Has just 25 years old, the Catalan Bad Gyal reconciles dancehall, reggaeton and electronic music, the time of an incendiary close-tight which makes shudder the stereotypes too often linked to these musical genres. Something to give ideas to a whole new generation of women for whom emancipation can also be achieved with rhinestones, sequins and flashy hips.
You want to be respected as women, blah blah blah! But you spend your time showing off your ass on social media to get likes. March 8, 2021 was particularly eventful in the small world of reggaeton. Because for International Women's Day, the singer Arcángel, superstar of the genre whose YouTube channel has 3.5 billion views, thought it smart to post a message full of machismo and slut-shaming on social networks .
It was enough to set fire to the powder. Almost immediately, the Brazilian Anitta, author in 2020 of the hit “Tócame”, featuring Arcángel, posted a photo of her in a thong online, accompanied by the following message: “ This is me showing off my ass on Instagram.I have a question: you can release explicit songs and make clips with naked women to get more likes, on the other hand, women who show their own body on their social networks do not deserve respect? I do not understand.
The same goes for the Argentinian rapper Cazzu, who recalled that "misogyny arises when a man decides which woman should be respected and which woman should not be". For her part, the American-Colombian singer Kali Uchis made it simpler: “Grow up or die”.
It must be said that the problem of sexism in reggaeton is not new. Born in the 1990s between Puerto Rico, Panama and Jamaica, the genre was built in part around artists adept at salacious rhymes and explicit punchlines. Why not. But while the men can rant on whole albums about their sexual boasts, the women have often been relegated to the simple role of music video dancer.
On March 8, while Arcángel was flaunting her sexism for all to see, the Spaniard Bad Gyal released the clip for “Pussy”, her hymn to female empowerment , taken from her EP Warm Up. In the video, the 24-year-old artist can be seen strolling in a gold bodysuit against a pink background while rolling joints as long as Cuban cigars.A rather classic decorum for a musical genre that likes tuxedo and small outfits. Well almost.
As soon as it was put online, the clip was immediately censored by YouTube and TikTok. In question: content deemed too “sensitive” and looks that are too “naked”, even if the latter do not seem to disturb the platform in the clips of singers like Arcángel. "I'm fed up with this double morality", reacted Bad Gyal on Instagram.
There are not on the one hand the women made to fuck, collect likes or register on OnlyFans, and on the other hand those who love you, raise the children and stay at home to cook you food. The old guard of reggaeton has been warned: Bad Gyal is all these women at once. reacted Bad Gyal on Instagram. "There are not on the one hand the women made to fuck, collect likes or register on OnlyFans, and on the other hand those who love you, raise the children and stay at home to cook you food. The old guard of reggaeton has been warned: Bad Gyal is all these women at once.
The fishermen and the dancehall queen
Fate wanted her to be born on March 7, as if to give the world one more reason to celebrate women. Thousands of kilometers from Arcángel and its jeremiads, bordered by a calm beach, surrounded by small buildings in warm colors, Vilassar de Mar peacefully skirts the Catalan coast.
It is in this fishing village with a family atmosphere, forty minutes from the hustle and bustle of Barcelona, that Bad Gyal, whose real name is Alba, is born. Daughter of actor Eduard Farelo, she grew up in a family of five children and spent “a very beautiful childhood and adolescence”.
From an early age, she distinguished herself by her expressive character and her creativity, which she explored in music and dance. At 8, his parents gave him the album The Trinity by Sean Paul.
She discovers her passion: dancehall. In a peripheral Spain that wears only by reggaeton, Alba falls in love with another culture, distant, different, but which speaks to her and bewitches her. “I felt it represented me more, as a human being,” she explains.
While her friends go out to techno parties, the young fan of Vybz Kartel, Spice or Busy Signal prefers to imagine herself in Kingston. “In Jamaica, whenever there is a party, there is always someone filming all night and posting the video on YouTube, without any editing. It is in front of these recordings of several hours filmed in an anarchic way that she spends her evenings, vibrating by proxy to the sound of sound systems.
As there is nothing for her in Vilassar de Mar, she also goes in search of dancehall queen contests, concerts or festivals in Barcelona to immerse herself in this culture. “I said to myself: ' I have to go, too bad if I have to come back tomorrow morning by train. If I don't have money, I'll grab a drink anywhere.”It was a period of my life when I was not afraid of anything, I didn't care. I was always out and about doing crazy things to be a little closer to what I loved. I dreamed of going to Jamaica, but in the meantime, I was there, trying to get closer. »
In Vilassar de Mar, the world is small and the young Spaniard thinks big. Alba, who was then working in a local bakery, was sure of who she was, of her passion and her ambitions: it was in the dancehall that she was going to break through. “I couldn't understand why none of my friends listened to this kind of music. I knew I could contribute something,” she says.
