Cultura Dura is a Remezcla and Mike’s HARDER content and event series highlighting emerging Latin urban culture. We’ll be exploring scenes that haven’t really gotten any coverage anywhere else – from block parties and street art to underground sports and raw, young artists making movements pa’ la calle.

In this #CulturaDura exclusive video, Oveous makes some noise as he takes us on a different sort of stroll through the streets of Manhattan. The Dominican emcee, poet, and producer offered up a recreation of the Def Poetry Jam performance that earned him a standing ovation seven years ago, now with spin that’s more timely than ever.

Oveous first penned this spoken word piece after witnessing his mother get catcalled on the streets of New York while she walked alongside him– the piece is a reflection of his newly-gained perspective on unwanted male attention.

With the 10 Hours of Walking in NYC as a Woman video produced by the Hollaback! project making rounds earlier this month–and the critical reviews of the piece, due to selective editing and an apparent blindness to systems of power and privilege in the setup of the video spot–Oveous’ performance is a welcome take. Coming from not only a male perspective, he also presents himself as someone that empathizes with resistance to the unchecked entitlement of many passersby on the street.

Oveous is the sort of artist that can barely sit still, having just released his hip-hop album Passion in Veins, which he recorded “to remind people about the power of their Dreams.” An independent release being no small feat in itself, he’s also managed to simultaneously hold down a spot on Osunlade’s stalwart house label Yoruba Records, and tours across the US and soon Latin America.

We caught him for this street-level performance hours before his call time for a feature film spot.