Café Teatro Batey Urbano
Music Downloads
Reyes "My Voice"
Stream Track 14 "We Are" here
$13 plus s/h, quantity discounts available.
email: cafebatey@prcc-chgo.org
Review
The first Latino poetry album independently released in Chicago for 2003 “My Voice” by Reyes hits you with spoken word, rhymes, and fresh beats produced by Grimlock. The album deals with many social issues with songs like “Erica Saw the World in One Color” a narrative about a young girls downward spiral from an unwanted pregnancy, drug addiction to living with HIV. On the track “Man with No Name” Reyes deals with his experience of living in a colonial empire and trying to find his identity in all the chaos. The album ends with the song “We Are” a collaboration with some of Chicago’s most talented MCs and is a glimpse of what is to come. Dealing with topics such as racism, colonialism, history and identity “My Voice” is sure to make waves in Chicago’s poetry scene. My Voice can be purchased at Batey Urbano and soon will be available online. For more information: email reyesmic@hotmail.com or visit www.chi-canorican.com
Project Humboldt Park (PHP) featuring
Illuzon, D.V.S., Potential and Vision
Stream Track 1 "Put Down the Gun" here
$10, quantity discounts available.
email: cafebatey@prcc-chgo.org
Review
Project Humboldt Park (PHP) is a gritty true-life experience seen through the eyes of Puerto Rican youth living in Chicago’s Humboldt Park.
The EP was put together by students from Dr. Pedro Albizu Campos High School, Youth Service Project (YSP) and Batey Urbano. In a four-month period several Albizu Campos students worked on the basic framework (lyrics, concepts, choruses) of the EP every Monday as part of a hip-hop class offered at Café Teatro Batey Urbano. It was then mastered and recorded at YSP over the month of January with all high school students producing and mixing the tracks.
Project Humboldt Park touches on the experience of its young creators. The track “Da Mission” featuring Devious and Vision, takes you on a ride through the windy city and speaks on being a Puerto Rican M.C. as well as makes connections between the community along Paseo Boricua to the island of Puerto Rico. On the track titled “People People” featuring Illuzon and Potential the duo demands that their family make positive changes and that their community start to see a better tomorrow as well as present. “Put Down The Guns” featuring Potential, Illuzon and Devious is a call to our young brothers and sisters to find other ways to resolve their problems in ways other than violence.
The EP is the first release by PHP and the first hip-hop CD done by the Puerto Rican Cultural Center and most likely not the last. There are already plans to expand the album and re-release it in late May.
You can pick PHP up Batey Urbano located at 2647 W. Division. For more information on PHP, email bateyurbano@prcc-chgo.org.
Visit the Café's own website here.
