After the shootout he made with Bizarrap to lash out against J Balvin, the Puerto Rican singer Residente surprises once again with his music. This Thursday, March 17, he released his first official single for at least a year ago, called “This is Not America”.
The issue, in which the French-Cuban twins Ibeyi participate, is a strong criticism of Americans who, according to him, isolate the rest of the continent by calling themselves “Americans”, thus leaving aside the history of each country belonging to Latin America.
“America is not just the USA (United States), Dad. This is from Tierra del Fuego to Canada. You have to be very gross, well hollow. It's like saying that Africa is only Morocco. ' These scoundrels forgot that the calendar they use was invented by the Mayans, with pre-Columbian Valdivia for a long timeb,” says part of the song.
But one fact that caught the attention of Peruvian fans was when Residente mentioned Tupac Amaru II, whose real name was José Gabriel Condorcanqui, the indigenous leader who led the greatest revolution in the Americas of the 18th century.
“2pac is called Tupac after Tupac Amaru of Perui,/i” says the lyrics. This in reference to Tupac Shakur, late American rapper whose stage name is 2Pac. Many forget that his mother, the pacifist leader Afeni Shakur, named him after the Peruvian indigenous rebel.
Part of his video clip even shows an indigenous man carrying his arms and legs by four policemen during a protest. This is a recreation of the attempted execution of Tupac Amaru II, who was captured after the defeat at the Battle of Checacupe on April 6, 1781.
It is important to note that Tupac Amaru II failed to be dismembered despite the strength of four horses, to which he was tied hands and feet. In fact, he died with his throat cut on May 18, 1781 and was later quartered. The Spanish Corregidors sent parts of his body to all the peoples who had rebelled as a warning sign.
RESIDENTE EXPLAINS WHY HE INCLUDED THIS STANZA
In an interview with Amazon Music broadcast on Twitch, the former member of Calle 13 indicated that “This is Not America” is “a form of colonization. After everything we have done and experienced, not only Latin America, but also Canada is [part of the continent] American.”
According to the Puerto Rican, including the part of Tupac Amaru and other references to Latin American history serves to force us to forget that feeling of not being part of America, when the reality is very different.
“As I said in the song, even 2Pac, whom I admire a lot, his name comes from Tupac Amaru from Peru. It's a little weird that in the end we feel like we're not part of it and we shouldn't. As I say in the song, we use the Mayan calendar to count the days. There are a lot of Latinos here [in the United States],” Residente said.
LETRA DE “THIS IS NOT AMERICA”
We are' here
Hey, what are we here
'Perame, we are' here
For a long time, when you arrived
There were already the prints on our shoes
They stole even the food 'e gato
And they're still licking their plate
Well angry with these ingrates
Today I give the drums hard
Until they accuse me of mistreatment
If you don't understand the data
Well, I'll throw it at cumbia, bossa nova, tango or vallenato
Calabó or bamboo, well frontu
With hot blood like Timbuktu
We are on the menu
2Pac is called 2Pac, after Tupac Amaru of Peru
America isn't just America, Dad
This is from Tierra del Fuego to Canada
You have to be very gross, well hollow
It's like saying that Africa is only Morocco'
These scoundrels forgot that the calendar
What do they use was invented by the Mayans
With pre-Columbian Valdivia for a long time, uh
This continent walks
But not with all the navy can they get out of the showcase
To'a the peasant plague
This goes to the foreman of the company
The machete is not just for 'cutting cane'
It is also to 'cut head'
Here we are, we always are
We didn't leave, we're not leaving
Here we are so that it reminds you
If you want, my machete bites you
Here we are, we always are
We didn't leave, we're not leaving
Here we are so that it reminds you
If you want, my machete bites you, ah
If you want, my machete bites you, ah
If you want, my machete bites you, ah
If you want, my machete bites you, ah
He bites you, ah, he bites you, ah
The paramilitaries, the guerrillas
The children of conflict, the gangs
Blacklists, false positives
The murdered journalists, the disappeared
The narco-governments, everything they stole
Those who manifest and those who forgot
The persecutions, the coups d'état
The bankrupt country, the exiles
The devalued peso
Drug trafficking, cartels
Invasions, migrants without papers
Five presidents in eleven days
Burning clothes shot by the police
More than a hundred years of torture
La Nova Trova singing in the middle of the dictatorship
We are the blood that blows
Atmospheric pressure
Gambino, my brother, this is America
Here we are, we always are
We didn't leave, we're not leaving
Here we are so that it reminds you
If you want, my machete bites you
Here we are, we always are
We didn't leave, we're not leaving
Here we are so that it reminds you
If you want, my machete bites you, ah
If you want, my machete bites you, ah
If you want, my machete bites you, ah
If you want, my machete bites you, ah
He bites you, ah, he bites you,
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