B
Despite her name, Bad Gyal is not a Jamaican MC, but rather a singer and rapper from Spain. She blends Puerto Rican reggaeton and Jamaican dancehall into her music. In 2016, Alba Farelo gained popularity with her Catalan cover of Rihanna’s “Work” (Pai). Since then, she has collaborated extensively with artists from the Caribbean and Latin America. Her recent collaboration with female rappers Young Miko and Tokischa, “Chulo Pt 2,” showcases her provocative party music that can either be boldly confident or emotionally charged.
Bad Gyal’s success can be attributed to two factors: the growing popularity of reggaeton beyond Puerto Rico and the increasing mainstream presence of non-English speaking pop music. Despite already having half of the songs on her first album released, La Joia (The Jewel) is still a noteworthy release. Among the new tracks, Bad Gyal’s collaboration with Tommy Lee Sparta, La Que No Se Mueve, stands out for its boldness and her song Así Soy features a closer-to-home collaboration with Spanish-Moroccan rapper Morad. There is debate over whether cultural appropriation applies to artists from Spain, a former imperial power, incorporating the sounds of marginalized communities in the global south, or if a lively Latin track remains just that regardless of who performs it.
Source: theguardian.com
