Hip Hop Hoodios: Jewish and Arab rappers and Mexican cumbia

After a ten-year absence from releasing new music, Hip Hop Hoodíos have returned with “Turn Back The Clock (Hoodíos Latinos),” marking a new era for the group’s cross-cultural mayhem. Our guest this week will be frontman, Josh Norek, also known to fans as Josué Noriega. Hip Hop Hoodíos is a collaboration featuring the rising Uruguayan hip-hop star Santi Mostaffa and prominent Jewish and Arab rappers, plus the popular electronic cumbia band,  Mexican Institute of Sound.  The first release from the project, “Turn Back the Clock”  is a joyous, psychedelic throwback to hip-hop’s golden era mastered by Grammy-winning Billie Eilish engineer John Greenham.  The 13-year old band is composed of Josué Noriega Abraham Vélez, and Federico Fong, formerly of La Barranca, Jaguares and Caifanes. Their full-length album Agua Pá La Gente features guest artists Frank London of The Klezmatics and Paul Shapiro of Brooklyn Funk Essentials. The 2007 Hip Hop Hoodíos released Viva la Guantanamera for Amnesty International which entered the Top 5 on the iTunes Latino albums sales chart.  The band’s music has been in films and television shows including Warner Bros Pictures’ Pride & Glory and MTV’s Life of Ryan.