Inside the Vibrant, Ever-Evolving World of Rap Colombiano
From pioneers like Alcolirykoz to rising stars like Mabiland, the Colombian rap scene is at its boldest
This story is part of our Sondio Latino series for Hispanic Heritage Month.
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NICOLAI FELLA, AN MC who’s part of the Bogotá collective LosPetitFellas, has long incorporated blues, funk, and other experimental sounds into his music — but rap has always been the cornerstone. “Whenever I sit down to write lyrics, no matter what rhythm is playing in the background, I’m always thinking about rap — that’s the world I inhabit,” he says.
LosPetitFellas embody the exuberant collision of styles that defines the current wave of Colombian rap. The quintet’s 2023 live album, backed by the Medellín Philharmonic Orchestra, is a reminder of how adventurous rap colombiano has become. “The way we got together was organic: two rock guys, two jazz guys, and a rapper,” Fella says. “We had an implicit pact among ourselves about being honest with who we are, and there was a lovely sense of innocence in that. Then we ventured into the blues, which led us to rock & roll. Funk allowed us to become experimental, and jazz was present in the harmonies and arrangements. When I was little, my dad was always playing salsa records around the house.”
Colombian rap blossomed between the mid- and late-Nineties, with outfits such as La Etnnia and Gotas de Rap. It made a splash in the U.S. in 2010, when Nacional Records released ChocQuibTown’s Oro, fusing hip-hop with the Afro-based culture of the Chocó region. This combination of styles shone on soulful tracks like the now classic “De Donde Vengo Yo.”
“I’m a rapper who carries the Colombian Pacific with her,” says Goyo, who started as ChocQuibTown’s versatile frontwoman before venturing off as a solo artist. “I was born in Chocó and I have a lot of influences like salsa, but rap was the first platform to bring us close to fans. Rap represents a really important moment in our story. It’s when we started to be free, when we started to think we could write lyrics about where we’re from.”
Mainstays like AlcolirykoZ continue to shape the scene today. Active since 1999, the trio released a tribute to their neighborhood in Medellín, 2021’s Aranjuez, which stands out as a genre masterpiece. Its ending track, “Todo Lo Bueno Tarda,” is languid and effortless, dropping references to Rakim, rock icon Charly García and Brazilian soccer star Romario. The visual for the song shows the collective spending time together in the countryside – swimming in the pool and recording in a relaxed environment of free flowing creativity.
“Rap has been enjoying more respect and visibility in Colombia, and I’m honored to say that both my band and Alcolirykoz have contributed to that change,” adds Nicolai Fella. “I should also mention ALI a.k.a. MIND, N. Hardem, La Ethnia and Tres Coronas. Those artists inspired me, and made me feel that I was part of something that mattered.”
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While a lot of rap outfits have incorporated folk elements into their sound, there’s a constant range. “Colombian rap is much broader,” explains Santiago Cembrano, author of the book La Época del Rap de Acá. “It provides a brilliant way to reflect about our national identity, what being colombiano really means. The disparate elements that bring us together are reflected in the sound, themes and use of slang. The 2022 track ‘Garrafa’ by No Rules Clan, for instance, transports you to a bar in Medellín, and ‘Azúcar,’ from the 2021 N. Hardem album Verdor, breathes with the dense darkness of Bogotá.”
Many artists across Colombia are leaving their mark on the movement. In Medellín, Mabiland infuses her flow with deep R&B grit, and Bogotá’s El Kalvo juxtaposes his booming voice with a wicked sense of humor. All of them are building a multiverse that Goyo says she’s especially proud of. “I love when rap recognizes that there is a lot of variety — not everything is hip hop underground, not everything is freestyle,” she explains. “There are so many kinds of expressions. But everyday, we’re getting to a point we always dreamed of: where people see Colombian rap and feel it naturally, where it is respected at an industry-level, as a genre that can move a lot of people.”
Among the younger artists to watch, Nicolai Fella mentions Franky Fresco and Penyair from Bogotá, Medellín’s Oblivion and La Gran Hambruna in Cali. “Rap has so much soul in it,” he says. “Our music transmits the desire to belong in this big barrio that we call Latin America. The key is remaining true to ourselves.”