Feature: Your introduction to Spanish trap

If you’ve never heard of Spanish trap then don’t worry, I’ve got you. Whilst out here in Spain I’ve discovered many beautiful things, the weather, the food, the unlimited sangria, and of course, the delightful and often humorous sounds of Pimp Flaco, amongst many others in the Spanish trap scene. The origins of this music entering my domain lay through a friend called David, David explains:

“I was watching funny videos on YouTube one pleasant Monday evening when I came across this guy called Pimp Flaco, automatically I checked it out, I couldn’t believe what I was listening to, it was like trap music, but it was Spanish, my mind was blown and I’ve been hooked since…”

His, and my, introduction to Spanish trap was Pimp Flaco’s track PORFI, an instant banger –

With a chorus like;

POR FAVOR DAME AMOR, DAME POLLO CON ARROZ

POR FAVOR DAME AMOR, DAME POLLO CON ARROZ

POR FAVOR DAME AMOR, DAME POLLO CON ARROZ

POR FAVOR POR FAVOR PORFI PORFI POR FAVOR

It was going to be an instant hit. Some elders of the scene argue that perhaps this was the breaking point for Spanish trap, opening it up to a non-Spanish speaking audience. Whilst some of the younger audience are still yearning for real love, with chicken and rice. From here it was a downward spiral into the deepest and darkest depths of YouTube, as the search for more Spanish trap goodness commenced, I was in unknown territory and unsure of what was coming next. Enter Kinder Malo –

Spanish trap artists obsession with rice was clear. But why? Rice does have some good nutritional values and the texture is nice, but such questions still lay unanswered. A pattern was forming, bass-heavy trap beats combined with the Spanish language, mixed with a flavour of weirdness. It was time for Cecilio G to break the mould –

He didn’t. But that Elvis Crespo – Suavemente sample blew my mind, music has never been the same since. As YouTube spirals often go I was stuck in a paradigm that I couldn’t get out of.

Enter Yung Beef –

How did he get hold of that Metro Boomin beat?…

Now at this point you’re either extremely confused and you don’t get it, or you’re puffing and panting because you’ve just returned from doing some awkward plane-like dance, there’s really no in-between…

Or you’ve skipped through the videos because you’ve come to the realisation that Spanish trap isn’t for you and you are now wondering if I’m going to say anything remotely interesting that’ll make you continue reading…. Well, what happened next will completely shatter your entire existence on this tiny planet as a small meaningless microcosm.

I saw the Godfathers of Spanish trap… LIVE –

It was lit.

Stop taking yourself so seriously.

Since then Spanish trap has continued to progress, two of the main artists Kinder Malo and Pimp Flaco – forming the collective Dora Black – are currently touring Spain and pushing the scene forward, releasing new music on a regular basis. Racking up views in the millions they’ve definitely tapped into a Spanish speaking audience who love the sounds and aesthetic of trap music. With Spanish being the third most spoken language in the world, behind Mandarin and English, its a healthy audience to aim for. Check out some of their new tracks below –

It’s obvious that the production on both the audio and visuals have gone up a notch, the weird concepts and ideas fully illuminating on both tracks.

The aforementioned Yung Beef has also recently released a new track entitled ‘Dinero E La Ola’ and new artists are coming through the ranks on a regular basis. Check out Kaydy Cains new mixtape ‘Rockstar’ and BEJO – ‘Amigos Desconocidos’ for new material coming out of the scene.

It’s interesting to see how the music develops from here, for the moment most of the tracks are only available on YouTube, but a picture recently put on instagram by Pimp Flaco at the Madrid Spotify HQ suggests we could be hearing Spanish trap on one of the main streaming platforms soon, and with Youtube views solidly reaching a million it wouldn’t be a surprise. Another sign of the acceptance from the industry is the announcement that Pimp Flaco and Kinder Malo will be performing at Sonar festival in Barcelona this summer. What started off as something that was a bit tongue n cheek and not taken seriously, has formed into a credible scene with an audience ready and waiting to hear more, and more.

Spanish trap is here to stay, whether you like it or not.