For the past decade, Mexican rapper Niña Dioz has been slowly grinding her way up to the top of the country's rap scene. Now, after moving to L.A. and dropping her latest track, "Tambalea," it's clear that she's eyeing America as the next ladder for her to climb.
"Tambalea," and the video of which she is dropping today, is an empowering track that I can see myself blasting when I need a little push to power through the rest of a sweaty summer night. Steel drums flutter through the production giving it a tropical tinge, and Dioz' flow is tight, and powerful. In the brightly-colored video, she delivers her lines with a stunning confidence that feels palpable.
"The song “Tambalea” is about being the outsider, being the rejected one," Dioz writes via email about the song. "But it’s also about self-love and embracing your own path. We shot this video in Mexico City. I wanted to make my community visible, so I invited some friends of mine to show up and be themselves, vulnerable or empowered, whatever they felt. I feel like Mexican culture is beautiful, and diverse... but is also very moralistic and catholic. To be yourself in such a machista society you have to go through a lot...but at the end is all worth it. My favorite scene is when I’m under the water, because I’ve never shot something so challenging, I’ve never showed myself so naked and so raw, but it all came full circle with the message of the song." Watch above.
Courtesy of Nacional Records