The Valencian couple has managed to be the new hip-hop sensation without a label, without publicity, without a manager, without contact with the press and with a very discreet presence in networks thanks to ‘BBO’, an album pampered in detail and full of talent, a generational work
A little over a year ago, the young producer Louis Amoeba published a meme in which he and the rapper Hoke were playing chess in the center of an auditorium full of people waiting for them to make a move with the pieces. Those viewers figured to be the media, graffiti artists, rappers, indies, music professionals looking for new talent… On the other hand, they appeared in the modified photo outside the expectation: the first, “distorting sounds”; the second, “smoking”.
A good summary of the situation at that time and his way of working, isolated and unleashed from everything: no label, no publicity, no manager, no press (“I leave in seen the tax and the interviews”Hoke raps on ‘Automatic’) and with a very discreet activity in networks. and without hurry. All in all, Hoke and Louis Amoeba made their joint album (‘BBO’) released in September the third best debut for a Spanish record so far this year.“I’ve stuck without a godfather”says the rapper in ‘Speedrun skit’.
The two of them have unarmedly defeated the algorithm – their album far exceeds 10 million ‘plays’ on Spotify – which leads the whole world to walk in the same directionand they have won a war against signs of this time, which calls for overexposure, and the devilish rhythm that TikTok embodies better than anyone. His only weapon has been talent. “When the work is well done, with love and time, they don’t need many decorations,” adds Carlos, from the Los Xavales duo, who reacts and comments on musical news from his YouTube and Twitch channels.
Until the release of ‘BBO’, an album in which they have worked for an unusual time today, very little movement, only a couple of singles and, yes, some live performances of songs from the album.. “It’s like the opposite strategy: instead of flooding you with material, I’m giving you little pills to make you want more,” says Aleix Mateu, co-author of the book ‘Making flu$. Urban music: A generational change, a new cultural paradigm’. “There is something of the quality in itself, and also that a ‘hype’ has been created [expectativa] and some cult around the artist”, he adds.
An infinity of Spanish artists celebrated and applauded the launch of ‘BBO’ on social networks. The ball has become so big that his tour was scheduled for 12 dates, and now there are 23: two in ‘his’ Valencia, two in Barcelona, two in Bilbao, two in Zaragoza, four in Madrid… Precisely, this Friday In his debut in the Catalan capital, the fervor for ‘BBO’ was noticeable without nuances during the scarce hour that the concert lasted in room 2 of Razzmatazz.
Generational and Olympic work
One year after the meme published by Louis Amoeba, these two kids from Valencia finally released ‘BBO’, an album that, beyond its history, the result has something of a generational character, a work to last. That’s where Aleix Mateu shoots more or less: “The album works as a milestone for this new generation of rappers who seeks to take great care of the way of rapping, making ingenious rhymes…”. The basis and the secret of the success of ‘BBO’, an album of 11 pieces, is easy to elucidate: It is a worked album, pampered down to the last detail, well-rounded and full of talent.. “He is super solid both in the musical and vocal sections. He creates his own universe,” says Mateu, an expert and member of the El Bloque collective.
‘BBO’ is an album with many little pieces that fit together. The entire album adopts the aesthetics of the Olympic Games (everything visual is made by them) and is a constant game -metaphors, parallels…- between sport and the neighborhood, the street, graffiti, repelling the police, marijuana… Hoke’s universe, 26 years old. In fact, if you look at the title ‘BBO’ it is a graphic resource to present the five Olympic rings. “The game with the Olympics is cool, that kind of thing generates an identity,” says half of Los Xavales. Surely some verses that summarize the game could be these from ‘Five O’: “Olympics in the neighborhood, getting cardio; dodging the commissioner, from Patraix to the stadium”.
There are references to Cruyff, Ronaldo and David Meca, for example. In fact, the album starts like this (‘Hawkeye’): “I cut the ribbon of the goal, athlete; in the eight streets of always going around; in the lleca, static, I light a merchandise: that went from Morocco to Cádiz like David Meca”. The same song also mentions Michael Phelps, a super swimmer who was sanctioned for smoking marijuana.: “Nikes on the wire, we’re in the ‘game’ like Michael Phelps”. It is known that it is said that the sneakers hung on the power cable indicate drug sales stalls.
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“His style of rapping is striking, as well as calm, talking about smoking, his moves, and he offers it in a super-polished, super-worked way,” illustrates Mateu. ‘BBO’ is also a testimony of a youth that must grow up quickly out of necessity. In ‘Corbo real’ he says: “Day 3, you have to reach more; you have to reach the month, you have to arrive on time; there is no time, the ‘gas’ bill arrives; think of the bill in G’s, you see it darker every time”. “I associate Hoke with a down-to-earth guy who talks about what he’s been through, where he’s going, what’s around him. That’s being ‘real’ to me”says Carlos, Valencian like the authors of the album.
The album ends with the same interfering sound that it begins, a way that the end and beginning overlap and start again: like a running track. The production, by Louis Amoeba, who had already signed an album of the stature of ‘Last 2 people on Earth’ with Ébano, is exquisite. “He has done it again, taking care of the productions to the maximum detail and adapting to Hoke’s way of rapping and not falling for typical or current tricks”, says Aleix Mateu. In the first of the two concerts of the ‘BBO’ tour in Barcelona, the audience recognized the producer for his work with an ovation as soon as the concert began. Followers applauding the new princes of Spanish rap and expecting an equal or better future from them. As Hoke says: “My little brother and I did it; and I and my little brother divided it up”.