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Teaming up under the
name Bagavundoz, two of Spanish Hip Hop’s most talented artists,
Jorge Ramirez “Reazn” and Michael Mendoza “Strae”, have come
together with the hopes of raising the bar and growing the Spanish
Hip Hop movement in the United States.
With accomplished artist Reazn setting the stage for newcomer
Strae, they bring a one-two punch combination, each with equal
knockout power.
Reazn and Strae’s
friendship was established, even before deciding to work on music
together. They grew up
in the drug and gang infested communities of Highland Park and El
Sereno respectively, quickly developing strong cultural, political,
and social perspectives on their socio-economic condition.
From early on, they each began to dabble with hip hop. Reazn developed his art in the Los Angeles underground scene
with the group Diverse NRG while Strae, focused his art through
community activism. Their
paths crossed in 2001 meeting through a Gang Violence Bridging
Program. With a similar
upbringing in the neighborhoods of the Northeast section of Los
Angeles, they quickly found common ground on which to relate.
As their friendship developed, they discovered each other’s
passion for hip-hop and many of the same artistic influences.
In 2003, Reazn broke off from his underground group and
launched his solo career through Contraband Records with his debut
release La Rasón De Ser: Reazn Being in 2004.
The album catapulted Reazn’s career and made him one of
Spanish Hip Hop’s leading names.
After featuring on La Rasón De Ser and getting a great
response, Strae joined Contraband Records as well.
While working on his debut album, Strae assisted with the
promotional tour of La Rasón De Ser.
However, the two entertained crowds with such a synergistic
and creative energy that at the end of 2005, Strae and Reazn forwent
their solo projects to work together on an album and Bagavundoz was
born.
Bagavundoz have created
their own style of music, which they call: Street Hop.
Their lyrics are an insightful portrayal of the Latino Urban
experience. They tackle
both the favorable and unfavorable elements in their lives.
Whether discussing survival in the Northeast streets of Los
Angeles or in an industry that is filled with countless roadblocks
for the independent artists, their concepts portray reality.
Reazn’s versus are delivered with his coined melodic style,
while Strae delivers with an energetic and hard-hitting flow,
creating a vibrant and complementing listening experience.
Together they have
gained one of the most solid and consistent followings.
Building upon the success of the nationally distributed Reazn
album, Bagavundoz began introducing their initial recordings on
stages across California and parts of Mexico. With capacity reaching performances at venues such as the
House of Blues in Hollywood and San Diego, they solidified a strong
following. Their
collaboration with longstanding Los Angeles Hip Hop representatives,
Los Tumbados, on “Pilotos Del Humo” served to increase their fan
base following rotation of the video on MTV en Espańol.
The two have been featured on national and regional
television stations such as Mun2 and LATV.
Their music has been featured on shows such as The Shield and
on independent films that have screened at the Sundance Film
Festival. They’ve
worked with international artists including Spain’s Nomah and
members of the popular Mexican group G’Lokos.
With artistic acclaim from many their peers and with their
music taking hold across the nation and beyond, the Bagavundoz
dedicated much of 2006 to the creation of their debut album.
They
have emerged with a 15-track, groundbreaking album, Dejando Huellas,
which clearly accomplishes the goal they had set out to reach.
This much anticipated album was released on May 15, 2007. With a national promotional tour in plans for the summer
‘07, the Bagavundoz are sure to be in your area soon enough. To get more information or to listen to tracks from their
debut album Dejando Huellas, please check www.myspace.com/bagavundoz.
Bagavundoz
Myspace
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