The unity, friendship and constant collaboration between Argentine artists has been a fundamental contribution to their success and globalization.
On Monday (October 14) at Billboard Latin Music Week 2024, Argentinian rapper and singer La Joaqui and Mexican star Kenya Oss talked about their friendship among colleagues in the industry, especially women. and discussed the importance of support.
La Joaqui and Kenia Os, who released two collaborations this year, “Kitty” and “San Turrona RMX,” participated in the “Entre Amigas” panel moderated by Flor Mauro, Billboard Argentina’s editorial content director.
“We’re in an industry where the media wants us to treat each other as competitors, especially if you’re a woman. When you both outnumber 10 male artists, you’re like, ‘That female artist is another female artist. ‘He’s more than an artist,”’ La Joaqui said. “But a lot of women are making noise.”
“I felt so relieved when I collaborated with Kenya,” she added, noting that she was already her “number one.” When she wrote to her wanting to meet, the Mexican artist replied that he was in the studio recording an album and immediately invited her to collaborate on it. “She opened the door of the kingdom to me and let me step into a world that was so new to me. I was so afraid of connections like this, but (…) it was a real connection. I think that’s why we did so well.”
Kenya has also professed to be a fan of La Joaki, but it was refreshing to collaborate with another woman. Because this kind of thing doesn’t really happen among female artists in Mexico. “The media often pits women against each other,” she said.
“My first collaboration was La Joaqui (…) and from day one we had a great connection. It was incredible,” she said, adding that this brought her to a difficult market for Mexicans like Argentina. He noted that it not only allowed him to gain entry, but also led to new collaboration opportunities, including collaborations with Mexican artists like Peso Pluma, who recorded the hit song “Tommy and Tomy.” Pamela. ”
For both, integrity is a career priority. “For a budding artist, it’s very important,” says Kenya Osu, who entered the industry at a young age and transitioned from being a teenager in the public eye to an adult, and was influenced by others to find her own voice. He recalled that it took him a while to find it. people’s opinions. La Joaqui, who started out as a rapper, said he found his true home in RKT, a subgenre of cumbia virela that features influences from cumbia virela, reggaeton, and electronic music.
Summarizing the importance of friendship in music, La Joaqui said that friendships are “vitally important” in a world where artists are constantly being treated unfairly on social media, and that “friends are more important than business." I called out.
“We operate in an environment of impunity,” the Argentine star said. “It’s normal to tweet, ‘Your music sucks…I wish you were dead.’ It’s not an opinion anymore, it’s abuse. And you’re just standing up and doing what you love. ”
“Sometimes when you’re acting crazy and you’re going crazy, you need a friend to simply ask, ‘How are you doing? Are you okay? How are you feeling?'” she continued. . “Most of the time I’m not okay and I cry once a week, but thanks to having friends in the industry I can cry in private. I recommend making real friends to make songs.” Its integrated feel is definitely a hit.”
Over the past 35 years, Latin Music Week has become the only steady foundation for Latin music in this country, and the single most important and largest gathering of Latin artists and industry executives from around the world. Originally named the Billboard-sponsored Latin Music Seminar, the event dates back to 1990 and began as a one-day event in Miami featuring a showcase of two artists and an awards ceremony.
Latin Music Week will coincide with the 2024 Billboard Latin Music Awards, scheduled to air on Sunday, October 20th at 9pm ET on Telemundo. The service will be available simultaneously on the Universo, Peacock and Telemundo apps, and in Latin America and the Caribbean through Telemundo Internacional.
