photos by Jim Bennett
From originally forming to play a labor protest to becoming U.S. State Department Cultural Ambassadors, urban-Latin crew Ozomatli is truly the living, breathing voice of L.A. For more than fourteen years, the band has made more than just music, taking part in every social and political facet of their city from putting on “hip hop ghetto plays” at inner-city elementary schools to overseeing city fundraisers and activist events. The seven-piece (up to ten live performers) has even gone global, gaining an international fan base with their unique mash of hip hop, dancehall, Jamaican and Indian ragga, funk and merengue. With four albums full-length studio albums to back them up, the pro-peace bad boys are walking, talking, justice-seeking time bombs.
And they dropped hard on Gibson Showroom in Austin during KEXP’s broadcast from SXSW:
2 Comments
Seeing Ozomatli in such an intimate setting as the Gibson Studio was my favorite moment from SXSW! My four-year-old daughter and I stood 10 feet from the stage. (They had played to a crowd of 20,000 the night before.) Amazing experience! Thanks KEXP for providing this unique and memorable opportunity.
Way to get your daughter into the good stuff while she’s young!! That’s awesome! And, thanks for coming to the Gibson Studio. It’s seriously not the same without fans like you!