Orishas is a hip-hop group of Cuban origin. The project emerged in France with the idea of ​​blending traditional Cuban music with hip-hop emerging outside of Cuba. Their revolutionary fusion is considered one of the greatest artistic contributions of recent years. The members of Orishas are Roldán González Rivero, Hiram Riverí Medina (Ruzzo), and Yotuel Romero Manzanares.

Initially, before meeting in Paris, Ruzzo and Yotuel rapped in Amenaza (Grand Prize at the 3rd Cuban Rap Festival), a pioneering band in Cuban hip hop; Roldán, on the other hand, was part of the traditional Cuban music group Rico Son. At that time, Liván Núñez Alemán also joined them, having only participated on their first album, A lo Cubano.

The word that refers to the Orisha group means deities worshipped by santeros in the Yoruba religion. Each Orisha symbolizes a force or power of nature, and each requires a different ritual.

Their first album was released in 1999 and was titled A lo cubano. “We wanted to preserve the hip-hop aspect without losing the essence of that wide range of Cuban rhythms, including instruments from our culture, like percussion,” Roldán declared at the time. The album became the first hip-hop album to achieve Platinum certification in Spain, with over one hundred thousand copies sold; it also achieved Gold certification in countries such as France and Switzerland.

With the release of “A lo cubano,” Orishas’ music instantly won over European critics. The group performed at the Olympia in Paris and the Royal Festival Hall in the United Kingdom. In the United States, the band’s performance did not go unnoticed; magazines such as Time and Rolling Stone wrote well-received articles about it. Meanwhile, Orishas toured stages in North America, Canada, South Africa, Brazil, and Mexico, performing alongside Manu Chao, Iggy Pop, Cypress Hill, and Deftones. Later, in their native Cuba, Orishas drew 50,000 people to their first concert in Havana, and their success was overwhelming.

Orishas, ​​after performing more than 200 concerts around the world, began working on the songs for their new album in August 2001. On April 22, 2002, the group released a new album, titled Emigrante. The new album featured deeper songs and a more international production. The album was presented on a tour that spanned ten countries.

In 2003, the group performed at the world’s top festivals and was chosen by Time magazine as one of the most important foreign groups, alongside U2, Radiohead, Pulp, and others. That same year, they received a Grammy nomination for Best Latin Rock/Alternative Album and another for Best International Hip-Hop Album. At the Latin Grammys, they won Best Hip-Hop and Rap Album for their second album, Emigrante.

In February 2005, Orishas released their third album, El Kilo. This album won the Spanish Music Award for Best Hip Hop Album and also achieved gold status in Switzerland, Portugal, and Spain. It was subsequently nominated for the Grammy and Latin Grammy Awards, decisively establishing Orishas’ music worldwide.

In 2007, the group’s career was summarized in their next album, Antidiotico, the first compilation of their hits and most popular and representative songs. Antidiotico is published in two different editions: Standard and Special. The Standard Edition offers three previously unreleased songs: “Silencio,” “Una página,” and the anthem “Hay un son,” as well as two new versions of “Represent” and “Quién te dijo.” It also includes ten more songs taken from the albums A lo Cubano (A lo cubano, 573 CUBA, Connexión), Emigrante (¿Qué pasa?, ¿Qué bola?, Emigrants, Habana), and El kilo (Nací Orishas, ​​Elegante, El Kilo).

The Special Edition includes a second CD with the songs Mística, Desaparecidos, and Bombo (taken from their three albums), plus remixes and collaborations; it also includes a DVD with the music videos for A lo cubano, 537 CUBA, Represent, ¿Qué pasa?, Mujer, Habana, Nací Orishas, ​​and El kilo.

That year, Orishas was nominated for four Latin Grammy Awards at the 8th annual Grammy Awards, in the categories of Best Urban Music Album for “Antidiotico,” Best Urban Song for “Hay Un Son” and “Pal Norte” along with Calle 13, and Best Short Form Music Video for “Hay Un Son.” They ultimately won the award for Best Urban Song for “Pal Norte” along with Calle 13.

In June 2008, Orishas released their long-awaited fourth album, Cosita Buena. The album was composed, produced, and arranged by the iconic trio. It was recorded in February of that year at Samurai Studio in Madrid, mixed by Tim Latham at SynSound Recording Studios in Brussels, and mastered by Tom Coyne at Sterling Sound in New York. Cosita Buena contains 12 songs (Cosita Buena, Maní, Bruja, Camina, Guajira, Borrón, Mírame, Que Quede Claro, Machete, Isi, Público, and Melodías), with the bonus track “Hip Hop Conga,” the official song of the 2008 Santa Cruz de Tenerife Carnival. The lyrics feature constant references to established symbols of the Canary Islands capital, its inhabitants, and the island. This album won Best Hip Hop Album at the Spanish Music Awards.

In April of that same year, Colombian singer Cabas released his fourth album. This album, titled “Amores Difíciles,” featured Orishas, ​​appearing on the song “He Pecado” alongside Enrique Bunbury.

During 2009, Orishas continued their concerts in countries such as Argentina (Luna Park Stadium in Buenos Aires), Chile, the United States, Spain, Poland, Portugal, Belgium, Turkey, Morocco, among others.

On September 20 of that year, Orishas participated alongside artists such as Juanes and Olga Tañón, among many others, in the historic Second Peace Without Borders Concert, held in Havana’s Plaza de la Revolución. More than one and a half million people attended the concert.

The group confirmed its split in 2010, with one of its members citing various differences over which the group had grown, starting with the fact that each of them lived in different places.

In its ten years of existence, Orishas has become an emblem of new music in the 21st century. It has earned respect in Europe, the United States, and Latin America thanks to its powerful, imaginative, and deeply rooted music; and it still has millions of fans around the world.

Discography: A lo Cubano (1999), Emigrant (2002), El kilo (2005), Cosita buena (2008).