Spanish-Bolivian MC & producer Hector Guerra took Mexico by storm with his first hit single, “What Up?,” and now he’s back with the video for his newest single “El tiempo no mira pa’tras” from his album, Amor. The music on the track is provided by the recent Grammy nominees Sistema Bomb, who also produced the track. Guerra wanders through a Bay Area cemetery and raps about mortality, reflecting on the transience of life and reminiscing about those who are no longer with us. A woman with Dia de los Muertos calavera-style painted face dances along to the dancehall rhythm of the song in front of a mural. Guerra flows throughout Oakland and San Francisco in front of graffiti laden walls and alleys. When the video returns to the cemetery we see a woman with beautiful curly hair whom Guerra hands a flower to. She is Eyrie Zenzele of L.A.’s underground female hip hop group Guerilla Queenz and joins Guerra by singing the lines, “take yourself away and never go back, take yourself away, start to fly.” The lyrics remind us to move forward and fly away once we leave this planet.
By the end of the video Guerra is having a full on dance party with plenty of libations and herbal blessings to honor those long gone. Just like the Day of the Dead celebrations, in this video Guerra commemorates his ancestors with melancholy rhymes that are juxtaposed with upbeat music that suggests a celebration of life. The track will make you want to dance along and join in on the celebration of your own life.
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