Interview - The other face of Mario

Following the same idea of my last posts, I have inteviewed a member of a rap group, which is getting more popular in Vitoria. Mario, member of "La Otra Cara", studies Biology in the University of Navarra, and his current residence is Colegio Mayor Larraona, "La Otra Cara" was formed in 2006 by three friends, Mario, Aarón and Santi, who shared the same passion: love for the rap. Here is the interview:

1. How would you define the values of your group?
M: My friends and me defend the value of friendship, love for the rap and a lot of desire of going on. We are not only a rap group, but also a group of friends who want to know our own potential, ways and means. We guess that we can give a lot of ourselves, but we have not had enough time to show it.

2.. Who are you influences?
M: I began listening to rap which was made in Spain around 2004. Some of the artists were Nach, Falsalarma, Toteking, Dogma Crew... I do not like the people who say that they began listening to american rap, in order to seem "cooler". In one of my unpublished songs, there is a verse which says "No me crié escuchando yankee", that means, "I did not grow listening to yankee".

3. What is your opinion about the actual Hip Hop cultural movement in Spain?
M: There is an increasingly growth of the movement. The rap is evolving a lot in every aspect (instrumentals, mc's, producers...), there is more influence of West, Detroit styles, more innovative in the melodies, refrains; refusing the typical rythm, that is what we are trying.

4. For when the first official album? M: After our fist song called "Fuck the Rules", which was succesful and a lot of people of Vitoria know, we are preparing an album. We have recorded some songs, one of them is "Rabia", the single which probably will give the name to the whole album.

5. Which are the places in Vitoria where the rap can be listened?
M: In Vitoria there is a concert hall which was a sport alley called "La Vieja Club", and some of the concerts are of rap. There are other places like "Hell Dorado" or "Jimmy Jazz", but the real essence of the rap can be seen in the street.

6. Could you remember an anecdote with your group?
M: Our first concert (laughs). We did not prepare very well the rehearsals, we were very nervous and we did not know what we were going to "defy". In addition, the other groups were very talented and gave spectacular performances. Everything got worse when we began, because our instrumentals were in a MP3 which had the songs in a random order! That was a disaster! (laughs)

7. To conclude, what are you listening eventually?
M: I am listening to Black Milk, a mc with Detroit style, Evidence from L. A., Primerdan from Madrid, and Jean Paul from Vitoria, who is a friend of mine and has released with the producer Jazzy Dark "En cursiva".