DJ Selecta Broh spins music from Central American including Reggae en Español and Punta (another musical sub genre that is prevalent in Central America). Learning from him much of the history and current state of this genre, I was inspired again to emerge myself and work at introducing this genre to the Urban market in the United States, a market heavily influenced by Latinos. I was confirmed of the innovation of this sound after hearing DJ Selecta Broh play me a song of one of his mix albums entitled "Confia en tu Madre" by Kafu Banton from Panama. I was excited and impressed at the lyrics and style of the song. The more I heard this genre, the more I was continually inspired by Kafu’s music (www.kafubanton.com). I highly recommend anyone interested in learning about this genre to begin by listening to his music. DJ Selecta Broh and I hit it off creatively so we decided to partner up and work on introducing and growing this genre that possesses such great talent and innovation.
Our first project "Planamu Sound Roots & Cultura" was executive produced by myself (Mr. Kaliman) and mixed by DJ Selecta Broh. As part of the mix album, we decided to compile music from various parts of the world including, Spain, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Latin America, and the United States. Some of the artists included are Gammy "Que Te Apriete" (PR), Martin from the group Quinto Sol (www.QuintoSol.com) and Rastrillos "Raices Y Cultura" (both from Mexico), BlanquitoMan (www.KingChango.com) (Venezuela) produced the intro’s/outro’s as well as the theme "Planamu is coming to your town" in addition to creating the imaging of the mix album. Other artists include Tapon "Costa Rica Come Alive & Que Es Lo Que Pasa" (Costa Rica), El Roockie "Triste Palomita & I Am The Warrior" (Panama), Cultura Profetica (www.culturaprofetica.net) "Te Conozco" (Puerto Rico). and American Latino TV’s (www.AmericanLatino.tv) host Liza Quin (www.Lizaquin.com) with the legendary El General "Sube La Temperatura" (Cuba & Panama respectively). "Planamu Sound Roots & Cultura" is a mix of Dancehall and Roots Reggae highlighting such subgenres like Lover's Rock and Inspirational. It has an international flavor and refreshing sound with a sound message touching on topics like injustice and racism in Latin America. Included are even some tracks in the Garifunas traditional language. Nationwide this mix album will introduce this great genre to industry professionals and overall fans of good music. In addition to the mix album I am working with Locos Por Juana’s ex-manager Rafael Dubois via his Kuyata-Zito Entertainment in order to continue growing the following of Reggae en Espanol. Because of our efforts, this music has already caught the interest of Toy Hernandez, the mastermind behind Control Machete and current A&R for Machete Music a subsidiary of Universal Music. He has become increasingly interested in including artists from this genre into the Machete brand. I believe that this genre such as Reggaeton will continue to grow and allow the voices and messages of many more Latinos to be heard by not only a Spanish language nationwide audience but an English consumer interested in good music. These genres are both examples of the creativity and uniqueness of our mixed heritage and history. I am confidant that our efforts will be marked as part of musical history. Until then welcome to the sounds of our roots!!!
For more info: Rafael Dubois www.Kuyata-Zito.com
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