In 2016, “Work” by Rihanna and Drake became a planetary hit and made the whole world dance to its Caribbean sounds. Alba has found her front door. “Seeing that this piece was playing on American radio, I said to myself that something was happening.In her bedroom, using an improvised studio, she remixes the title into a Catalan version which she calls “Pai”, a coined term derived from the English “pay” which has the advantage of rhyming with "jai" is local slang for "stoned ".
The homemade clip, where the singer takes a bath in jeans and a PSG jersey, sings of her love for money and claims to be "the one who commands" in the neighborhood, has been viewed millions of times. Spain discovers it, intrigued. Alba is 19 years old. Bad Gyal was born.
From Barcelona to Kingston
It was at this time that the young girl decided to leave Vilassar de Mar to settle in Barcelona. There, the artistic community is in turmoil.
Rapper Yung Beef, a tattooed poster boy from the gypsy neighborhoods of Granada, is transforming the musical landscape of the Catalan capital by proving to the Spaniards that Atlanta trap can also be declined locally.Around the one that the daily El País describes as "the most important phenomenon of Spanish rap of the decade" is forming an underground scene wanting to do things its own way. Without complex, she mixes trap with futuristic reggaeton, digital dancehall with electronic music and rave culture.
Dropped into the middle of the arena, Bad Gyal soaks up that jack-of-all-trades aesthetic and begins to take the mic in public. We see him featuring alongside Lil Guiu, from the Catalan trap group PAWN Gang, on the track “Bandulés”, or with Ms Nina, a young Argentinian reggaetonera who emigrated to Spain, on the soaring “Despacio”.Alba also approaches Spanish producers such as Fakeguido, from Valencia, or Plata, from Majorca, with whom she develops Slow Wine , her first mixtape where Caribbean rhythms, self-tuned melodies and darker electronic atmospheres collide.
In the middle of these seven very do it yourself tracks, it is the title “Fiebre” which wins the day, produced this time by a Frenchman: King Doudou. “At the beginning, I had composed this instrumental like a Jamaican riddim. I wanted it to circulate and everyone to be able to put their voice on it.
I could hear a lot of people try it, including a lot of Jamaican dancehall artists. But the day Bad Gyal sent me his version, I thought it was incredible. She was only 19 and she was already way above the rest. “The song is a colossal success and panics the YouTube counters. He ends up in synchro in series, films or even in the mixtape of football player Neymar. At the same time, because of her artist name and the use she makes of certain Jamaican slang words, Bad Gyal is facing accusations of cultural appropriation from certain media. " “ I didn't grow up in the same environment, I didn't have the same experiences and it's not my culture. I accept the situation as it is. “After having considered choosing another stage name, the Catalan decided instead to fully assume her influences. She goes to Jamaica to face reality and meet local artists.
On the spot, she celebrates in the sound system evenings which are held in the middle of the street. A childhood dream come true. “It was like stepping into YouTube,” she describes. “I was finally in these parts that I had the impression of knowing by heart. » “ I didn't grow up in the same environment, I didn't have the same experiences and it's not my culture. I accept the situation as it is. “After having considered choosing another stage name, the Catalan decided instead to fully assume her influences.
At the same time, Catalonia is in turmoil. Following the self-determination referendum of 1 stOctober 2017, the region has just declared its independence without anyone being really prepared for it on the side of Madrid. Immediately, the government reacted by placing the region under guardianship and by breaking the referendum which it considered illegal. The streets of Barcelona are black with people and a huge Catalan flag is displayed on the facade of the famous Sagrada Família, by Gaudí. In this context, we must take a stand. Because she sometimes sings in Catalan and embodies a strong and self-confident youth, many want to see Bad Gyal carry this aspiration to independence. Throughout the interview, however, she repeats that she is neither an activist nor a standard bearer. She wants to be an example for no one. " I grew up in Catalonia with Spaniards, Catalans, Moroccans, South Americans, for a very long time, and I prefer that to isolation. No offense to activists, his song “Indapanden” may be entirely sung in Catalan, but it does not extol the merits of separatism. Here, it's more about raising the temperature on the dancefloor and drinking rum from the bottle.
Mascara, gloss and feminism
With his taste for parties and a real casualness, Bad Gyal builds a light but assertive image, accentuated by his style of dress.
