8. Control MacheteMucho Barato
So this is a band from Mexico called Control Machete, they were this super underground hip-hop band from Monterrey and there’s a funny story behind this. I got asked to play this rock club in Sao Paolo. It’s actually a techno club but on Monday nights they’d have a rock-new-wave-punk night where they’d invite different people to DJ. This was many years ago and one night they invited me saying there’s free drinks, play whatever you want. So I went to my house, I picked up a bunch of records, all this Mexican hip-hop that I liked back in the late-’90s and this band was one of my favourites. But then people hated me. The people who booked me had no idea I was into this stuff. They just wanted the guy from Sepultura. They thought I’d play metal all night. I played maybe half-an-hour and then they’re like ‘Oh God that’s enough’. I was having fun. So this was one of the hip-hop bands that I was like really into back then. It’s hip-hop but I like the fact that they’re they singing in Spanish. I really like when hip-hop bands sing in their original language, it gives this weird edge to it. In metal it doesn’t work, but in hip-hop I think it sounds really cool.
I put Control Machete on my list as I think people should check them out. They’re not around anymore but it’s still sick. They have a bit of a Cypress Hill influence but the lyrics are super-cool because they talk about being Mexican and being mistreated by Americans. I like that side, being proud to be brown. Again we’re coming back to that thing, about how 20 years later it’s still relevant. You’re gonna build a wall? We’re here, we’re gonna build a tunnel.
