Brothers Rodrigo and Gonzalo Venegas, better known as RodStarz and G1 respectively, usually lay down their rhymes in English. For their politically charged and angry new joint, they decided to spell things out in Spanish so their community can understand the subject matter at hand: Police brutality.
Rebel Diaz have been making waves for some time now, and their Radical Dilemma album is quite anticipated. With Chilean activism in their bloodline (their parents were radicals in the Seventies), they are no strangers to protest, having collaborated with people like M-1 of Dead Prez and being involved with the Rebel Diaz Arts Collective (a community space that hosted shows and workshops). This time though, they are talking about something that awakens a primal, righteous rage.
Surely the inspiration for “La Patrulla” could be about their brushes with the law, like the time in 2008 when they got arrested for defending a street vendor from abusive policemen, but the song could well be about any city’s finest. A plea to raise our collective voices against those who are supposed to protect us but instead get their kicks by going above the law they swore to defend. They even enlist the help of 22-year old Español-spewing Brooklyn prodigy King Capo to get their message clear through their masterful rapping skills. Even though the song has a social function, it’s one of the finest displays of refined MCing of recent memory.
We present here the video for “La Patrulla,” which exemplifies visually what their lyrics are expressing.
[insert-video youtube=kDndY_tEKlU]