False nails and XXL hoops, glossy lips, endless hair extensions, all covered in rhinestones: the singer cultivates an ultra-feminine kitsch aesthetic à la Paris Hilton, as if she were straight out of the early 2000s. Bad Gyal has a very “ratchet” side to it. It is on a very fine line bordering on bad taste,” explains Ana Murillas, her stylist. “We navigate between two worlds: the street and fashion.
The idea is to mix this “street girl” style with something more luxurious and refined. This reappropriation of the “choni” aesthetic, a pejorative expression which designates Spanish women from modest backgrounds, heavily made up and with a look deemed vulgar, like a French hood, has been popularized by other local artists. , such as Ms Nina, La Zowi, Bea Pelea or, to a lesser extent, Rosalía. Bad Gyal has often been lumped together with her Catalan counterpart.
But where Rosalía adopts a smoother, less provocative image, which makes everyone agree, Bad Gyal fully assumes her figure as a rowdy woman who laughs loudly, dresses lightly, smokes joints, dances excessively and does not don't apologize. “My mother has always expressed herself exactly as she wanted,” explains Bad Gyal, who grew up in a predominantly female family. "She has always spent a lot of time with her friends. They can talk for hours. They don't care, they enjoy life. I think it helped me to express myself, to dare to be loud and not to be afraid to give my point of view.” Rosalia.
Bad Gyal has often been lumped together with her Catalan counterpart. But where Rosalía adopts a smoother, less provocative image, which makes everyone agree, Bad Gyal fully assumes her figure as a rowdy woman who laughs loudly, dresses lightly, smokes joints, dances excessively and does not don't apologize.
“My mother has always expressed herself exactly as she wanted,” explains Bad Gyal, who grew up in a predominantly female family. "She has always spent a lot of time with her friends. They can talk for hours.
Bad Gyal fully assumes her figure as a rowdy woman who laughs loudly, dresses lightly, smokes joints, dances excessively and does not don't apologize. “My mother has always expressed herself exactly as she wanted,” explains Bad Gyal, who grew up in a predominantly female family. "She has always spent a lot of time with her friends. They can talk for hours.
They don't care, they enjoy life. I think it helped me to express myself, to dare to be loud and not to be afraid to give my point of view.” They can talk for hours. They don't care, they enjoy life. I think it helped me to express myself, to dare to be loud and not to be afraid to give my point of view. » They can talk for hours. They don't care, they enjoy life. I think it helped me to express myself, to dare to be loud and not to be afraid to give my point of view. »
A free woman can decide whether she wants to wear make-up or not, whether she wants to shave or not. I think that's what real feminism is: respecting all types of women.
In 2018, in the midst of the MeToo movement, and as the Spaniards began "feminist strikes" and led monumental demonstrations to protest against sexism, Bad Gyal was once again taken to task. A strong woman, an independent artist, the public wants to make her a feminist symbol.
But if the themes of female empowerment and sisterhood are often mentioned in her songs, Bad Gyal is criticized for her looks deemed too sexy and therefore complacent towards the objectification of women. She doesn't know how to position herself. In some interviews she claims to consider herself a feminist, but in others she rejects the label. "I sometimes said that I was not a feminist, because feminists told girls like me that we were not. But I feel like over the last few years things have changed. Finally, it is accepted that all genders of women must be respected.
A free woman can decide whether she wants to wear make-up or not, whether she wants to shave or not. I think that's what real feminism is: respecting all types of women. In the lyrics of Bad Gyal, the message is clear: no question of looking for love at all costs or of being walked all over. Naturally reclaiming the traditionally masculine codes of reggaeton and dancehall, the singer celebrates in her songs and music videos her taste for parties, money and sex.
On stage, always surrounded by women, she displays her self-confidence through assured dance steps, mixing dancehall, personal and hip-hop influences. “In Jamaican dance, there is this idea of freeing women from a local culture that is sometimes very macho”, assures Magali Jou, its choreographer. "It" its way to turn the tables and say, 'I don't move this way to please men, nor to make them happy, but because I like to dance like this and I feel good'. Feminist or not, the Spaniard has nothing to do with the rules of patriarchy. She is determined to destroy the double standards, one stroke at a time.
Girl band
In 2018, Bad Gyal's career accelerated when she joined the stable of artists from CANADA, a talented Barcelona collective, capable of producing the slick clips of Rosalía, Dua Lipa and Mura Masa as well as advertising films for Nike. , Louis Vuitton or Maserati.
