Salsa con un toque de hip hop

El orgullo que sienten por sus raíces puertorriqueñas unió a Junito Crespo y David Colón, quienes presentan su agrupación Bannakumbi.

El conjunto, formado hace un año y medio, se esmera en fusionar la salsa con el hip hop, fórmula que les ha dado resultado en Filadelfia, donde residen. Ahora pretenden dar a conocer su música en la Isla.

El nombre del dúo, confiesa Junito, surgió durante su periodo de confinamiento.

“Estuve preso nueve años de mi vida en la (penitenciaría) estatal de Pensilvania. Tenía apenas 18 años. Tuve un caso contra un policía, por agresión… Él me pegó y yo le pegué pa atrás. Pensé que era el final del mundo y realmente estaba renaciendo”, describe el músico.

Un día, recuerda, “no sé cómo, llegó el cuatro a la celda. Ése fue mi instrumento terapéutico”.

Rasgando esas cuerdas de manera autodidacta, según dice, se interesó además por conocer la historia de Puerto Rico.

“Comencé a leer historia, pero antes de que llegara Cristóbal Colón. Estaban los indios taínos, que yo conozco como los arabaqueanos. Leyendo comencé a descubrir muchas cosas que me dieron tristeza, como el tiempo de los fanguitos, el tiempo de los jíbaros y la caña, la pobreza, eso me tocó mucho. Pero siempre entendí la riqueza de nuestro orgullo. En otras palabras, si no hay na, no importa, porque siempre sentimos orgullo por ser puertorriqueños”, explica el cuatrista.

La historia de David, por su parte, es diferente. Criado en un ambiente religioso, se destacó rápidamente en varios ritmos, siendo la salsa y el hip hop sus favoritos.

Actualmente, se desempeña como ingeniero de sonido y director musical.

Conoció a Junito cuando ambos colaboraban con la orquesta de Anthony Colón (“Hasta el sol de hoy”).

Bannakumbi ya tiene su primer disco, “Un nuevo día”, en el que Junito y David fungen como productores.

Del álbum ya se escucha el tema “Mala nena”, que cuenta con la participación de Julio Voltio.

“Un nuevo día” también incluye las letras “Prisionero”, “Rumbannakumbi”, “No te metas conmigo” -junto a Antonio Cabán Vale “El Topo”- y “Aunque fallaste”, “dirigida al confinado para que no pierda la fe”.

T.I. Makes Court Appearance Over $8,000 Attorney Fee

With a just a little more than a month before serving time on federal weapons charges, T.I. will head to court for another legal matter.
 
According to the Associated Press, lawyers for LaShon Dixon, the mother of T.I.’s son’s, claim the rapper owes ,000 for an attorney bill in Dixon’s child custody case against the rapper.
 
In September, T.I. was ordered to pay more than ,000 a month to Dixon as well as the private school tuition and uninsured medical bills for the boys.
 …(read more)

EXCLUSIVE: Jim Jones Charged With Assault Over Ne-Yo Incident

A meeting with New York City authorities this morning (Jan 5) has resulted in a misdemeanor assault charge for rapper Jim Jones, his attorney told AllHipHop.com.
 
The Dipset leader turned himself in to the NYPD’s 18th Precinct to discuss an alleged Christmas Eve altercation.
 
According to several conflicting reports, Jones was involved in a melee with singer/songwriter Ne-Yo and members of his entourage at the Fifth Avenue Louis Vuitton store in Manhattan on December 24.
 …(read more)

Rappers, Producers Reveal New Year’s Resolutions; 2009 Plans

Now that a tumultuous 2008 coming to an end, a number of rappers and producers took time this week to plan the new year and reveal their resolutions for 2009.
 
And the year which has now passed seems to have brought these artists closer to their fans, as their resolutions reflect that of the public at large.
 
Like most people in the United States, the most pressing concern for the artists who shared their resolutions with AllHipHop.com is financial.
 
Some, like Nappy Roots’…(read more)

DMX Pleads Guilty To Felony Charges In Arizona

Multi-platinum rapper DMX entered a guilty plea today (December 30) before a Phoenix judge on four counts of theft, drug, and animal cruelty charges.
 
Per the plea agreement, DMX (Earl Simmons) will be sentenced on Friday January 30. The agreement will cover one count of possession of narcotic drugs, a misdemeanor county of animal cruelty, possession of marijuana, and one count of theft.
 
DMX was extradited back to Phoenix 10 days ago after skipping a scheduled court date.
 …(read more)

E-40 Denies Involvement In Denver Shooting

West Coast rap star E-40 is speaking out regarding his role in a recent shooting, following a sold-out performance at a Denver, Colorado nightclub.
 
According to his manager, Chaz Hayes, “E-40 and his camp were uninvolved in the unfortunate incident at Club Vinyl in Denver on Dec. 27, 2008.”
 
“Neither E40 nor anyone traveling with him was in the venue at the time. In fact, E-40 had concluded his performance and been back in the hotel room,” Hayes told AllHipHop.com via a statement…(read more)

THE ISSUE: AIDS

THE ISSUE: AIDS

Ta-Nehisi Coates on how abstinence-only education is exacerbating the AIDS epidemic. From our December 2008 issue. 

Oil dips below $40 over world economic concerns (AP)

AP - Resurfacing concerns over the world economy sent crude prices lower Tuesday, eclipsing fears that the conflict between Israel and Hamas could inflame tensions in the oil-rich Middle East.

Oil falls below $39 on grim economic outlook (Reuters)

Reuters - Oil fell below $39 a barrel on Tuesday, pressured by gloom over the outlook for the world economy, which outweighed tension in the Middle East due to the Israeli-Hamas conflict.

Gazprom threatens to cut gas to Ukraine over debt (AP)

AP - Russia’s natural gas company Gazprom will stop energy shipments to Ukraine and sharply raise the price for future deliveries if it doesn’t pay a $2 billion debt by New Year’s Eve, the company’s chief executive warned Tuesday.

German inflation down to 1.1 percent in December (AP)

AP - Germany’s annual inflation rate sank to 1.1 percent in December as oil prices continued to slide, according to preliminary data released Tuesday.

World markets gain, led by higher energy stocks (AP)

AP - Most world stock markets gained in light holiday trading on Tuesday as Middle East tensions boosted energy stocks.

E-40’s Manager Releases Statement About Shooting

E-40’s manager releases a statement denying his client’s involvement in a recent shooting.

Libya orders further oil cuts of 20K bpd (AP)

AP - Libya’s oil chief says his country will cut production ? starting in January ? by almost 20,000 barrels per day more than Libya’s OPEC quota.

Oil prices slip, but hold above 40 dollars in London (AFP)

AFP - Oil prices fell slightly Tuesday on profit-taking after hefty gains a day earlier as the Israeli-Hamas conflict in Gaza stoked tensions in the key oil-producing Middle East.

Iraq to offer 10 fields in 2nd oil licensing round (AP)

AP - Iraq will offer 10 undeveloped or underdeveloped gas and oil fields in its second postwar licensing round due to begin Wednesday, the country’s oil minister said.

Oil prices above 40 dollars, buoyed by Gaza violence (AFP)

AFP - Oil prices remained above 40 dollars a barrel in Asian trade Tuesday as Israel entered the fourth day of its military campaign against Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

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