Today's Song of the Day, as chosen by DJ Chilly and Albina Cabrera, hosts of El Sonido on KEXP, in honor of Latinx Heritage Month, is "Marcaperu" by Yanna, a 2020 self-released single.
"My friends take care of me / Not the police"
On her debut single "Marcaperu," Afro-Peruvian artist Yanna (real name: Brenda Carpio) uses her voice to denounce the injustices she sees around her: racism, discrimination, and violence.
Raised in the San Martín de Porres district of Lima, Peru, Yanna moved to France to study International Business Administration and instead, fell in love with hip hop.
"When I came back, it was a shock," she told El Comercio. "Having left and identified as a black and empowered woman from that Afro side was reduced to the fact that people on the street were quite violent and they looked at me, but not in a positive way, they made fun of my hair and my features.” She continued, "I felt that being abroad I was treated better than being in my own country. I know people who have gone through this misogynistic, sexist, and abusive violence. I wanted to highlight and put these issues on the table."
Yanna is currently finishing an EP she hopes to release by the end of the year. "I believe a lot in spirituality and in this EP I want to convey how to connect from the musical side with the soul of people, show the connection with the senses and with what we think in an ethereal way that we cannot explain with reason, but with the feeling."
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Host Emily Fox and KEXP’s editorial team talk with artists about the stories behind their songs and the experiences that inform their work. Through each conversation, we uncover the humanity behind the music, allowing us to hear it in a whole new way.
