Calle 13

Calle 13 is not a group that stays in one rhythm. They start in reggaeton, but quickly jump to other territories: rap with touches of electronic music, melodies that blend the urban with the traditional, lyrics that paint scenes as if they were paintings. Their sound cannot be explained by genres alone; it is more like a crossroads where the political and the poetic shake hands. Residente writes as if he were drawing with words, and Visitante crafts the beats with instruments ranging from piano to percussion that don’t sound like what you hear on the radio. PG-13’s voice gives the songs a distinct air, as if the trio had three colors on their palette.

The first blow came in 2005, when two songs slipped into Puerto Rican radio almost overnight: Se Vale To-To' and Querido F.B.I.. The latter was written in 30 hours by Residente after learning of the death of Filiberto Ojeda Ríos, leader of Los Macheteros. The song was released online in a viral move, without waiting for a record label to approve it. The message was clear: they wouldn’t stay silent. The album released that same year, also titled Calle 13, sold 350,000 copies worldwide and earned them a Latin Grammy nomination. But not everything was success: in Venezuela, ¡Atrévete te, te! was used in a political campaign without permission, and the duo denied it immediately.