By José Gandue @spinning zone
✨ Hiru: light in Latin rap
By dint of being insistent in our proclamation—repeated ad nauseam in these pages—we never tire of saying it: the novelties, The surprises and avant-garde impulses in current Latin American music must be sought, primarily, in the female territories that inhabit the continent's independent scene.
And the umpteenth happy example of this preaching is the Chilean Amaia de Arteagabeitía, better known in the art world as Hiru, who has just released a brilliant album entitled The Essence.
What is surprising about this woman from Santiago, what immediately catches your attention? Born in 1997, Arteagabeitía comes from times related to the folklore of the Southern Cone, as a member of the remembered Dúo Pajarito. As a solo artist, he adopted the stage name Hiru, which means "three" in Basque and also "day" in Japanese.
In this new phase, their proposal embraces contemporary sounds, with a unique aesthetic that fuses lyricism and prose marked by hip-hop rhyme, production influenced by urban music, and harmonic nuances reminiscent of jazz, converging in a discourse that naturally engages with R&B and pop.
🔊 Beats that shine
The result is an eight-song album that, without fanfare or fuss, It renews the concept of sensuality, combining classic textures with a modern sound experimentation.
What we hear here is more concert hall music than street music. That said, although constructed with sophisticated structures and never abandoning elegance, Hiru's work should not be labeled as "rap for the elites" or anything like that.
On the contrary, this is a carefully crafted production that aims to reach diverse audiences, even those not closely associated with traditional hip hop. Urban lyrics, yes., but framed within a context that can be understood from different corners of any Latin American city.
🗣 Lyrics that demand space
And let's not forget where Arteagabeitía comes from, nor everything he's included in his sonic blender. Besides the appeal flow —which at times reminds us of the diction of her compatriot Ana Tijoux—, His songs feature more complex, more cosmopolitan vocal and instrumental arrangements.
A great example of this is Beasts, made in collaboration with Alma Kerouani and Emilia, a piece that intertwines Spanish and French and that, as can be seen, It can inhabit different soundscapes without losing its identity.
🌿 Renewal from the underground
The Essence It's an album for sunsets and coming home; splendidly feminine, touchingly contemporary. Now we can say, without hesitation, that Hiru is already part of that vanguard we so desperately seek and celebrate in this corner of the world. Welcome!
Cover of the album "La esencia", Hiru.
🎧 Listen to The Essence in full:
Want to discover more artists like Hiru? Visit our section Females.