AKWID

It's about fantasy. It's about reality. It's about feeling, rapping, and singing. It's the most cutting-edge Spanish hip-hop out there, coming to you from the West Coast. More street. More club. More fusion. New concept. New ideas. More Akwid. They're on their way up with their own groove, and taking their fans with them. In a CD/DVD package from Univision Records. Title: Los Aguacates De Jiquilpan. Eleven cuts. The first is simply called: Sentir La Vida. Living your life as if this day were our last and describing it in clear, straight forward and irreverent terms that everyone understands.With Akwid, the only thing that's not new is their success. Their musical endeavors are constantly evolving, to keep up with our changing times. In their previous album, they created a fictitious radio station. Now Sergio and Francisco Gomez are a band unto themselves, finding inspiration in human experience and turning it into stories that sound just like fairy tales, the kind of story told from a woman's point of view that has dazzled more than a generation.Aguacates. Why Aguacates? Because there are people who think Akwid is a mouthful and end up pronouncing it something like Aguacate. Why De Jiquilpan? Because Jiquilpan is the little town in Michoacan where Sergio y Francisco were born.Los Aguacates De Jiquilpan is also a sarcastic title, according to the brothers. Thats so people dont take it so seriously. And because lots of people have a hard time saying Akwid. In some places, it sounds like theyre saying aguacates or who knows what. Oh. And its just the two of us, even though we're on the CD/DVD with eight other people. The band is called Los Aguacates De Jiquilpan with a Michoanguense sound, or from Michoacan. But theres no such thing as Michoaguense. The correct word is Michoacano. This is also a little take-off of ours on the Duranguense. Thats where were coming from. Theres kind of a double meaning. We took several shots of ourselves until we had the entire band, all with different outfits and different instruments.Along these same lines, the simple Sentir La Vida is an updated Akwid Declaration of Principles of Pride, which is unaffectedly dedicated to the band and reminds us to live as if this day were our last whatever happens, and be happy. One of their most audacious statements is about the macho: a lying, loud-mouthed drunk.As for the music, Akwid must be given all the credit for the great effort that was made to produce these melodies and rhythms.But when it comes to fusion, there have been contributions from important figures such as Roger Troutman, in Sentir La Vida (More Bounce To The Ounce); George Clinton, in Como Perros (Atomic Dog); Joe Williams, in Un Dia (Get Out My Life); and Manuel Alejandro, sung by Jose Jose, in Lo Dudo, whose new title reads Anda Y Ve.As for the DVD, it includes three videos: No Hay Manera, Siempre Ausente y Jamas Imagine; a collection of photographs, a behind the scenes look, and a biography of Akwid. And as an added bonus for the technologically-inclined, those who buy the CD/DVD in a certain chain of stores will be able to download the Sentir La Vida music video from the internet with a secret password. This is a recent innovation for the Latin music market.Both Sergio, the older brother, and Francisco, are proud of this unique opportunity, and maintain that this CD/DVD Los Aguacates de Jiquilpan provides a better view of Akwid's world; one that is more personal because it's a true and accurate depiction of what we are and what were about. The lyrics of the first song, Sentir La Vida almost sum up the entire album.They let their feelings lead the way, and with such new and youthful ideas, the Gomez brothers are used to creative endeavors. Thats why theyd rather start fresh and never go back to whats been done, so that we can surprise even ourselves.After only a two-year recording career that includes their first album, Proyecto Akwid and then KOMP 104.9 Radio Compa under the Univision Records label, sales are impressive. In fact, Akwid has already received RIAA-certified Latin platinum awards.Thanks to an original style and arrangements that are on the money, this band has become a cultural and linguistic landmark in the new face of America, a bilingual and bicultural breeding ground where they speak for a Latin youth through their fusion and the powerful beat of African-American Hip-Hop.Akwid's success can also be seen by the nominations they've received from the music industry: for a Grammy for Best Latin/Alternative Rock Album of the Year, for the Lo Nuestro Awards and when they actually received the Latin Billboard Music Award for Best Hip-Hop Band of the Year.Francisco y Sergio Gomez left their native Jiquilpan, in Michoacan, on the West Coast of Mexico, when they were three and five years old, respectively, relocating with their family to south central Los Angeles, California. This is where the brothers spent their childhood and teenage years, taking their first steps on the two-lane road to Generation N, the new generation of bilingual and bicultural Latinos in the United States, and the new face and sound of twenty-first century America.They grew up speaking Spanish at home and listening to Mexican music. At the same time, the urban environment where they interacted was visibly influenced by Afro-Americans, from Hip-Hop and colloquial English to the urban look and the irresistible draw of street rap.This is the environment which witnessed the bands birth, with its influences from idols such as AMG, NWA, Snoop Dog, DJ Quick, HI-C and Second to None, whose music reflected the current trends and their own experiences. Nevertheless, they felt their Latin heritage calling them and by the late nineties, theyd been possessed by memories from their early childhood and tunes that wouldnt die. This trend shows up in their exclusively Spanish-language productions nowadays.Fusion is what has forged and guided Akwid, the new voice and the new sound of the twenty-first century, as well as passion and intense feeling. It is a bridge between two interwoven realities that every Latino who was born or raised in the United States deals with on a daily basis.With a language that is direct, provocative, and irreverent, Akwid is always reinventing itself and expanding its borders. In Los Aguacates de Jiquilpan, they seem more natural and spontaneous, with strong lyrics and tender fairy-tale stories. They are open to criticism and to the future, but see the positive side to everything and are committed to both of their cultures.