Sara Hebe, Argentine Rapper: «Hip Hop is The Resounding Voice of the Unheard»

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Sara Hebe’s voice (Trelew, Argentina, 1983) is a familiar chant in neighborhoods, protests, and small and large spaces where justice is demanded, in everyday life and beyond. One of the most vibrant representatives of the hip-hop scene in Argentina, she has transformed advocacy into art, returning inspiration to society in the form of collective anthems.

«Beivip» is her latest work, an EP where she explores new sounds, innovative production, and delves into what she calls a «hopeful apocalypse,» inspired by the capacity for love in the new generations in a world that seems in constant crisis.

A career born from critical theater and forged with a wide variety of influences, from Actitud Maria Marta to Madonna. Now Hebe is on tour in Spain, and at LOS40 USA, we took the opportunity to talk to her about hip-hop, the explosion of the urban scene in Argentina and worldwide, women in the industry, and much more.

 

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Una publicación compartida de s ᴀ ʀ ᴀ ʜ ᴇ ʙ ᴇ (@sara_hebe)

Latest Works

You recently released «Beivip,» your latest EP. What does this work mean to you? How would you describe it?

It’s the first time I’ve done such a small project; I’ve always made full-length albums. About a year and a few months ago, I released «Sucia Estrella,» the previous album, which I really like. After that, I had a surge of desire and creativity, and I teamed up with La Finesse, a very young producer. That’s when «Beivip» came about; it was something abrupt and emergent, like a burst. It’s a record with an industrial, modern, and futuristic sound.

I like the wordplay in the title; I think of it as a concept related to childhood and what it means to me as an adult, the thoughts I have about… Well, about children, about the possibility of nurturing. The album ends with a story from my nephew called «Ladrones en mi cabeza» (Thieves in my head). It’s about apocalyptic thoughts related to today’s reality, which presents us with a world in crisis, but also with a kind of hope offered by children. To me, it seems like a hopeful apocalypse where childhood can be luxurious, VIP.

Origins

Going back to your origins, we want to know more about your story, how you started making music, how you got into this. Do you remember how, when, and why you became interested in making your own songs?

It started with theater. I was studying theater and doing popular theater. Through a play we were doing about the recovery of a factory, the takeover by the workers of the machines for production, there was a political event turned into theater that had a song at the end. Since I had always been listening to a lot of rap and dancing, taking classes in street dance, hip-hop, and dancehall, it occurred to me to transfer that solemn anthem-like song to a French rap instrumental and rap the same lyrics. That’s when I said to myself, «Okay, this is what I want to do; I’m going to make an album.» After that, I made my first song, «Tuve que quemar,» in Buenos Aires, and then I moved to Boedo, another beautiful neighborhood in Buenos Aires, where I made my first album, «La Hija del Loco» (The Madman’s Daughter).

So, through theater, a bit of political and critical thinking, and dance, I started making my songs. Around 2007, I started singing in bars with the lyrics I had. In 2008, I recorded the first two songs that I released as singles at that time. In 2008, I started working with Ramiro Jota, my producer friend, to record and produce «La Hija del Loco,» which was released in 2009.

Argentine Urban Scene Boom

The Argentine urban scene has experienced a significant international boom in recent years. What has your journey through this process been like, considering that you’ve been part of it since the early 2000s?

I’ve been looking from the outside and being quite receptive. I really like what I hear, although I don’t listen to everything, but I like what I hear, and I admire the new sounds, the number of girls and trans individuals in the scene now, making spectacular productions. If you can mention Paz, she’s a trans friend who just released an album called «Marica de Barrio,» which is fantastic, and I have a collaboration with her. Well, what I mentioned is not mainstream, but what has happened is that capitalism has exploded the industry, it’s at its peak, it’s like… it’s like a giant pizza, like a dough that never, never, never stops growing.

That’s how this system and the industry work, so we keep producing, some in one way, others in another. I continue on my path of independent production, but I always pay attention to what’s new because I believe it enriches me. Well, there are many singers with great songs. I think there’s a great machinery for producing constant hits, and sometimes I feel a bit alienated by that, and I think maybe we need to pause and think instead of producing so much. But, I don’t know, I think there are great new and old artists, and I believe we can continue to listen to them.

Big Promises & References

Which figures would you highlight right now that you consider to be making an important change within the industry or the scene?

Look, Pablo Chill-E, Pablo Shishiboss, from the Shishigang in Chile. I admire him a lot; I really like him, his social and political movement, which he may not see as political, but he takes direct action from and for the neighborhood with his music, and he’s a trap artist, doing gangsta trap and all. I think he’s great. Also, Ana Tijoux, a reference for me and a supportive colleague who collaborated with me. Salvaje Decibel, another band that was my school…

Who would be your references that have shaped your creativity right now? If you want, we can start with some figures you consider to be making a change right now.

