DJ Kazzanova is a true pioneer in bringing Reggaeton to the airwaves, nightclubs, and producing Reggaeton re-mixes in the United States. Reggaeton and Latin hip-hop are currently making their presence felt across America. Radio stations are flipping their formats to Reggaeton and Latin hip-hop across the country to fulfill the Hispanic community’s needs.
Before Clear Channel and Univision started flipping radio formats to Hispanic Urban, or Hurban, Kazzanova was part of the morning show called “El Can de la Mañana” and “Planeta Reggae” which where dedicated to Reggaeton.
After creating a buzz with “El Can de la Mañana” Kazzanova caught the attention of “La Mega Mix del Medio Dia” and “Planeta Reggaeton” in Hartford, Conecticut. Kazzanova continued spinning Reggaeton and pushing the Reggaeton movement further and further with his talent as a DJ and TV host.
In 2001 Kazzanova found himself being in the #1 position with his show in New York City called “El Reggaeton Show” on Univision’s Latino Mix 105.9.
“I have the first actual Reggaeton show on a commercial radio station in the U.S. and it’s been on the radio for over four years now,” DJ Kazzanova said. “It caters to the true core Reggaeton audience. If you listen to Reggaeton at a commercial station you’ll get “La Gasolina” my show was the first to play “La Gasolina” in the U.S. to us “Gasolina” is mad old.”
Kazzanova has also developed the first ever nationally syndicated Reggaeton show called “Subelo” which premiered on Power 106 in Los Angeles, California. Now “Subelo” can be heard in various parts of the country like Texas, Arizona, New Mexico, Wisconsin, and California.
“It’s in over twelve markets right now and rapidly growing. The show is good because it’s airing on Hip-hop stations that know they have a lot of Latino listeners and they needed something to cater to them,” DJ Kazzanova said.
Not only is Kazzanova a pioneer in bringing Reggaeton to the airwaves he has produced some of the hottest Reggaeton re-mixes. These re-mixes produced by Kazzanova have helped the genre of Reggaeton crossover into mainstream America by taking a hot Hip-hop song and making a Reggaeton re-mix out of it.
Kazzanova produced re-mixes to Snoop Dogg’s “Drop it Like it’s Hot” featuring Voltio, Usher’s “Yeah” with Tego Calderon, Christina Milian’s “Dip It Low” with Voltio, and many more.
“I started doing these re-mixes out of necessity rather then just doing them for the hell of it!” DJ Kazzanova explains. “What happened is it became a hip thing to do. Labels are looking at it as another form of music because it is getting so much exposure on the new formatted stations that keep popping up.”
Kazzanova is currently working on “Reggaeton Mix U.S.A.” and will be in stores some time soon. Kazzanova is using this mix of the hottest Reggaeton records to educate people who may not be familiar with Reggaeton.
“We didn’t want to call it Reggaeton Latino because Reggaeton is bigger than that. You have Anglos, African Americans, and Jamaicans buying Reggaeton, so it’s a very international thing. Even in Europe now Reggaeton is starting to blow up,” said DJ Kazzanova.“
As the Reggaeton movement continues to grow you’ll be able to find DJ Kazzanova involved in the movement in one way or another. So be on the look out for his Reggaeton re-mixes, “Reggaeton Mix U.S.A.,” and his newest radio show “Subelo."
Felix Delgado a.k.a Cuban Link was born in Havana, Cuba, in 1974, Cuban took the boat from Havana to Miami, Florida looking for a brighter future in the United States. After staying in Miami for 6 months Cuban went to Puerto Rico for 3 years. After chillin’ in P.R. for a minute he came back to the states in New York the South Bronx, which became his new home.
The South Bronx is where Cuban was introduced to hip-hop for the first time. Cuban didn’t know a lick of English at the time, but he quickly adapted to his new surroundings.
There was no escaping the hip-hop influence in the South Bronx everywhere Cuban looked he was surrounded by it.
“The fact that I was around the South Bronx in the streets, the school system, my peers, hip hop just took over me. I was living it,” Cuban said. “I was writing rhymes instead of taking notes in class. I came out with a rhyme one time my peoples said yo, your nice man. That gave me confidence.”
Shortly after he met Triple Seis (former Terror Squad member) around the age of 14. About 2 years later Seis introduced Cuban to Big Punisher who at the time went by the name Moon Dog.
“He brought this chubby dude to my house he said I want you to meet my people. We said what’s up to each other the whole day we played ball together,” Cuban said. “From that day on it was over we had so much in common.”
Soon after Cuban, Seis, and Pun formed the group Full A Clipse, which is when they started to take the rap game more seriously. Full A Clipse lead on to form the original members of the Terror Squad.
Shortly Pun dropped his first album “Capital Punishment” which went Platinum and made Big Pun the first solo Latin rap artist to go platinum. Cuban made cameos with Pun on joints like (“Glamour Life”) off Pun’s Capital Punishment release, Fat Joe’s Don Cartagena (“Bet Ya Man Can’t), and the first Terror Squad Album “Tell Me What You Want”.
With Big Pun and the Terror Squad both having success in the music industry Cuban was getting ready to release his first album 24K. Cuban was on the grind doing promo shows and everything seemed to be going good.
Fat Joe was handling the business side of Cuban’s album 24K, which is where Cuban and Fat Joe didn’t see eye to eye on.
“I was taking care of the street work and I expected guys like Joe to take care of the major business with Atlantic Records,” Cuban said. “I had confidence in Joe that he could work things out because he did it for Pun. It didn’t work out their were a lot of problems with Terror Squad and Atlantic at the time and I ended up paying for it.”
