re/route productions kicks off its inaugural summer series in Washington, DC with an appearance by one of the world’s most acclaimed hip-hop artists, Chilean MC Ana Tijoux at U Street’s LIV Nightclub on July 15, 2010 at 8:00 p.m. Presented in partnership with Shine on Me. 

ANA TIJOUX

Hailed as “Best New Artist” by MTV Latin America and winning accolades from artists such as Julieta Venegas and Radiohead’s Thom Yorke, Tijoux’s first mainstream success came in 2007 as a guest rapper on Mexican rocker Venegas’ hit “Eres para mí”. Her U.S. debut came in March 2010 at the SXSW Festival, and she is embarking on her first North American tour in support of her new album “1977” on Nacional Records.

The Los Angeles Times: The title refers to the year of Tijoux’s birth, when her parents were living in exile in Paris. Like other left-leaning former students, they’d been forced to flee Chile after the right-wing Gen. Augusto Pinochet overthrew the democratically elected Salvador Allende in a military coup on Sept. 11, 1973. In the years that followed, Pinochet carried out a brutal campaign to imprison and execute political opponents.

"When I was a child, Chile was always a subject around the dinner table," Tijoux said. "It killed a generation in Chile, so it affected everyone." Several of her album’s song titles suggest themes of struggle and conflict: "Obstáculo" (Obstacle), "Crisis de un MC" (Crisis of an MC), "Problema de 2" (Problem of 2).

But in fact, Tijoux said, her youth in France was "the most incredible" experience. Her playmates included the children of many other political refugees, from Brazil, Uruguay, Argentina, Palestine and elsewhere. Her father worked as a truck driver, and she often accompanied him on cross-continental European odysseys, giving her a wide exposure to different languages and cultures. Her mother was a social worker, and when Tijoux went with her into the streets of Paris, she heard a multitude of different voices and music, including one particular style that spoke in the urgent cadences of the urban immigrants themselves. "All the children in the street listened to hip-hop," she said.

When her family returned to Chile in 1993, it was like finding a new world full of rich possibilities for making art. "There I discovered a country with a great story," says Tijoux .. while studying literature in school, she began immersing herself in Santiago’s inchoate hip-hop underground. The art form, she said, "seemed like a platform to talk about all kinds of things" in a way that was cathartic.

Tijoux expresses reverence for what she calls the "golden age" of rap, exemplified by albums such as Wu-Tang Clan’s "36" and A Tribe Called Quest’s "Midnight Marauder." "Bling makes me laugh, because we don’t see it in Chile," she said. "Hip-hop was born as an art of daring, celebrating, struggling."

• Ana Tijoux on Facebook
• Ana Tijoux on Twitter
• Ana Tijoux on NPR's Global Divas show
• PRI's "The World" checks out Ana Tijoux
• URB: Ana Tijoux says What's Up New York
• All Hip Hop: Renaissance of the Female MC: Ana Tijoux
• Boston Globe: "Ana Tijoux at the Forefront of Hip-Hop"

DTMD

Supporting Tijoux on this show will be local DMV favorites, DTMD (dunc/toine/makin/dollas). Producer Dunc and MC Toine recently released their debut album The Basics EP (download it for free at bandcamp) along with a video for the single You (Vimeo), which has been earning critical acclaim since the start of the year...

• DTMD The Basics EP on Bandcamp
• DTMD website
• DTMD on Facebook
• DTMD on Twitter

REBEL DIAZ

Fronted by Afro-Boricua MC/songstress Lah Tere, and Chilean brothers Rodstarz and G1, Rebel Diaz first performed at an immigrant rights march in New York City in 2006. With influences ranging from Dirty South bounce to South American folk, Rebel Diaz combines classic boom bap tradition with Hip Hop’s global impact.

Having been likened to a bilingual Fugees, the group’s versatility has allowed for them to share the stage with the likes of Common, Mos Def, and Talib Kweli, while feeling right at home with acts like Rage Against the Machine, Sergent Garcia, and Obie Bermudez. Recent tours in Spain, Germany, the Netherlands, Guatemala, and Chile, have only solidified their international appeal.

On the heels of their critically acclaimed Otro Guerrillero mixtape series, Rebel Diaz will release their debut full length LP in the Summer of 2010. They have spent the last two years visiting dozens of colleges and universities, facilitating workshops, speaking on panels, and performing at national conferences. Building on this growing network of positive young people in Hip Hop, the group recently opened a community arts center in the South Bronx, the Rebel Diaz Arts Collective.

• Rebel Diaz website
• Rebel Diaz mixtape series "Otro Guerrillero"
• Rebel Diaz on Facebook
• Rebel Diaz on Twitter

RE/ROUTE PRODUCTIONS

Through the production of live performance, cultural and educational events, re/route creates opportunities to witness exciting global artists and events rarely presented in the nation’s capital. Find out more at www.rerouteDC.com