What Do Morrissey and Cardi B Have in Common? TROPICALIA!

 

Grab your chanclas y Modelos, it’s almost time for the freshest festival in California, TROPICALIA! Hitchhike, donate some body fluids, sell a kidney, have a yard sale in tu barrio, just do whatever you can to make it to the Queen Mary on November 3rd and 4th!

If you’ve been on any social media platforms this week, you’ve probably seen this beautiful flyer a gazillion times. The flyer was illustrated by artist UGLYPRIMO. His clever headliner loteria cards are one of the major reasons this poster is so mesmerizing. UGLYPRIMO is an incredible artist who emphasizes latino culture. Whether or not you’re hispanic, you will quickly become obsessed with his work.

The feedback of this festival is on fire, everyone is freaking out over this perfect arrangement of artists. Can you blame them?! From top to bottom, this jaw-dropping bill includes nothing but heavy-hitters and arising legends, all from from various genres and generations.  Performances this year include elites Morrissey, Cardi B, Kali Uchis, and 90’s dreamgirl Mazzy Star; these are the legendary artists driving a lot of the hype. We’re stoked to see a few familiar faces from last year such as Yellow Days, Cuco, Sadgirl, Innerwave, Kali Uchis, and of course Tropicalia papis CHICANO BATMAN!

It’s almost overwhelming how dope this festival is going to be. It’s a pretty great problem when every artist is a performance you don’t want to miss.

There shouldn’t even be smaller print on this flyer because all of these artists are choice! Every single one of these musicians should be in caps, bolded, in large font. From LA’s Healing Gems and Riverside’s Quitapenas all the way up to Morrissey, they’re all headliners in our book!

Mild High Club is easy going and trippy,  they’ll take you to another place and time during their set. They are by far one of the most interesting artists existing today, you hear 60’s pop and at the same time, you hear psychedelic jazz. These dudes create perfect sounds that pair nicely with spending a high afternoon cloud watching at the park.  You gotta love that fuzzy electro-oldie sound, it really doesn’t get anymore chill than Mild High Club.Yellow Days is George van den Broek, a 19 year old from a town in southeast England called Surrey. There is a wave of talented young men coming from the London area and it’s hitting hard. Yellow Days, King Krule, and Cosmo Pyke all young englishmen influenced by blues, jazz, and soul are all killin’ it in the states. Of the three, Yellow Days is a little more R&B and smooth. You can hear his influences Ray Charles and Mac Demarco clearly in his music. Yellow Days’ 2017 album, “Is Everything Okay In Your World?”, is the perfect record to put on before a steamy makeout sesh with your honey. This hopeless romantic sings about love, and also brushes on topics about anxiety and depression. His voice is soft yet sexy and his notes are smooth but hard-hitting. With his jazzy vibe, this singer-songwriter is a perfect addition to the festival and will melt you right where you stand.

Cardi B is truly the it-girl of 2018. This Dominican queen is constantly topping the charts as a groundbreaking female rapper. Cardi B is by far one of the biggest artists of 2018 and it’s surreal that she’ll even be at Tropicalia this year! The festival will be one of her first performances since giving birth to her daughter in July. After and even during Cardi’s pregnancy, it’s obvious she’s an unstoppable force in the rap game and you can’t slow down the fierce drive of this female. You ready to party with Cardi?

 

Although Morrissey has been difficult to love and quite the controversial a-hole due to unpleasant comments on politics and immigrants, LA did not hesitate to mark November 10th as Morrissey Day last year. It’s true, no matter what we can’t stop loving this prick. He’s grumpy, moody, and yet his voice is a deep lullaby that touches your soul like no one else can. We put up with him because without him there would be no Smiths. The Smiths were such an influential band that despite his distastefulness, it’s ensured Morrissey will keep his billions of worldwide fans.

Extremely talented and super sultry, Kali Uchis is a 25 year old Colombian princess with a voice overflowing with soul. Kali Uchis’ is a genre-challenging artist. She experiments with her many different influences, drawing from rap, funk, blues, and jazz. Uchis comes off as new but don’t get it twisted, her energy is nothing but old-school. Influences of hers include, Ella Fitzgerald and Billie Holiday. Her vocal style is much like that of a spotlighted diva singing in an underground jazz club in the 1920’s. Her 2018 album “Isolation” examines love, lust, and relationship trials and tribulations throughout Kali’s life. The album carries some big names such as Tyler the Creator, Bootsy Collins, and Kevin Parker. Producers also include Gorillaz, Thundercat, Kevin Parker, and Badbadnotgood, just to name a few. She puts the “Kali” in Tropicalia, it wouldn’t be as dope without this bilingual honey!

And something else to keep in mind, Tyler the Creator’s tour ends on October 28th, is there a possibility that he’ll be swinging by to perform “After the Storm” with Kali? You’ll just have to be there to find out!

The festival will be loaded with tacos will all menus will include vegan options! Even though this two-day festival is heavily saturated in Latino culture, Tropicalia is truly a place for all people to come together for great music. Experience not only music, but tons of brilliant culture, comida, and art of a people who live to create! In the current state of the world where people are doing more separating than coming together, Tropicalia protests that regression by bringing people together and exercising culture appreciation through music and positive vibes!

Tickets go on sale here Friday August 10th at 10AM

Coverage by Sade De La Espriella

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Hello, World!

 
 
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