Anita Tijoux
Maggie Mae’s, Saturday, March 20
They call Chile the land of poets, and Anita Tijoux proved herself a worthy ambassador of that title Saturday night with wicked wordplay and effortless flow. She was flanked onstage by Chilean-born revolutionary rapper RodStarz of Chicago trio Rebel Diaz, who introduced Tijoux as the “number one female MC coming out of Latino America” before flexing his own lyrical muscle on “Canto” from 2006 mixtape Otra Guerrillera. “I know you don’t understand, but the flow is the same,” Tijoux proclaimed between bangers. “Ghettos are the same in the whole world.” Indeed, no Spanish-English dictionary was necessary to know Tijoux’s mic ability, spilling syllables as freely as Chilean Cabernet over stripped-down beats on “A Veces (con Hordatoj)” and the title track from her new 1977. Detroit rapper Invincible joined her for their collaborative “Sube,” dedicated to those affected by the recent earthquake in her homeland. Closing, Tijoux invited Chilean-born, San Francisco-based Funky C and his band onstage for a cover of Orishas’ “Represent,” naturally flipping the song from a celebration of Cuba into an exultation of the país de poetas.
This article appears in March 26 • 2010.
