Hip-hop in Bolivia

KUNIN, JOHANA

Encyclopedia of Popular Music of the World.

Continuum

Lugar: Londres; Año: 2014; p. 357 - 362

Bolivian Altiplano (highlands) rap music can be defined as the performance of a MC who rhymes either in Spanish or in indigenous languages Quechua or Aymara to the accompaniment of digital music tracks, most of which include Andean instruments such as quena or zampoña. For their shows, rappers usually wear ponchos (a single large sheet of fabric with an opening for the head and sometimes for the arms) and lluchus (Andean typical hat) besides the low riders jeans, baseball caps, and American jackets. Even though most rappers tend to describe themselves as part of the hip-hop scene, it could be said that out of the four traditional hip-hop elements the most commonly found is rap, seconded by break-dance and graffiti. Due to the lack of economic resources, there are a few DJ?s that could be described as social or political hip-hoppers in Bolivia.