No more DIY videos between friends from the days of “Pai” or “Fiebre”, Bad Gyal now has a team behind her in place to manage her image. On the sound side, she also started working with El Guincho, by far the most popular musician in Spain, recently crowned with two Latin Grammy Awards for his production work on Rosalía's album El mal querer.
The Worldwide Angel Project, that Bad Gyal comes out in stride, thus affirms a new musical identity. More oriented towards reggaeton than towards dancehall, he abandons the electronic influences of the beginnings to refocus on dembow – this syncopated rhythm emblematic of reggaeton – incisive and emaciated and minimalist structures.
What leave more room for the mischievous stamp of the singer. “In the flows and the texture of the voices, what she does now is not smooth and harmonious like other reggaeton singers. She continues to use Auto-Tune in a fairly extreme way ,” analyzes King Doudou, who sees in these choices a desire to climb the ladder without forgetting his initial fanbase . "As a result, it brings a lot of people to reggaeton. This is an evolution that has also been taking place on a global scale for several years.
For example, in France, DJs who only played electronic music five years ago are now switching to reggaeton, dancehall and doing a lot of hybridization with techno. At this level, she really is a girl of her time. The continuation of the ascent of Bad Gyal is just as impressive.
In 2019, she signed a contract with the famous American label Interscope, then placed the villainous “Alocao”, with Omar Montes, for several weeks at the top of the Spanish charts. She then worked with the American Scott Storch – the man behind the piano of “Still DRE” – and recently released the EP Warm Upin the midst of a health crisis. “My music is entirely made for clubs. This is its reason for existing. But it is out of the question for me to stop on the pretext that they are closed, ”she says without hesitation.
The Covid has been warned: it is not a pandemic that will stop Bad Gyal. she signed a contract with the famous American label Interscope, then placed the villainous “Alocao”, with Omar Montes, for several weeks at the top of the Spanish charts. She then worked with the American Scott Storch – the man behind the piano of “Still DRE” – and recently released the EP Warm Upin the midst of a health crisis. “My music is entirely made for clubs. This is its reason for existing.
Since Alba decided to take the microphone, another virus seems to be spreading to Spanish-speaking countries. In the wake of the Catalan appeared a whole new generation of artists who find in the most underground variants of reggaeton a means of reclaiming the sexist stereotypes of the genre to make it a tool of empowerment.
In Chile, the former tattoo artist Tomasa Del Real, for example, created the neo perreo movement, which brings together under the same banner artists who share a taste for the electronic mutations of reggaeton, gothic looks, a sharp feminist discourse and X-rated texts. In parallel, from Mexico City, the Colombian DJ Rosa Pistola mixes the classics of the genre in Boiler Roomshot like Molotov cocktails.
For her part, La Goony Chonga, an American rapper of Cuban origin, crosses paths with the Latin trap sounds she heard in the strip clubs where she worked as a dancer. There's also Albany, Lizz, Galanjah, DJ Sustancia, La Zowi, Ms Nina, Bea Pelea and many more. In the four corners of the world, they are now hundreds to renew the genre by showing new faces, new bodies, new sexualities and less clichéd attitudes than those of Don Omar, Daddy Yankee and other Arcángel. "It's social distancing, we're going to kick you out of hereBad Gyal warns in the censored music video for “Pussy,” perched high on her heels, ready to trample the patriarchy.
For the rest, she is adamant: “This cat is very expensive, so stay away. You will never taste it.” In the four corners of the world, they are now hundreds to renew the genre by showing new faces, new bodies, new sexualities and less clichéd attitudes than those of Don Omar, Daddy Yankee and other Arcángel. "It's social distancing, we're going to kick you out of hereBad Gyal warns in the censored music video for “Pussy,” perched high on her heels, ready to trample the patriarchy. For the rest, she is adamant: “This cat is very expensive, so stay away. You will never taste it.”
In the four corners of the world, they are now hundreds to renew the genre by showing new faces, new bodies, new sexualities and less clichéd attitudes than those of Don Omar, Daddy Yankee and other Arcángel. "It's social distancing, we're going to kick you out of hereBad Gyal warns in the censored music video for “Pussy,” perched high on her heels, ready to trample the patriarchy. For the rest, she is adamant: “This cat is very expensive, so stay away. You will never taste it.” ready to trample the patriarchy. For the rest, she is adamant: “This cat is very expensive, so stay away. You will never taste it. » ready to trample the patriarchy. For the rest, she is adamant: “This cat is very expensive, so stay away. You will never taste it. »