The word mixtape has plenty of different interpretations. It used to be that mixtapes were actually DJ sets recorded on cassette tapes, but with the coming of the digital music age, the name remained the same, but the definition expanded. Nowadays, people call mixtapes many different things, some of which are not necessarily mixed and most of which were never taped. Here we try to cover them all. In this column, Juan Data gives you a worthy one every week.
DJ: Santero
MIXTAPE: Favi’s Flor de Azahar
Bay Area’s DJ Santero was one of the very first DJs to be featured on this weekly mixtape column. This time however our focus is not on him as the mixer, but the subject of this tape. You may remember Favi as the girl singing the chorus on Los Rakas‘ “Abrázame,” a song that was on everybody’s best of the year lists in exactly a year ago. And in case you wondered what else was this lady up to, well, here’s a comprehensive tour through her many styles and influences, some of which may surprise you.
Favi (A.K.A. Natalia Favi García or Faviola) is a perfectly bilingual San Francisco native from mixed background who both sings and raps and does it over any kind of beats: there’s some reggae, some hip-hop, some R&B, some cumbia and even dubstep. She sings her own creations as well as some unexpected covers (Red Hot Chili Peppers “Under The Bridge” gets a SF makeover). All of this in just over half an hour, mixed cohesively by Santero with vocal drops by Los Rakas (of course) and LA’s Bocafloja.
FLOR DE AZAHAR (#ORANGEBLOSSOM MIXTAPE x DJ SANTERO VOL 1) by FaviSF