Actitud María Marta, Todos Tus Muertos, Mala Rodríguez, Nirvana, Charly García, the music I used to listen to before, Beastie Boys, I used to listen to dancehall, any dancehall that came my way I always loved. Well, I think Bad Gyal is also great because she’s doing dancehall while respecting and having a lot of sensitivity for the origin. I’ve loved her songs from the beginning, and I think she’s a great artist. Another total standout for me is Tokischa. And well, another role model, Madonna.

The Social Meaning of Hip-Hop

In other interviews, you’ve mentioned that rap and hip-hop are the foundations of the urban genre, historically used to raise social concerns. Do you think their meaning has changed over time, considering the expansion of the urban genre and the urban scene?

The system is a sponge that absorbs everything and turns everything into a marketable product, so critical discourses are also taken as sellable products by capitalism. The industry is open to everything. Despite its expansion, I don’t think the essence of hip-hop has changed at all. This year marked the 50th anniversary of hip-hop, and there were big celebrations all over the world. Bands like Wu-Tang Clan, they all emerged in the 70s due to a social conflict of discrimination and political turmoil, right from the Bronx. That’s where hip-hop originated, in the margins, and I believe that, no matter how much aesthetics change, the essence remains, even in Argentina with other RKT artists, a genre that comes from the neighborhoods. Hip-hop emerged from a social conflict; that’s its origin, and that’s why its discourse is about demanding justice and being the voice of the unheard. That essence remains, even if the aesthetics become more important than ethics or if everything becomes more polished, produced, and shiny.

Women in the Industry

Throughout your career, you have advocated for fundamental issues like women’s rights. I’d like to ask you, what is it like to be a woman in the music industry? Is there differential treatment? Are there not enough women, especially women from the hoods?

We have the problem that we’ve always had; it has never been as easy for us as it still is for cisgender men. The most successful bands today are still mostly male-dominated. However, thanks to the years of struggle by women, not only in the music industry but in the historical struggle of centuries of women in factories, on the streets, and in diverse identity collectives and trans groups, we have managed to create spaces for ourselves, to perform, play, work, and we have also taken over stages as we have taken over media, hospitals, political positions, theaters, and works.

Women are now more present than ever because we have won the rights that were historically denied to us, like the right to abortion and the right to vote. Of course, it has become a matter of institutional and political agenda, the issue of gender quotas at festivals, which is great. But there’s still a need for more trans representation in jobs and on stages, and, above all, more representation for people from the neighborhoods. I mentioned Paz with her album «Marica de Barrio,» and I can also talk about La Brava, an amazing artist, a fantastic rapper, and a transvestite from Argentina. Sasha Sathya, another great trap rapper and trans producer. And La Negra Azul, a very young girl from Lomas de Zamora, Argentina, from the neighborhood, who is doing cumbia right now. We’ll see if, over time, people from different backgrounds are given equal importance.

Or, for example, what Rosalía did, looking at an underground scene and working with emerging producers. In her latest album, Rosalía produced a track with Tayhana, an emerging Argentine producer from Patagonia. These things, I believe, have to do with us on a micro level. Where do we look? What do we choose to name? What do we decide to talk about?

Future Projects

We also want to ask you about your future projects. Do you have anything in mind for what’s coming up?

Well, keep playing, and after this tour, we’ll continue performing in Argentina. We have festivals lined up, like Cosquin Rock, and also shows in Uruguay and Paraguay. Well, some other dates here and there, in Chile as well.

On October 6th, I have a new single release titled «Hulk,» like the superhero. I was inspired by that with my nephew. I love the song; it’s a slow, lo-fi hip-hop song, and it has a music video that we made, which is quite funny, directed by Martina Giancaterino and Marina Carrasco.

I wanted to ask you about «Asado de Fa» because it’s a song that has been played everywhere, in all sorts of social movements. Although we can guess, I wanted to ask you what inspired you to create this song.

It was inspired by a situation of social housing in Almagro, a neighborhood in Buenos Aires, where about 30 families were constantly at risk of eviction, with threats from the city government. It wasn’t an occupation like the ones known here in Spain. In Argentina, there isn’t this culture of occupation for housing. Perhaps it arises from the housing crisis, but it’s not a culture like it is here, which has been going on for years and… And, as I mentioned, there is experience with occupation.

This was a different story, another case, where these families were not occupying; they had been given this partially completed building with certain payment terms. These families completed the payments, but it wasn’t recognized as their own property, and they were facing eviction. That’s how «Asado de Fa» came about. I believe it resonated so much in places like here because it happened to be during a time when many families were at risk of eviction due to the economic crisis, and here there is also a culture of occupation, which is so valuable and important. In Argentina, there isn’t a culture of occupation like there is here, at least not in the same way, but there was another phenomenon in the 2000s during the crisis, with the recovery of factories and worker cooperatives, which is another topic.

Upcoming Visit to the U.S.

Finally, I wanted to ask you on behalf  LOS40 USA if you have any plans for future projects or shows in the United States. If you’re considering it, how do you see that?

Yes, I would love to go to the United States, but I’ve never been invited there, so please, if you have any friends interested in booking me in the USA, we’ll rock it, I promise.