Tegui Calderón Rosario (born February 2, 1972) is
a
rapper born in
Santurce, Puerto Rico. He is better
known to his fans around the world as
Tego
Calderón, or by the nickname
"El
Abayarde" (given by his grandmother), which refers to a
small red ant that only takes a small bite before it itches for a
long time, hence the nickname that he has in which if he says
something to another rapper it will bother him for a long time. In
addition to
rap music, Tego is considered
part of the
alternative-reggaeton wave. He has
also made songs that are considered "pure"
Reggae, (e.g. "Chillin'" from the 2006 album
The Underdog/El Subestimado).
Tego believes that the roots of Reggaeton include Jamaican
Dancehall Reggae and
Hip
Hop as well as
Salsa. His album
El Abayarde made him a major
Latin star. Calderón has received awards for
his work, including a Source Award from
The Source Magazine for "International
Artist of the Year" and a
Tu Música award. He has also
received nomination in several ceremonies, including the Latin
Grammy, Billboard Award,
Premios Lo Nuestro and
Premios La Gente.
Tego Calderon has also broke records of
attendance of audience at a concert in El Salvador
, Guatemala
, Ecuador
, Dominican
Republic
, Puerto Rico and
Mexico
.
Biography
Early life
Moving at
a young age from his native Puerto Rico to Miami, Florida
Tego attended Miami Beach Senior High. Here
he was exposed to several different cultures, eventually studying
percussion and working as a drummer in a rock band. The band would
cover songs produced by artists including
Ozzy Osbourne and
Led
Zeppelin. He has noted that both of his parents were fans of
Ismael Rivera, and that his father was
also interested in jazz. He was influenced by both genres and
incorporated them into his music, including songs such as
Minnie the Moocher. He
eventually developed a music style that combined elements of
salsa,
plena,
dancehall, and
hip-hop, focusing on aspects of urban life in
his lyrics.
Musical career
Calderón made several cameo appearances on other rapper's albums,
eventually signing with label White Lion. In 2002, he published his
first full-length album titled
El Abayarde. Despite the
fact that Reggaeton was considered an underground genre, the album
sold 50, 000 copies upon its release, setting a sales record for an
urban music album. Three months after publishing
El
Abayarde, Calderón organized his first concert, which took
place at the Roberto Clemente Coliseum in San Juan,Puerto Rico and
sold out the venue. The following day he became the first rap
artist to perform at the annual Puertorican
Día Naciónal de la
Salsa (National Day of Salsa) celebration.
In August
2003, Calderón performed at the Madison Square Garden
in New York
City
. Based on his show and performance
The New York Times noted
that he "made the best case for Reggaetón as music with room to
grow" being a "forward-looking performer." His second appearance at
the venue was in October 2004, where he headlined an event titled
Megatón 2004. The concert sold out, with 20,000 in
attendance, and a crowd comprised of mixed Latino and non Latino
fans.
Calderón's travels subsequently led him to Miami, where he
incorporated
dancehall elements into his
musical style. In 2004, his album titled
El Enemy de los
Guasíbiri was released. The album's production included a
mix of several urban genres. Calderón claimed that he preferred the
influence of these other genres due to his belief that Salsa had
"become too corporate and too safe". Years after its release,
Calderón stated that he had never approved the release of the
Guasibiri album, which he claimed was rather a collection of old
songs and that it should be left out of his
discography as an unauthorized album. Following
the release of this album, reggaeton gained more influence with
several hip-hop producers in New York. Calderón continued working
on several mixtapes, being featured in remixes of
Usher's "Yeah,"
Fat
Joe's "
Lean Back,"
N.O.R.E.'s "
Oye Mi
Canto" and
Akon's "
I Wanna Love You" and also tego feature
Aventura "
We
Got The Crown" .
2005-present
Calderón participated on the 2004 and 2005 editions of New York's
Puerto Rican Day parade. During this timeframe he became the first
Latin American artist to be included on New York's Power-105.
Calderón's influence among Latin American youth was noted in a
featured published by the Village Voice. The publication claimed
that he had "almost single-handedly. .. steered his country’s
dominant youth culture out of the island and Latino neighborhoods,
and into the American stream of pop consciousness.”
In the summer of 2005, Calderón signed a deal between Atlantic
Records and his own independent label, Jiggiri Records, making him
the first reggaeton artist to have a deal with a major record
company.
