Bronx griot Princess Nokia is making her way to Mexico for the first time since 2015 this weekend. We’ll bet that Guadalajarans know all the words to “Kitana.” The rapper will bring her lit live show to the city on February 17, followed by an afterparty with DJs Sonora Mulata, Phaedra, Eevee, and Baby Bruise.
One of the CyberWitches missions is to center women in nightlife and event production. Amid negative reactions to tokenization in the music industry, it’s easy to lose sight of one of the reasons why more women need to be at the helm of labels, festival lineups, and booking agencies — because they make lifted music experiences.
Consider this convergence: Princess Nokia’s GDL debut is being put together by local collective CyberWitches and Mexico City’s Derré Tida, the force behind queer Sunday salon Traición, plus Discwoman’s 2016 takeover and last year’s international appearance of Chilean festival Ruidosa in CDMX.
Made up of some of the country’s most talented rising event producers, this is a dream team for presenting Nokia’s bruja-invoking lyrics and high-energy live presence in Mexico. The team is trying to make the function as accessible as possible — Mexico City fans who didn’t snag tickets to the rapper’s appearance at Bahidorá should consider taking advantage of the travel pack available to those who want to make the pilgrimage to her GDL moment from the capital.
Cyberwitches’ Sonora Mulata, Phaedra, Eevee, and Citlalli Sotelo put together a playlist that traces connections of calentura between a variety of turn ups. Start clean with club tracks by Lil’ Crack, DJ Crack and Kamixlo, then transition to a sweet Lady Saw dancehall moment that gives way into the classic reggaeton vibes of Ivy Queen’s Sean Paul-sampled “Papi Te Quiero” and DJ Assault’s undeniably important “Ass-N-Titties.” Destiny’s body positive anthem “Tomboy” gets a necessary moment, and then there’s a flurry of feel- good to close – Bikini Kill, El General featuring Anaya, and Envision’s trance-y Yoruba soul mix.
Cyberwitches’ Princess Nokia show goes down on Friday, February 17 at C3 Stage in Guadalajara. For more info, click here.