While these problems where going on Pun passed away and Cuban’s album 24K ended up not being released. Cuban decided to leave the Terror Squad and do things on a solo tip.
But being the person that he is Cuban never gave up and stayed on the grind for the past 5 years. After the death of his close friend Christopher Rios (Big Punisher) and feeling betrayed by Fat Joe he is looking forward to releasing his up coming album Chain Reaction on March 8, 2005.
“Chain Reaction is Cuban Link at his best it’s a more mature Cuban Link I have more diversity in my style,” Cuban said.
With his hot new joint “Sugar Daddy” featuring Mya and “Private Party” Cuban’s new release sounds like a album you can bang at the club or bump in your ride just riding around town.
Be on the look out for Cuban Link doing big things in 2005 and on his new album Chain Reaction, which will hit record stores March 8, 2005. For more information on Cuban Link you can peep him out on his web site @ www.myspace.com/cubanlinkclkent
Francisco and Sergio Gomez two brothers who are originally from Michoacan, Mexico at the age of three and five moved to the South Central area of Los Angeles, California.
This is what created the sound you hear from AKWID today being that Sergio and Francisco’s musical influences range from American hip-hop to regional Mexican music their parents grew up on.
“Snoop Dogg, N.W.A., and DJ Quik, the cats from back in the day. We got our influence from people like that,” Francisco and Sergio said. The culture in general that represents the urban Latino a lot of people say hip-hop is los morenos it’s not your nationality, but I guess until you grow up in the lifestyle you know what’s up. It’s a lot more than that.”
AKWID released their first all Spanish album “Proyecto AKWID” with Univision Records in 2003 and saw a lot of success with their first hit single No Hay Manera (There’s No Way), which made mad noise across the country and gave birth to a new genre of hip-hop called Urban Regional.
“When we were barely doing Proyecto AKWID we said if it works it’s going to change the industry and if it don’t work were gonna be assed out, but we never went in saying this is going to be the $@#$,” Francisco and Sergio said.
Their first joint off “Proyecto AKWID” No Hay Manera ended up changing the music industry in various aspects.
After the success of AKWID’s first album Univision singed more Spanish rap acts like Flakiss, Jae-P, and Mexiclan.
That is the effect Sergio and Francisco of AKWID have had on the game. In their own way they have opened up many doors for other Spanish rap acts like themselves.
AKWID’s second album release with Univision “Komp Radio 104.9 Radio Compa” has had tremendous success as well. Their first hit single “Jamas Imagine” had video rotation on Mun2 and other Latin music stations across the country.
With the success AKWID has had in a short period of time Sergio and Francisco are also planning to help bring up other aspiring artist.
“Do you like Cookies because she’s coming up in 2005. Cookies project is our baby it’s something were putting our 100% effort into,” Francisco and Sergio said. “I’m going to be honest I feel more excited for the public to hear cookies then when we were coming up.”
Be on the look out for AKWID doing big things in 2005 and beyond and Cookies a new girl artist Sergio and Francisco are bringing up in the game that sounds like AKWID, Dr. Dre, Vicente Fernandez, and DJ Quik all in one.
A.B. Quintanilla leader of the Kumbia Kings has come a long way since the days of his father Abraham keeping him, his sisters Selena and Suzette inside the house to rehearse their music instead of going out to play with the other kids.
“At first I couldnt understand it, but once we started getting better and better then I understood the principles.” A.B. Quintanilla said.
Since the Kumbia Kings debut album Amor, Familia, y Respecto released in 1999 there have been some new faces added to the group.
The two riginal members of the Kumbia Kings A.B. Quintanilla and Cruz “Ck” Martínez have been with the group since day one.
Newest additions to the group are rapper and dancer Nino B, vocalist Pee Wee, lead guitarist Chris Perez, vocalist Abel Talamantez, vocalist Pangie, and vocalist Nando.
A.B. realizes that groups start out together and later end up splitting up because each person may want to do their own thing. He doesnt stop anyone from separating from the Kumbia Kings and doing their own thing.
“If Pee Wee in the future decides he doesnt want to be in the Kumbia Kings no more will give him a beat down first then he can leave.” A.B. Quintanilla said while laughing.
Even though the Kumbia Kings create pop songs for the radio like “Sabes A Chocolate,” the Kings arent soft they have street credibility. A.B. Quintanilla looks for up and coming cats that go by certain street codes to join the crew.
“I feel the Kumbia kings are very street I know we got the little bubble gum pop songs, but outside of that I believe the Kumbia Kings are very street oriented,” A.B.Quintanilla said. “People that listen to rap also listen to the Kumbia Kings because we follow the same principles its all about family and showing love for the family and thats what its about.”
Where ever the Kumbia Kings tour, whether it be Mexico, Colombia, Nicaragua, our on their home turf of Corpus Christi, Texas the Kumbia Kings get a mad love from raza all over.
“The love in other countries is crazy man! Theyre breaking barriers down they are trying to flip the vans over. Its crazy over there man,” A.B. Quintanilla said. “We just been blessed to have the raza following us and giving us the pass to go through any barrio that we want to and be welcome there. Thats a good feeling.”
Cruz of the Kumbia Kings has started to dabble with managing. He is currently managing La Pura Neta, Volumen X, and Dapper Don.
All three of these album are being produced by A.B. Quintanilla who hopes to get some hip-hop radio airplay with La Pura Netas newest release of “Dejame Llorar,” so be on the look out for those releases.
