Lincoln Center isn’t the first place you would think for a self-described “ratchet” rapper to headline a major music festival – but that’s exactly what happened at Ruidosa Fest on Saturday, August 9.
Ruidosa Fest, the first fully female-led music festival in Latin America, was back in the U.S. for the last day of Lincoln Center’s free Summer for the City programming. Taking over three stages and the entire Lincoln Center campus, the festival displayed an enormous range of Latina talent. Featuring eight artists, the Ruidosa Fest ranged from jazz and operatic to ass shaking rap and displays of massive lyrical firepower.
Starting at 3:00pm with a panel on who holds the power in the music industry and running through 11pm with a silent disco, we weren’t able to see everything, but we did manage to snag time with five of the artists on the festival’s three stages.
From Argentina, Sofía Rei’s songs feel like a cross between a psychedelic trip and a hymnal. She loops and layers her airy vocals, using mic effects to create a backing track that features multi-tonal harmonies and reverb. This effect, in addition to her band, creates an eerie, somewhat sharp sound that cut through Lincoln Center’s Hearst Plaza. While the sound leaves you feeling like your hair is standing on end, it works with Reí’s mix of folklorico and jazz.
YENDRY takes mixing genres to a new level. The artist combines cumbia, meringue, hip hop, and afrolatin beats together while singing over the resulting mix in both Spanish and English. This is the second time we’ve seen YENDRY, having heard her open for Astropical earlier this year. This performance was special, as the young artist was performing in front of her dad for the first time. This caused some funny moments as the artist is known for grinding on stage, and at one point, before dropping low next to her mic stand, yelled out, “papi no me miras” meaning, dad don’t look at me (scroll down to see that moment). The artist’s strength lies in her more upbeat songs that take advantage of her strong vocal range and sometimes breathy vocals. She’s definitely an artist we’ll keep our eye on!
Calling herself “A musical prodigy spitting sharp, fearless rhymes,” J Noa doesn’t disappoint. She can spit with the best of them, rapping in Spanish at a speed and proficiency that would rival Busta Rhymes’ verse in Look At Me Now. Not only is her flow fast, it’s elegant. Rapping over a DJ who’s trading bars with her, and a live band with a funky base-driven groove. It’s music to bop to, but it still has an edge. J Noa doesn’t hide where she’s from – repping the Dominican Republic multiple times in her set, and using her cultural history throughout her songs.
The penultimate act for the day was Empress Of who didn’t come to play. Taking the stage with flowing hair and a sound that was a throwback to late 90s and early 2000s club pop. Throughout the show, Empress Of gave off superstar energy – strutting across the stage, headbanging to her DJ’s beats, and dancing like no one was watching. Her music would be as comfortable at a house party as the VIP section at the original 40/40 club.
Finally, rounding out Ruidosa Fest and Summer for the City was Snow Tha Product. And let me tell you, Snow puts on a hell of a show. Before she even finished her first song, the artist had come down into the photo pit, popped a bottle of champagne, and sprayed it over the crowd. Once that bottle was done, she opened a bottle of Patron and shared that with her DJ, and one of her backup dancers whose birthday had just happened.
The rapper, who describes herself as ratchet – and said so at least five times on stage – delivered a massive performance. Not only was her lyrical flow in English and Spanish on fire, but the stage erupted with pyrotechnics, delighting the crowd. The artist proceeded to grind on her dancers, throw cash into the crowd, and overall bring a massive stadium show to Lincoln Center’s Damrash park.
Notably, this was Snow’s only touring appearance this year, which made the energy irresistible. The rapper was also performing for her girlfriend’s family, saying, “My girl’s family is here tonight, and Ima get ratchet. I just hope I fed them enough tequila shots backstage.” We don’t know what her family felt, but for us, it was a wild and amazingly good end of the night.
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