The Windish Agency

One of the most respected MCs in any language, Ana Tijoux is set to explode with her brand new record La Bala (the bullet), the follow up to her Grammy-nominated album, 1977. Born in France—where her parents were exiled during the military dictatorship in their native Chile—Tijoux became a household name in Chile with her first band, Makiza, as well as voicing the main character in the popular animated series Los Pulentos. After going solo, she quickly gained fame throughout Latin America with a string of hits including the smash “Eres Para Mi” with Julieta Venegas. But the world really began to take notice when she dropped 1977, an album full of classic beats and her signature flow that harkened back to the 90s and the golden age of intellectual hiphop.

International accolades soon followed, with praise from mainstream press around the globe as well as tastemakers like Thom Yorke, and the album ended up at the top of the “Best-of” lists of Amazon, Billboard, and iTunes, amongst others. Now she’s back with La Bala, a continuation in sound and spirit from this global activist and MC. Collaborations with the Oscar and Grammy winner Jorge Drexler, as well as Cuba’s hiphop stars Los Aldeanos, are just some of the highlights of the album. The first single, “Shock”, is her reaction to the student movement that has marked the last 6 months in Chile, where high school and college students have taken over their schools in a protest against the constitution that was made during the dictatorship, and the for-profit education system which they feel leaves them behind. The video for the song was filmed in one of these high schools, and its release in Chile was a true watershed moment, where seemingly everyone was talking about the impact it was making on the movement.

In concert Tijoux now takes the stage with her full band to flesh out the intricate arrangements of the new album. Her shows are a whirlwind trip through hip-hop, jazz, and funk, spiced up with a bit of politics and her great sense of humor that has made audiences around the globe fall in love with her.