Las Ninyas del Corro: “If you put people without political speech or critical thinking in television spaces, you encourage the public to not have it either” | EUROtoday

Felinna Vallejo (1999) y Lara Bonsai (1996) son The Girls of the Corro. Two whirlwinds of character which have earned the assist of the general public within the rap scene. An area that beforehand appeared solely reserved for males. Now hundreds of them chant their feminist, vital or explicitly sexual lyrics.

Originally from the sister neighborhoods of Bon Pastor y Sant Adri de Bess, met greater than a decade in the past whereas attending the cockfights that had been organized in Barcelona as spectators. “We were one of the few girls there. In the end it was a hostile and vulnerable environment for us, but we had the same tastes and we strengthened ties.

They began to see each other more and more and tried to publish their first songs while earning a salary at different jobs. The last: together in a clothing store as shop assistants. Until 2021. With the publication of their first album they decided to say goodbye to folding t-shirts.

Now they have just released their second album, Bitches in Business. A work with a greater variety of sounds and much more casual. “We wish to entice extra women to the style, in order that they really feel recognized,” they say.

QUESTION – At some point do you think about what kind of music to make? Was there a discussion about it? Why did you choose to launch yourself with the 90s Boom Bap style?

Lara Bonsai – I think what characterizes us both is that we are lyricists. Then you rap it, but the lyrical composition is what we have dedicated the most time to. I know it is true that sounds have been evolving. We have wanted to investigate, study, understand other genres and add them to our music. We have also discovered that we can still sing, which is something we have done a lot on this album. We are open to everything.

Felinna Vallejo – Yes. And at the time the truth is that it was not necessary to talk about what music we wanted to make because it was very clear what we had heard and what we wanted.

L.B.- Now we are in a more carefree moment. It's true that when we were younger we were angrier and our rap was very protest. It was revolutionary and very explicitly feminist. Now it still is, but we say it with a different art.

F.V.- In a more subtle way. We know perfectly well what our audience likes and what they expect from us. But we have done precisely the opposite on this album. We could have done all the classic Boom Bap and they would have eaten it with potatoes.

L.B.- And, be careful, it's something we love. But in the end you get bored of always doing the same thing.

Q. – Now that you talk about the public, is yours more masculine or feminine?

L.B.- We have more male audiences. But because the rap that we have done has always been the one that men have historically done the most. I think the girls have not been able to connect in the same way because they have not had references. Historically, women have never been given these spaces either in festivals or in different circles. Although with Bitches in Business I think we are going to catch a lot of women.

F.V.- We want them to connect with the genre. I understand that many have never heard rap in their lives because they have seen a guy wearing XXL pants and a backwards cap and said: this doesn't represent me.

L.B.- I know that one important thing happens, which is that there are a million more girls doing rap and within this culture since I started. And, above all, the most important thing is that there are men listening to these girls. That there are men who have female rappers as a reference is what we need most right now in Spain.

Q.- I am surprised that it is clearly masculine because you have explicit phrases of female sexual empowerment. Do they connect with them?

L.B.- Those who are really tough share them.

F.V.- I love it. I like that girls say “ol yo” when meeting the same thing they can talk to their friends. And I like that the kids chant them and think “what a son of a bitch!” In addition, we have also sung phrases from a male perspective. It's about time it was the other way around.

L.B.- Yes. For years we have had to rap lyrics that were sexist because for us it was rap first and then feminism. You heard lyrics from people like Tote King or Juancho Marqus and they had very sexist phrases because they didn't have that perspective then either. They are lyrics that we have all chanted and now they will seem inadmissible.

F.V.- Besides the fact that they have never been shy about being explicit, why do I have to do it?

QUESTION- But in 2024 does an explicit lyric continue to impact?

Felinna Vallejo – It depends because there are female rappers yankees They sing the most explicit thing in the world and since it is in English they don't understand it and they eat it. But when it's in Spanish they think about what you're doing singing that serious rude thing. You have to name things and talk about things. Let women feel free with their sexuality.

Lara Bonsai – And we cannot limit our discourse to those bars, which there are, but there is also a lot of political and emotional involvement. There is a balance.

P.- Yes, obviously, it is only part of the speech.

F.V.- But it is the one that impacts the most because they are not used to it. They would rather see a woman crying from heartbreak than an empowered one saying that she loves whatever it is.

L.B.- I also tell you that the focus is on it within the rap because afterwards we are all chanting “it hits you laborious in mattress” by Bad Gyal.

“When two ladies like us make room for one another it appears to sting”

Q.- What is your relationship with the rest of the industry? What reactions do you get?

F.V.- I have already said before that I feel that when two women like us make room for each other it feels like it stings because we are taking a position of power that was previously occupied by other people.

