Before reggaeton, before Big Pun, before "Latin rap" was even a category, there was The Mean Machine.
In this episode, we sit down with Daniel Rivera, better known as Mr. Schick, the hip-hop pioneer known as the first MC to rap in Spanish on a commercial record. As a member of The Mean Machine, a group of Puerto Rican MCs out of New York City, he made history on the 1981 single "Disco Dream," released on the legendary Sugar Hill Records. The Mean Machine is widely cited as the first bilingual rap group, and one of the first to blend English and Spanish on wax. They helped open the door for every Latino artist in hip-hop who came after.
We get into: 🎤 How Latin music shaped The Mean Machine's sound 🇵🇷 Being Puerto Rican in the Bronx-born culture of hip-hop 🗣️ Latino and Afro-Latino identity in hip-hop 📼 The group's 1986 follow-up, "At The Party," and the legacy they left behind This is a history lesson from someone who lived it. Hip-hop's story has always been bilingual.
Mr Schick IG: @mr.schick_tmm
Race Of Your Own IG: @raceofyourown