It generally sucks when a video of a song featuring a guest artist doesn’t involve the participation of said guest. But it sucks a lot less when the video is actually good. Sometimes you end up even forgetting there’s somebody missing in the video.
Just a couple of weeks ago we showed you Ana Tijoux‘s newest video, which didn’t include the participation of the song’s guest, Jorge Drexler. This time it’s Ana herself, the missing guest on Ritmo Machine‘s newest video, and yeah, being a huge fan of her, I was hoping to see her there and I was a bit disappointed by her absence, but that didn’t last long.
Ritmo Machine‘s “La Calle” was built around the other guest on the track, Psycho Realm‘s Sick Jacken; the main character isn’t him but the streets of his hometown, Los Angeles. Boyle Heights, the LA River, and the Pico-Union murals are all featured as beautifully photographed landmarks of the city that will be instantly recognized by anybody who has ever lived in the Southern California megalopolis… or watched any movie or TV show involving LA notorious gangs. Sick Jacken makes it clear in his verses that he’s not affiliated to any of those gangs, but that doesn’t stop gangsters and cops from assuming he is, because of his signature cholofied bald head.
Would Ana Tijoux fit into this picture? I don’t think so. She did everything in her power to distance her image from all the thug-life clichés of hip-hop. So in some sense it’s better that she wasn’t included; it would’ve probably end up being a complete different thing (or maybe not, who knows?).
The thing is Ritmo Machine and Ana Tijoux will be sharing the stage this summer in Brooklyn, NY so there’s a big chance of them doing this collaboration live! Now the question is, will Sick Jacken be there too or will he be, this time around, the missing guest?
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Download Ritmo Machine’s Welcome to the Ritmo Machine below: