EUSKAL HIP-HOP 
SOUNDING ALL THE ALARMS

THE BASQUE COUNTRY, LOCATED IN THE NORTH OF THE SPANISH STATE AND A SMALL STRIP IN THE SOUTH OF FRANCE, IS A UNIQUE CASE IN EUROPE, WITH ITS OWN CULTURE AND A PRE-ROMANCE LANGUAGE ALSO UNIQUE ON THE CONTINENT. BASQUE CITIZENS HAVE HISTORICAL CLAIMS THAT UNITE THEM AS A COMMUNITY COLLECTIVELY DIFFERENTIATED FROM ANY OTHER EUROPEAN NATION. THEIR STREETS, SCHOOLS, CULTURAL CENTERS AND ALSO THEIR TAVERNS HAVE BEEN AT THE VANGUARD OF PROGRESS AND ITS MEN AND WOMEN HAVE BEEN FIRM DEFENDERS OF THEIR HISTORIC TRADITIONS. MUSICALLY RICH, THE BASQUE COUNTRY HAS ALSO PLAYED A ROLE IN THE EVOLUTION OF POPULAR MUSIC OF ITS PEOPLE AND, AS COULD BE OTHERWISE, IT HAS ALSO TRANSLATED, SINCE THE MID-SEVENTIES, INTO A NURSERY OF JAZZ, BLUES, ROCK, FOLK OR PUNK ARTISTS WITH ITS OWN ORIGINAL DISTINTION, AND DIRECTLY FROM THE STREET, FROM ITS URBAN CULTURE, RAP AND HIP-HOP. THE INITIATIC REFERENCE OF THE MUSICAL MOVEMENT WAS FERMIN MUGURUZA (IRUN, 1963) WITH THE BANDS KORTATU AND NEGU GORRIAK, AN ARTIST WHO BROUGHT RADICALITY TO MUSICAL ART. MCs, DJs, RAPPERS, HAVE BEEN SCARCE FIGURES IN THE BASQUE HIP-HOP SCENE, BUT ENOUGH TO FORM THEIR OWN AND ADVANCED SCENE OF STREET MUSIC. ONE OF THE NAMES WITH YEARS OF EXPERIENCE IS THE RAPPER FROM DONOSTI PUTO YANU, WHO AFTER A BRIEF PERIOD OF REFLECTION IS TAKING THE REINS OF HIS CAREER AS A SINGER AGAIN. PUTTING HONESTY FIRST TO CREATE HIS VISCERAL PROCLAIMS, THIS GUY SINGS WHAT HE LIVES AND LIVES WHAT HE SINGS, SURROUNDS HIMSELF WITH THE BEST COLLEAGUES AND LAUNCHES HIS MUSIC IN THE FOREHEADS OF THE MOST REVERENT. NECESSARY MUSIC FOR THE DAYS WE LIVE IN.