In 2006, Calderón and both companies published
The Underdog/El
Subestimado. He noted that the production includes
influence from several Afro-Caribbean rhythms including Reggae,
Salsa, Bomba and Rumba. This production featured the guests
appearances of Buju Banton,
Voltio, Bataklán,
Eddie Dee, Luis Cabán, Yandel, Zion, Chyno
Nyno,
Don Omar and
Oscar D'León. Several producers were
involved in the album, including Cookee, Major League, Salaam Remi,
Eric Figueroa,
Luny Tunes,
DJ Nelson, Danny Fornaris, DJ Nesty, Naldo, DJ
Joe, DJ Fat and Echo & Diesel. At the presentation party for
the album, Calderón explained that he no longer considers himself
as a reggaeton artist because this genre of music has become too
commercial. Noting that reggaeton is becoming too similar to pop
music and that he does not let his children listen to it at home
unless it is on the radio.
Musical styles and themes
Although Calderón is a
reggaeton artist,
he claims to like "all types of music". Evidence of this is seen
both in his biography (he began his career in music in a metal band
and attended a school for music as a drummer) as well as in his
music, which incorporates "'several musical tendencies'", including
sounds and rhythms from places like Africa, Colombia, and the
Caribbean. He obtains the sound for his popular reggaeton music
through "fusing an experimental reggaeton style strongly rooted in
the working-class Caribbean aesthetics of classic salsa with a
strong dose of hip-hop". On
The Underdog/El Subestimado, he
collaborated with rap duo
Anónimo
consejo to create a song entitled "Son Dos Alas" which
eventually was shortened to an interdule without Calderon.
Calderón has also been praised for his lyrics, which are much more
substantive and uplifting than the misogynist materialistic words
that have come to define reggaeton as well as the majority of
hip-hop music. Calderón has been described as "the reggaeton
champion of an Afro-Caribbean working-class aesthetic" and is known
for lyrics that are equal parts poetry and politics. A consistent
link between all of his albums "are the social themes and the
untouchable bravado that he usually transmits through his artistic
outlook." According to Tony Touch, "Tego is someone who represents
struggle, an underdog... He's more of an MC, a product of late-'80s
hip-hop."
Film and other career projects
Calderón made his acting debut in the film "
Illegal Tender" produced by
John Singleton. Calderon played the role of
Choco, a Puerto Rican gangster whose character was written
specifically for him by director
Franc
Reyes.
Calderón turned down roles in both "
Feel
the Noise" and "
El Cantante" and
instead chose to appear in Illegal Tender out of respect for its
producer. After convincing John Singleton that he wanted to appear
in a comedy, Calderón is slated to appear in an upcoming Singleton
film which casts him as the coach of a baseball team.
Calderón
traveled to Sierra
Leone
along with artists Raekwon
and Paul Wall to film a VH1 documentary about diamond mining entitled "Bling'd:
Blood, Diamonds, and Hip-Hop." The documentary focused on
the role of Hip Hop in the
blood
diamond trade, after the filming concluded Calderón publicly
announced that he would no longer wear jewelry. His experience in
Africa also changed his outlook on life, which influenced the
recording of the track "Alegria", encouraging fans to not complain
about life and recognize that there are other people with bigger
problems in their lives.
Calderon and Don Omar are featured in "Fast and Furious", The
fourth movie of "The Fast and The Furious" franchise.
Personal life
His father Esteban Calderón Ilarraza was a government worker for
Puerto Rico's Department of Health. He died in May 2004. His
mother, Pilar Rosario Parrilla, is an elementary school teacher.
Tego is married to Michelle Peterbauer and they have one son,
Malcolm X, and a daughter named Ebony Nairobi. He has also talked
about the need for Afro Latinos to be proud of their
heritage.
Discography
Studio Albums
Compilation Albums
Mixtapes
- Guasa Guasa (The Mixtape) (2005)
- Gongoli (The Mixtape) (2008)
Future Albums
Filmography
Video Game appearances
References
- Latin Rap Interview - "Tego Calderón Part II: El Abayarde
Strikes Back"
- Latin Rap Interview - "Tego Calderón Part II: El Abayarde
Strikes Back"
- Latin Rap Interview - "Tego Calderon Represents for the
Underdogs"
- Latin Rap News - "Tego Calderon Signs Global Deal with
Atlantic"
- [1] Albert Perez. "Tego Calderón visits Latino
96.3" Accessed January 31, 2008. www.latino963.lamusica.com
- [2] Frances Negrón-Muntaner and Raquel Z.
Rivera, "Reggaeton Nation" (17 December 2007) Accessed January 31,
2008. http://news.nacla.org/2007/12/17/reggaeton-nation
- [3] Frances Negrón-Muntaner and Raquel Z.
Rivera, "Reggaeton Nation" (17 December 2007) Accessed January 31,
2008. http://news.nacla.org/2007/12/17/reggaeton-nation
- [4] Albert Perez. "Tego Calderón visits Latino
96.3" Accessed January 31, 2008. www.latino963.lamusica.com
- Village Voice - Riddims by the Reggaeton
- Illegal Tender movie review
- Latin Rap Interview - "Tego Calderon Part II: El Abayarde
Strikes Back"
- Black Pride
External links
Wikis
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