Orishas

Formed in Havana in the late 1990s in the wake of the group Amenaza, Orishas developed a Cuban rap nourished by Latin hip-hop, son, rumba, guajira and references to Afro‑Cuban culture. The project took on an international dimension when Yotuel Romero, Roldán González, Ruzzo Medina and, initially, Flaco‑Pro moved to Europe and signed in Paris — a decisive shift in a Cuban scene whose production resources were then limited. Orishas quickly distinguished themselves through writing that balanced social chronicle, diasporic identity and musical memory, with a marked use of sung choruses and arrangements drawn from the island’s traditions. This aesthetic is audible from A Lo Cubano (2000), then on Emigrante (2002), El Kilo (2005) and Cosita Buena (2008). After a hiatus, Orishas reformed in 2016 and released Gourmet in 2018. Throughout their trajectory between Cuba, France, Spain and Italy, Orishas performed across European and Latin American stages and engaged in numerous exchanges with other artists from the urban field, notably Calle 13 on the track “Pa’l Norte” (2007).