Band Bio Preview:
Aztlan Nation is a Chicano hip-hop group. Cricket (Esteban Zul) and Smiley (Motez Mostafa) founded Aztlan Nation in the West Berkeley Flats of the San Francisco East Bay area in 1989. Following the lead of such politically and socially inspired contemporaries as Public Enemy, X-Clan, and N.W.A., the group took on the mission of spreading Chicano nationalism and "Brown Pride". The group's objective was to give voice and a presence to the often marginalized Latin American segment of American society. They were one of the first Chicano rap groups to emerge on the musical scene. Aztlan Nation's first release was a four-song homemade cassette tape they sold at local shows and record shops. Their first album, Beaner Go Home, was released during a wave of anti-immigrant sentiment. The album was distributed widely across the United States, particularly in the Southwest and was welcomed for its anti-establishment attitude, aggressive lyrics, and Chicano style. With thundering hardcore street tracks such as "Born to Play the Bad Guy", and political parodies with songs and skits like "Dead Gringo Malt Liquor" the group made a distinctive mark in the world of Hip Hop. The album's success resulted in tours and performances with the likes of Cypress Hill, Tupac Shakur, Arrested Development and televised appearances on FOX, NBC and Univision. After passing the torch to a new generation of Latino rappers Aztlan Nation is back. Today new groups of bigots like the vigilante group calling themselves the Minutemen are harassing Latinos at the U.S. Mexico border. Meanwhile a new wave of anti-immigrant politicians, who have no regard for the basic human rights of immigrants trying to feed thier families, pander for votes and power by attacking the disempowered. The members of Aztlan Nation have seen this all before. In the song "Wetback" recorded in 1992 Aztlan Nation predicted the current Latino population explosion warning a zenophobic American public that "in the year 2000 jack, we're gonna see who's the real wetback." As one of the first hip hop groups to tackle Latino issues like this head on over a decade ago, Aztlan Nation has regrouped with renewed determination to fight the forces of evil. The group is reportedly recording a new album in an underground bunker somewhere in the Greater Aztlan Area. Sources close to the band say the new tracks are so slamming and politically volatile that it will take more than an act of congress to stop the eminent domain of the Aztlan Nation... y que!
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