A Musical Explosion is what reviewers have been calling the
bilingual Latin Hip-Hop group, POKOLOKO! Their machine gun delivery,
infectious party hooks, charisma and compelling raps about young
Latinos trying to make it in America, have entranced fans in
all languages from New York to Miami, the South West and all
over Latin America! Their soon to be released CD 'MOVERSE' and
two hot videos, HAVANA MIX and the title tune MOVERSE
Currently playing on MTVS, VHU, LTV, LATV and MUN2 are exposing
the group to an increasingly worldwide audience!
Simmering in the middle of a perfect urban music storm brewing
such diverse influences as the Cypress Hill Gang, Run DMC, Tito
Puente, Bob Marley, Lenny Kravitz and U2, POKOLOKO mixed it all
in and served up a unique sound that includes Reggaeton and Latin
Hip-Hop/ Alternative. Today, they are poised to set the pace
and take their place next to Fat Joe, Daddy Yankee and Ricky
Martin!
Bronx born front man and MOVERSE's producer, Alex Weir, began
break dancing and rapping as a child and became one of the area's
hottest DJ's by the time he was 15. As a solo
Performer, he released several records, including the regional
hits from "Cut It Up Def", "Speaking Span" and "Jump
On It" as well as the dance tune, "Techno Trip".
Alex soon mastered the studio and his former 8th Wonder Recording
Company, produced two dozen records for the growing Latino Rap
scene including the controversial HIP HOP Alliance, ("The
No Mel Syndicate") featuring hard-core Puerto Rican rappers.
When Alex hooked up with Cuban rapper, Cecilio "Machete" Farinas
and Rick Sosa who fronted the classic rock band, Axion, They
created MATAKUMBA, which released several singles and movie sound
tracks. However, being popular in clubs and festivals didn't
mean that the radio stations and record companies were ready
for their new sound. Latino rap was still under the radar of
the radio stations and the band moved from N.Y. to Florida, where
they released the chart hitting single, "Dance Naked".
Eventually the band evolved into POKOLOKO and started to build
a big following from video exposure and live shows. It is evident
that Latino Hip-Hop and Reggaeton music is a force to be recognized
with the recent
influx of new stations playing the hot new sounds in every Latino
market. Every major label has opened a division to handle urban
Latino music and Pokoloko has one of the hottest sounds on the
scene today with a live show as exciting as their music!
POKOLOKO has been on bills with Santana, the Barrio Boys and
their musical godmother,
late, great Celia Cruz. They have opened for many acts including
Magic Juan, Stevie B, Maggie Charlette and the great Dominican
star, Johnny Ventura. The group has played at Hialeah Spring
Festival, Miami's Calle Ocho, West Palm Beach's Sun Fest and
the Kravis Center, the Louie Armstrong Theater in New Orleans,
the National Hispanic Cultural Center in Albuquerque, New Mexico
and dozens of clubs from New York to Miami including CBGB's
Resort, Trump's and the Acme Underground, to name a few. The
band is rounded out by drummer Joel Estrada, world renowned percussionist
Angel Pagan Guzman, DJ J-Spin on turntables and the legendary "Popeye" on
bass, keyboards and background vocals.