L.B.- There is always some comment and it is something I don't understand. That is, if we were 300… But for the few of us who are being crushed… Well, flat, you still have it.

QUESTION – What moves you when you start writing?

Lara Bonsai – There are three things. Of course, express what we feel. We are two super emotional people and we need to constantly spit out what we want to say. Another thing would be the political implication. But politics in every sense: for being a woman, for being from the neighborhood… And, finally, there is the objective of leaving a mark within Spanish rap.

Q.- So, there is a desire to transcend?

L.B.- Of course.

F.V.- And whoever says no is lying. Because if not, I will never upload a song to YouTube. When you expose yourself you do it with an intention.

Q.- It could be simply looking to make money..

F.V.- Yes, you are right. But is not the case.

L.B.- I also feel responsibility. I feel that we cannot fail the next generations. In fact, I encourage all the girls who are making music to continue. It doesn't matter if it pays off or if they go bankrupt. It has to be done. The path always works, even if it is for a niche. For example, Gata Cattana has been a reference for both of us and has changed our lives.

Q.- Recently some statements from My mind in which he confessed that he had released several songs because he knew that they did not really satisfy him.

F.V.- I think it is a very different way of living, understanding and managing your project. Of course if there were not a feedback economic, we would not be right now as we are. You can't eat from the love of art and, thank God, we can survive from what we do. But it is not the main purpose. For example, it took us three years to release an album because for us, releasing singles just because doesn't make sense.

L.B.- We once made a song fast and running and I think we're still dreaming about it.

F.V.- The fact that music works the way it does now leads you to think that you need to continually release songs. We hadn't published anything in a year and we thought about doing it. We recorded it, we released it and then it was like: What now?

QUESTION – You found yourself dragged by the wheel of industry.

Lara Bonsai – I think the quick stimulus thing is something of society in general. I'm hungry, I order a Glovo. I need musical validation, I upload a song so they can tell me things. You have to constantly fight against that. We have had moments of depression for not feeling that feedback by not publishing songs or not doing concerts. We've thought “I'm not cool anymore” or “they've forgotten about me.” It's something that happens to all artists, but I think you have to work to adapt and know that the silence is going to be worth it.

Q.- How worried are you about the staging? I saw you at a festival at WiZink where many artists were performing…

L.B.- Many men and us.

Q.- Fair. And it seemed to me that you came out on stage with more energy than anyone else.

L.B.- The men put on tracksuits, they haven't even showered, and walk around.

F.V.- We try to take care of all the details of the project, but we add an extra touch to the live performance. We want it to be a differential point. Let people see us and leave thinking: “what a great time I had!” You are no longer just performing your music, you are putting on a show. People want to see something more than just you “pom, pom, pom” happening. An hour and a half boring as if you were a minstrel.

L.B.- Furthermore, we are greengrocers and we give a lot of “piqui piqui” between topics. That makes it fun. It is important that rap begins to put on a show, since it seems that in Spain that does not exist. I watch Kendrick Lamar's live shows and they conquer me.

Q.- We were talking before that you liked to make a mark in rap. Do you project how you would like to be remembered?

F.V.- I have never considered it, honestly. I guess because of who we are, for everything we can leave in our lyrics. I don't want to be remembered as someone important because I don't consider myself that way.

L.B.- We are a little important, right? As long as we are and can be something for someone, it already seems like a milestone to me.

F.V.- Total. Let them remember us however they want, but let them remember us.

L.B.- May they hire us for Supervivientes, Pekn Express or some television program.

“Let them bear in mind us nevertheless they need, however allow them to bear in mind us”

Q.- Would you like it? Do you think it will be good for your career?

F.V.- Not for our career, but it's important to appear on a television show as a rapper and not fall into clichés. Don't look like a monkey getting peanuts thrown at it. You can be a rapper and not make a fool of yourself.

L.B.- Yes, so that this figure is legitimized. A rapper doesn't just rap. He can talk, laugh, dance, tell a joke… What Alejandro Sanz does or what anyone does in La Voz.

Q.- It is true that perhaps spaces are given to influencers or tiktokers rather than to young rappers, who also have a large teenage audience and perhaps more discourse.

L.B.- Man, if television spaces are only occupied by people who do not, for the most part, have any type of political discourse or critical thinking, you are encouraging that audience to not have it either. So, damn, let's start adding these people who may not be typical of this type of format, but who can contribute something to public opinion. People who can talk about the real problems of young people. Why want to be those? influencers It's fucking cool. Wanting to have that life resolved and buy a house. But the reality is different and we must address those problems of young people that unfortunately politics does not reach.