Reznet

Dia de los Nativos

By Jason Salter

Many hip-hop heads would agree that the difference between mainstream and underground music is creativity. The reason for this is not entirely the fault of artists, however. Major record labels seem to be more concerned with bottom lines than being progressive.

Thank goodness for underground artists and labels.

Representing the hip-hop label Rhymesayers Entertainment, Minneapolis-based Los Nativos come with hard-hitting political rhymes and indigenous pride on their debut album, "Dia de los Muertos" or "Day of the Dead."

Los Nativos "Dia de los Muertos" Los Nativos' Web site Los Nativos' Myspace page Xilam Balam's MySpace page Felipe Cuauhtli's MySpace page

Group members Xilam Balam (emcee/producer), Felipe Cuauhtli (emcee/drummer) and DJ Tekpatl blend hip-hop and several Latin styles to produce a hypnotic sound.

The album's intro track, "Ometeoht (Mexican Prayer)," sets the stage nicely for the rest of the album with a chant—over shakers and various other percussion—of what roughly translates from Spanish as "I want to be buried like my ancestors."

The next track, "Like the Indigenous," picks up where the intro leaves off with Balam and Cuauhtli rapping about keeping traditions. On "Urthawut?" Los Nativos—or Los Na, as the group sometimes refers to itself—rip more bilingual verses to represent their indigenous roots. One poignant line from the song is: "I'm a Native, respect that/I'm taking back my land/the mountains, the seas, the sands/valleys and grasslands/give them back to the Native woman, child and man."

Both emcees have respectable presences on the mic and hold it down lyrically and delivery-wise with use of speedy and reserved flows. On the chilled-out track "Sobrenatural," the crew delivers such lines as "You hear me say 'indigenous' in all of my rhymes/that's 'cause we're indigenous all of the time/so let me take you down to this village where I'm from/we can sit and have a chat to the rhythm of a drum."

Ishmael Ali Elias

The musical arrangement of "Dia de los Muertos" explodes with creativity but may be brought down a few notches by the keyboard/midi sound quality of some of the instruments. An observation more than a complaint, this note should be kept in mind by finicky listeners.

Potential buyers also should think about how substance-heavy they want their music to be. Some rap groups make songs with no substantial message. Los Nativos is not one of them. Representing North, Central and South American tribes to the fullest, using Aztec, Mayan and other indigenous imagery, it's hard to deny the passion they have for their roots and for the future of indigenous people.

So after hearing the clear, spoken line, "This was Indian land, is Indian land and will always be Indian land," anyone who claims not to know what the album is about is clearly nuts.

Native revolutionaries in the house, la lucha sigue!

Reznet rating: three out of four frybreads.

Jason wrote his first computer program in 6th grade, designed and built a computer before finishing high school, and then went to MIT to become... a molecular biologist. The move from computers to molecular biology makes sense when you think about DNA as "programming code" and recombinant DNA technology as the means to reprogram organisms.

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